Tag: commercial-space
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Photos: European Ariane 5 rocket climbs into space from French Guiana
An Ariane 5 rocket soared into orbit from French Guiana on Jan. 25 with the commercial SES 14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellite, but the launcher missed its mark and released the telecom craft into an unplanned orbit. Officials from SES and Yahsat, the companies which own the two payloads, said their satellites will…
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Luxembourg-backed telecom craft set for launch on reused Falcon 9 rocket
The GovSat 1 satellite pictured at its Orbital ATK factory in Dulles, Virginia. Credit: GovSat A communications satellite developed in a public-private partnership between Luxembourg government and SES is set for launch Tuesday aboard a previously-flown SpaceX Falcon 9 booster from Cape Canaveral, ready for a 15-year mission beaming encrypted, jam-resistant signals for security and…
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Rocket Lab’s test launch carried two previously-unannounced passengers
Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck poses with the Humanity Star satellite. Credit: Rocket Lab A propulsive kick stage designed to expand the performance envelope of Rocket Lab’s light-class Electron satellite launcher and a spacecraft that will grace nighttime skies for the next nine months flew into orbit on the company’s test flight earlier…
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SpaceX schedules Feb. 6 target date for Falcon Heavy test launch
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket on Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket could blast off for the first time as soon as Feb. 6, company founder Elon Musk said Saturday, announcing the first official target launch date for the heavy-lifter’s maiden mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Standing…
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Falcon Heavy lowered at launch pad
The SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket was lowered to the horizontal position at launch pad 39A on 27 January 2018 after a successful test firing of its 27 first stage engines. The rocket’s maiden flight is expected to occur soon. This time-lapse video runs at ten times normal speed. This video is made possible by the…
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Video: Ariane 5 makes a smooth blastoff before mission runs into trouble
A 180-foot-tall (55-meter) Ariane 5 rocket climbed into space from French Guiana on Thursday evening, but the mission ran into problems a few minutes later. The launch was supposed to deliver the SES 14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellites into a supersynchronous transfer orbit arcing as high as 28,000 miles (45,000 kilometers) above Earth.…
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Ariane 5 deploys two telecom satellites in orbit despite telemetry loss
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 1300 GMT (8 a.m. EST) Jan. 26 with SES statement. An Ariane 5 rocket lifts off Thursday from French Guiana. Credit: Arianespace KOUROU, French Guiana — A European Ariane 5 rocket took off from French Guiana and delivered two commercial communications satellites and a NASA scientific package to orbit Thursday after…
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Probe into off-target Ariane 5 launch begins, SES and Yahsat payloads healthy
An Ariane 5 rocket climbs away from Kourou, French Guiana, with the SES 14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellites. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now KOUROU, French Guiana — Arianespace will convene an independent inquiry board chaired by a top European Space Agency official to investigate why an Ariane 5 rocket flew off course Thursday night…
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Video: Arianespace chief Stephane Israel announces launch anomaly
Arianespace chief executive Stephane Israel announced an anomaly occurred during Thursday’s flight of an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, shortly after the launcher’s second stage engine ignited. The Ariane 5 lifted off at 2220 GMT (5:20 p.m. EST; 7:20 p.m. French Guiana time), but the ground team lost contact with the rocket a…
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NASA science instrument ready to study critical space weather boundary zone
The Airbus-built SES 14 communications satellite and the GOLD payload are readied for attachment to its Ariane 5 rocket. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon A $66 million NASA-funded science sensor package bolted on to a commercial communications satellite is ready for a ride toward a 22,000-mile-high orbital perch Thursday…