Tag: commercial-space
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SpaceX launch Monday will signify a new advance in reusing rockets
EDITOR’S NOTE: SpaceX announced early Sunday that the SSO-A launch has been delayed to Monday to allow additional inspections on the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage. The rocket set to launch the Spaceflight SSO-A rideshare mission Monday previously flew twice — on May 11 from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, and on Aug. 7…
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NASA picks nine companies to compete for commercial lunar lander missions
A concept illustration of Lockheed Martin’s McCandless lunar lnader for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payloads Services (CLPS) program. Credit: NASA/Lockheed Martin NASA announced Thursday nine companies that will be eligible to compete for up to $2.6 billion in contracts over the next decade to ferry scientific instruments and tech demo payloads to the moon aboard commercial…
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SpaceX postpones California launch to wait for better weather
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Nov. 28 with SpaceX confirmation of new Dec. 2 launch date. Spaceflight’s mission patch for the SSO-A: SmallSat Express flight, with flags representing nations with payloads on the rideshare launch. Credit: Spaceflight SpaceX has postponed Wednesday’s scheduled launch from California’s Central Coast with 64 smallsats, electing to keep the Falcon 9 rocket…
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Photos: Antares rocket fires into space from Virginia’s Eastern Shore
Look back on the launch Saturday of a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia, powered by a pair of kerosene-fueled RD-181 engines producing 864,000 pounds of thrust. These photos captured by NASA photographer Joel Kowsky show the two-stage Antares rocket climbing away from pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia’s Eastern…
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NASA reviews safety at SpaceX and Boeing after Elon Musk smokes pot on video
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner are being developed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station for NASA. (SpaceX / Boeing Illustrations) NASA has ordered a review of workplace safety at SpaceX and Boeing, the two companies developing spaceships to ferry its astronauts to and from the International Space Station, in…
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Photos: Falcon 9 takes off from launch pad 39A with Es’hail 2 comsat
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket boosted by a recycled first stage fired into the skies over the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 15, and these photos show the start of the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) launcher’s journey into orbit. The Japanese-built, Qatari-owned Es’hail 2 communications satellite rode the Falcon 9 rocket into an egg-shaped geostationary…
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Space station receives second of back-to-back cargo deliveries
The Cygnus spacecraft, named the S.S. John Young, in the grip of the space station’s robotic arm Monday. Credit: NASA/Serena Auñón-Chancellor Wrapping up a two-day chase since launching from Virginia’s Eastern Shore, a commercial Cygnus cargo craft arrived at the International Space Station Monday with more than 7,200 pounds of supplies and experiments, the second…
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Antares rocket launches cargo run to International Space Station
An Antares rocket lifts off at 4:01 a.m. EST (0901 GMT) Saturday at pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo carrier climbed into orbit Saturday from Wallops Island, Virginia, in pursuit of the International Space Station with more than 7,200…
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SpaceX postpones rideshare launch from California
Artist’s illustration of Spaceflight’s free flyers and payloads on the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage. Credit: Spaceflight SpaceX has ordered additional inspections on a Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California set to launch 64 small satellites, a decision that is expected to keep the launcher grounded for several days until after…
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Antares launch timeline on the NG-10 mission
Credit: Orbital ATK Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket will deliver a Cygnus supply ship into orbit Saturday to begin a two-day pursuit of the International Space Station. The rocket’s two RD-181 engines will ignite around 3.7 seconds before liftoff from pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a complex owned by the state of Virginia at…