An Ariane 5 rocket, operated by European Launch Service provider Arianespace, will make a second attempt to launch on its 109th scheduled flight, designated VA253, on Saturday. The heavy lift rocket was scheduled to launch from pad Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3 (ELA-3) at Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, […]
NASA Space Flight
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The first GEM-63XL motor for the ULA Vulcan Centaur’s strap-on boosters was successfully test-fired for approximately 90 seconds, sending 449,000 lbs of thrust along with bright fire, loud noise and vibration into the sunny desert sky on Thursday at Northrop Grumman testing facility in Promontory, Utah. The QM-1 was the […]
The Green Run test campaign for NASA’s first Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage will culminate in two critical tests that will demonstrate the real-world performance of the large, complicated vehicle. The last two of the eight test cases of the campaign at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi will […]
United Launch Alliance’s (ULA’s) Delta IV Heavy rocket has received its clandestine payload for the upcoming NROL-44 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office as teams continue launch preparations on SLC-37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL. The mission is set to launch at the end of August and […]
With the first two major elements of NASA’s Lunar Gateway under contract and development, Northrop Grumman has outlined their plans for the overall Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module, which will serve as the primary habitation and nexus for the lunar station. HALO will now launch in a fully integrated […]
SpaceX is set to try again for their ninth launch of operational Starlink satellites, along with two satellites for BlackSky’s Earth observation constellation, on Friday, August 7 (1:12am EDT / 05:12 UTC). The weather forecast issued by the 45th Space Wing the morning before launch showed a 70% chance of […]
A new satellite on the Gaofen-9 remote sensing series was orbited by China on Wednesday. A Long March 2D launched the Gaofen-9 (04) at 04:01:54 UTC from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center’s LC43/94 complex. This was also the 50th launch of the Long March-2D launch vehicle and the 342nd launch […]
The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter for NASA’s first Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 29 on the agency’s Pegasus barge at the end of a delivery trip from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. The cone-shaped interstage connector was moved […]
The Starship SN5 prototype is set to attempt a 150-meter test flight as early as Monday from Boca Chica, Texas. The hop will be the first flight of a full-scale Starship tank section. If the hop is successful, it will clear the way for SpaceX to attempt higher altitude flights […]
The Pacific Spaceport Complex, located in Kodiak, Alaska, is preparing to support the launch of Astra’s first orbital test flight, featuring the company’s Rocket 3.1 launcher. Teams are currently conducting final preparations ahead of the opening of the two hour launch window, which is currently set to open at 7:00 […]
Just over two months after it became the first American spacecraft to launch astronauts into space in nearly a decade, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour is nearing the end of its historic flight in space. The vehicle and its two astronaut crew are departed from the International Space Station (ISS) on […]
NASA and SpaceX are ready for a Sunday, 2 August 2020 deorbit and splashdown of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour. The return to Earth will bring an end to the historic first private-company spaceflight of humans to Earth orbit and the commencement of […]
An Ariane 5 rocket, operated by European Launch Service provider ArianeSpace, is undergoing final preparations ahead of its 109th scheduled flight, designated VA253. The heavy lift rocket is scheduled to launch from pad Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3 (ELA-3) at Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 21:30 UTC (17:30 […]
After another successful launch of consumables and experiments to the International Space Station just days prior, Roscosmos – the Russian Space Agency – is set to launch a Proton-M rocket with two Russian Ekspress communications satellites from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan. The launch, which will take place from […]
With all major pre-launch preparations complete, United Launch Alliance stands ready to launch NASA’s latest mission to Mars: the Perseverance rover and accompanying Ingenuity helicopter. Liftoff of the third of our world’s three missions to Mars during the current interplanetary transfer window is targeted for Thursday, 30 July 2020 in […]
The interstage connector for the first NASA Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle was delivered to NASA in mid-July and is in transit to its launch site. The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) was completed by Teledyne Brown Engineering at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Alabama and officially turned […]
Starship SN5 is aiming to succeed were its predecessors have failed by passing all the required testing required for the 150 meter hop. While Starhopper still holds the claim for being the only vehicle to take flight at Boca Chica, SN5 will be the first Starship prototype to take to […]
The third satellite in the Ziyuan-3 series was orbited by China on Friday at 03:17 UTC using the Long March 4B ‘Chang Zheng-4B’ (Y45) rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center’s LC9 launch platform. The new high-resolution remote sensing geological mapping satellite will be used for civil purposes. On its […]
Until February 2020, when a satellite on orbit ran out of propellant, that was the end of its life. Most major communications and military satellites are designed with prolonged lifetimes and carry enough fuel for a 15 year mission. But the struggle for some satellite operators has been that at […]
The Russian Federation’s state-owned space corporation, Roscosmos, is preparing to launch their next resupply mission to the International Space Station. The supply craft, Progress MS-15, is scheduled to launch at 14:26:22 UTC, or 10:26:22 EDT on Thursday, 23 July from Site No. 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The Progress […]
The Tianwen-1 Orbiter, Lander, and Rover are scheduled to depart for Mars within a three hour launch window extending from 00:00-03:00 EDT (04:00-07:00 UTC) on Thursday, 23 July 2020 from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center in Wenchang, Hainan, People’s Republic of China. The flight will be the first China-led mission […]
Spaceflight Inc. has announced that a brand new Orbital Transfer Vehicle, Sherpa-FX, will fly on a dedicated rideshare mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This is the first of many next-generation transfer vehicles created by Spaceflight Inc. The Sherpa-FX is a next-generation transfer vehicle capable of multiple deployments, providing […]
SpaceX is targeting Monday, July 20 for the launch of a South Korean military communications satellite, ANASIS-II. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket is scheduled within a window from 5:00 PM to 8:55 PM EDT (21:00 to 00:55 UTC). The launch will take place from SLC-40 at the […]
In a moment that will go down in history, the United Arab Emirates and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre are ready for their first interplanetary voyage: the Emirates Mars Mission. The probe, called Al Amal (which translates to “Hope” from Arabic), is set to launch on a Japanese H-IIA […]