Tag: CubeSats
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UW team wins NASA’s nod for small satellites with magnetic braking systems
Magnetoshell aerocapture could help ease interplanetary spacecraft into orbit. (Credit: MSNW) NASA says it’ll provide resources for a University of Washington research team that’s working on a concept to put small satellites in orbit around other worlds using magnetic interactions. The concept, known as magnetoshell aerocapture, is one of nine university-led technology development projects winning…
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Rocket Lab to launch second orbital-class rocket as soon as next week
Rocket Lab’s second Electron rocket at the company’s New Zealand launch base. Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab has scheduled the launch of its second Electron rocket from New Zealand as soon as Dec. 7, U.S. time, on a test flight that will aim to deploy three small CubeSats in orbit. The two-stage booster has a…
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Guidance error reportedly led to Russian launch failure
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Dec. 1 with news that Soyuz rocket launches will be permitted to continue as scheduled. Multiple replays of Tuesday’s launch of a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. Liftoff occurred at 0541 GMT (12:41 a.m. EST; 2:41 p.m. local time at Vostochny). Russian officials could complete their investigation of a…
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Russian weather satellite and 18 secondary payloads lost after rocket failure
A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifts off Tuesday from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. Credit: Roscosmos A new Russian weather observatory and the first prototype for Telesat’s planned network of 100-plus broadband communications satellites in low Earth orbit were among 19 spacecraft lost after a Fregat rocket stage ran into trouble soon after liftoff aboard…
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Soyuz rocket set for launch from Russia’s new cosmodrome
A Soyuz-2.1b rocket is set for launch at 0541:46 GMT (12:41:46 a.m. EST) Tuesday from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. Credit: Roscosmos A Soyuz rocket is scheduled to lift off Tuesday from a launch pad in Russia’s Far East with a new Russian weather satellite and 18 secondary payloads from companies and institutions…
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Second Electron rocket shipped to New Zealand launch site
File photo of an Electron rocket. Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab’s second flight-ready Electron rocket has arrived at its launch base in New Zealand for the company’s first mission to deliver commercial satellites into orbit. The launch is expected as soon as December, once engineers and technicians complete several weeks of testing on the rocket.…
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Photos: Minotaur-C rocket lifts off from California’s Central Coast
Orbital ATK’s Minotaur-C rocket delivered 10 satellites to orbit Oct. 31 after liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, marking the solid-fueled rocket’s return to flight — with a new name and upgrades — after a six-year hiatus. The four-stage rocket lifted off at 2:37 p.m. PDT (5:37 p.m. EDT: 2137 GMT) on Oct.…
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Live coverage: Minotaur-C rocket launches with cluster of satellites
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Minotaur-C rocket with six SkySat and four Dove Earth-imaging satellites for Planet. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.
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Ten commercial Earth-observing satellites launched aboard Minotaur-C rocket
The Minotaur-C rocket fires away from pad 576E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: Orbital ATK Returning to service after a six-year hiatus, Orbital ATK’s revamped Minotaur-C rocket soared into space Tuesday from California’s Central Coast with 10 commercial Earth-imaging spacecraft for Planet, a San Francisco-based company with a globe-spanning satellite fleet mapping the…
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Photos: Minotaur-C rocket awaits liftoff from California
Standing on a seaside launch pad overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a Minotaur-C rocket is set for launch Tuesday from California’s Central Coast with 10 Earth observation satellites manufactured in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. These photos show the Minotaur-C rocket, which stands about 104 feet (32 meters) tall, poised on a launch pedestal at Space…