Tag: commercial-space
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Eutelsat investigating solar array ‘incident’ on new communications satellite
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Oct. 25 with MEV-1 update. Artist’s concept of the Eutelsat 5 West B satellite orbit. Credit: Northrop Grumman A Eutelsat communications satellite launched Oct. 9 has suffered an “incident” with one of its two solar arrays, the Paris-based operator announced Thursday. Built by Northrop Grumman, the Eutelsat 5 West B satellite is designed…
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Bezos says space industry stalwarts will help Blue Origin build moon lander
Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin, speaks Tuesday at the International Astronautical Congress in Washington. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now Blue Origin has partnered with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to build elements of the company’s human-rated lunar lander, and Draper will lead development of the lander’s avionics and guidance systems, with an aim to be…
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Solid rocket motor test-fired for Atlas 5 debut next year
A new solid rocket motor built by Northrop Grumman has aced its final test-firing before a scheduled debut on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket flight next year. Northrop Grumman’s GEM 63 solid rocket motor will replace the Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-60A solid-fueled booster that has flown on Atlas 5 rockets since 2003. Billed…
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Rocket Lab delivers on dedicated launch for Astro Digital
In this view from the Electron rocket’s second stage, Rocket Lab’s Curie kick stage with the Palisade satellite is seen backdropped by the Earth around 10 minutes after liftoff. Credit: Rocket Lab A technology demonstration microsatellite for Astro Digital rode a Rocket Lab Electron launcher into orbit Wednesday (U.S. time) from New Zealand, setting the…
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Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches for fifth time this year
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand carrying the Palisade microsatellite into orbit for Astro Digital. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Rocket Lab’s live video webcast begins approximately 15 minutes prior to launch, and will be available…
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Rocket Lab preps for commercial satellite launch this week
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket underwent a wet dress rehearsal Oct. 3 on its launch pad in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab’s fifth flight of the year is set for liftoff as soon as Wednesday (U.S. time) carrying a small experimental satellite to orbit for Astro Digital, a Silicon Valley company aiming to demonstrate…
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Documents suggest SpaceX may launch 30,000 more Starlink satellites
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Oct. 16 with SpaceX confirmation of 30,000 satellites in the ITU filings. SpaceX launched the first 60 satellites for the company’s Starlink broadband network in May. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX is seeking approval to add up to 30,000 more satellites to its Starlink broadband network, on top of 12,000 spacecraft already authorized by U.S.…
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Photos: Proton fires off the launch pad with two U.S.-built satellites
Six RD-276 engines powered a Russian Proton rocket off the launch pad Wednesday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, boosting a television broadcast payload for Eutelsat and the first commercial robotic satellite servicing spacecraft into orbit. The 191-foot-tall (58.2-meter) Proton rocket lifted off from pad 39 at the Site 200 complex at Baikonur at…
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SpaceX’s next launch to mark another incremental step in rocket reusability
File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster returning to Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX next mission, slated to carry the company’s second set of Starlink broadband satellites into orbit, will be the first to fly with a reused Falcon 9 booster making its fourth launch when…
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Stratolaunch under new ownership
Stratolaunch’s aircraft flew on its first — and so far only — test flight April 13 from Mojave, California. Credit: Stratolaunch Stratolaunch said Friday that the company has “transitioned ownership” a year after the death of Paul Allen, the company’s billionaire founder who funded the construction of the world’s largest airplane for an airborne satellite…