Tag: commercial-space
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DigitalGlobe’s WorldView 4 Earth-imaging satellite fails
The WorldView 4 satellite in Lockheed Martin’s factory in Sunnyvale, California. Credit: Lockheed Martin DigitalGlobe’s WorldView 4 commercial Earth observation satellite, which launched in 2016 for a planned 10-to-12-year mission, has suffered a failure in its control moment gyros and is no longer able to acquire high-resolution imagery, officials announced Monday. Maxar Technologies, DigitalGlobe’s parent…
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SpaceX about one month away from first commercial crew test flight
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Jan. 10 with NASA statement confirming target launch date in February. The crew access arm at launch pad 39A extended to the Crew Dragon spacecraft shortly after the Falcon 9 rocket was erected vertical Jan. 3. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX founder Elon Musk said this weekend that the company is about one month…
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SpaceX crew capsule, Falcon 9 rocket roll out to pad 39A in Florida for tests
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft arrived at launch pad 39A on Thursday morning. Credit: Spaceflight Now. SpaceX rolled out the company’s first space-worthy Crew Dragon spacecraft and its Falcon 9 launcher to pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first time Thursday, beginning a series of fit checks…
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Soyuz launches cluster of 28 satellites
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated after confirmation of a successful launch. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket climbs off its launch pad Thursday at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Credit: Roscosmos A Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East on Thursday carrying 28 satellites, including a pair of Russian mapping satellites, secondary payloads from Germany, Japan,…
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Spaceflight signs up Brazil for Amazonia-1 satellite launch on Indian rocket in 2020
An artist’s conception shows the Amazonia-1 satellite. (INPE Illustration) Seattle-based Spaceflight says it’s struck one of its biggest deals for a satellite launch with Brazil’s space research institute, focusing on putting the Amazonia-1 satellite into low Earth orbit in mid-2020. The contract was awarded on Tuesday during a ceremony in São José dos Campos, attended by…
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Blue Origin scrubs suborbital launch attempt, delays flight to early 2019
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) Dec. 18 with Blue Origin’s announcement of a scrubbed launch attempt. Updated at 10:30 p.m. EST on Dec. 18 (0330 GMT on Dec. 19) with new target launch date. Updated again Dec. 19 with Blue Origin’s announcement of a delay to early 2019. File photo of a…
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NASA, Rocket Lab partner on successful satellite launch from New Zealand
Rocket Lab’s Electron booster took off at 1:33 a.m. EST (0633 GMT; 7:33 p.m. New Zealand time) Sunday carrying 13 U.S.-built CubeSats to orbit on a mission chartered by NASA. Credit: Trevor Mahlmann/Rocket Lab Rocket Lab’s commercial Electron booster fired into orbit from New Zealand on Sunday, carrying a flock of 13 CubeSats on the…
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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin venture will send science to space on 10th suborbital flight
Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital spaceship sits on its West Texas launch pad in preparation for a launch in July 2018. (Blue Origin Photo) Update for 5:47 a.m. PT Dec. 20: After working through a ground infrastructure issue, Blue Origin has decided to put off the next launch of its New Shepard suborbital spaceship until early…
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What’s next for commercial spaceflight? Passengers will soon get their turn
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, center, celebrates this week’s successful test flight of VSS Unity with test pilots Rick “CJ” Sturckow at left and Mark “Forger” Stucky at right. Branson says he’ll be Unity’s first commercial passenger. (Virgin Galactic / Quasar Media Photo) MOJAVE, Calif. — The first suborbital space passenger is less likely to…
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What’s next for commercial spaceflight? Passengers will soon get their turn
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, center, celebrates this week’s successful test flight of VSS Unity with test pilots Rick “CJ” Sturckow at left and Mark “Forger” Stucky at right. Branson says he’ll be Unity’s first commercial passenger. (Virgin Galactic / Quasar Media Photo) MOJAVE, Calif. — The first suborbital space passenger is less likely to…