Tag: Earth observation
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SpaceX ramps up launch rate with fifth Falcon 9 mission in three weeks
A Falcon 9 rocket climbs away from pad 39A Saturday. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now SpaceX’s fifth Falcon 9 launch in a little more than three weeks delivered 52 more Starlink internet satellites and two small hitchhiker payloads to orbit after a booming blastoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday evening. The kerosene-fueled…
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Two BlackSky satellites lost on Rocket Lab launch failure
An Electron rocket lifts off at 7:11 a.m. EDT (1111 GMT) Saturday from Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab A Rocket Lab Electron launcher malfunctioned about two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff from New Zealand Saturday, destroying two BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites in the launch company’s second failed flight in less than a year. Rocket Lab,…
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Photos: Falcon 9 stands ready for weekend launch
Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stood atop historic launch pad 39A Saturday afternoon as teams counted down to liftoff with 52 more Starlink internet satellites and two hitchhiker payloads. Weather permitting, the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) launcher was set for liftoff at 6:54 p.m. EDT (2254 GMT) on SpaceX’s 15th Falcon 9 flight…
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Live coverage: Rocket Lab’s upper stage runs into trouble soon after launch
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand carrying two BlackSky optical Earth observation satellites. Rocket Lab will attempt to recover the first stage at sea. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Rocket Lab’s live video webcast begins approximately…
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Live coverage: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will launch SpaceX’s next batch of Starlink broadband satellites. There are 52 Starlink satellites on this mission, plus two rideshare payloads from Capella Space and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems. Text updates…
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Two hitchhiker smallsats to accompany SpaceX’s next Starlink mission into orbit
Artist’s concept of a Capella synthetic aperture radar satellite. Credit: Capella Space An innovative commercial Capella radar observation spacecraft with night vision and a small payload from the California-based smallsat manufacturer Tyvak are set to ride into orbit from Florida’s Space Coast Saturday with 52 more Starlink internet satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.…
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Rocket Lab ready for second booster recovery attempt
Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher during a countdown dress rehearsal earlier this month. Credit: Rocket Lab The scheduled launch Saturday of two commercial BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites from New Zealand will double as an opportunity for Rocket Lab to test an enhanced heat shield on its Electron booster, an upgrade that should allow the company to recover…
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China launches military observation satellite
A Long March 4C rocket lifts off with the Yaogan 34 military observation satellite. Credit: Xinhua China launched an optical Earth observation satellite April 30, beginning a mission designed to provide detailed reconnaissance imagery to the Chinese military. The Yaogan 34 spacecraft lifted off on top of a medium-class Long March 4C rocket at 3:27…
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Chinese Long March 6 rocket delivers nine small satellites to space
A Long March 6 rocket lifts with April 27 with nine satellites. Credit: CASC Nine small Chinese satellites, including a technology experiment to test out ways to capture space debris, rode a Long March 6 rocket into orbit April 27 on a rideshare mission managed by China Great Wall Industry Corp., the government-owned enterprise charged…
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Photos: Delta 4-Heavy rocket awaits liftoff from historic SLC-6 launch pad
A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket is awaiting liftoff with a classified U.S. government spy satellite at Vandenberg Air Force Base’s historic Space Launch Complex-6, a picturesque rocket facility that was once intended to support launches of military astronauts and space shuttles. These photos show the triple-body rocket, clad in orange thermal insulation, standing…