Tag: launch

SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Disrupts Florida Airports With Unsuccessful Test Flight

The New York Times reports, “Starship — the huge spacecraft that Elon Musk says will one day take people to Mars — failed during its latest test flight on Thursday when its upper stage exploded in space, raining debris and disrupting air traffic at airports from Florida to Pennsylvania. It was the second consecutive test flight of the most powerful rocket ever built where the upper-stage spacecraft malfunctioned. It started spinning out of control after several engines went out and then lost contact with mission control.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)

 

 

 

 

Video

SpaceX Starship launches on flight 8, catches booster but loses ship again (Launch at 00:25:35 mark)
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)

Blue Origin Scheduled to Launch 10th Space Tourism Flight Today

SPACE reports, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, Blue Origin, “plans to launch its 10th space tourism mission this morning (Feb. 25), and you can watch the action live . Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard vehicle will lift off from the company’s West Texas site today during a window that opens at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT; 9:30 a.m. local Texas time).”
Full Story (SPACE)

First Asteroid Mining Prospector to Launch Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 Wednesday

The New York Times reports, “A private company is aiming to heave a microwave oven-size spacecraft toward an asteroid later this week, its goal to kick off a future where precious metals are mined around the solar system to create vast fortunes on Earth. AstroForge’s second robotic spacecraft, called Odin, is bundled into a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will also launch a privately built moon lander and a NASA-operated lunar orbiter as soon as Wednesday from Florida. About 45 minutes after the launch, Odin will separate and begin its solo journey into deep space, while the moon missions — the Athena lander from Intuitive Machines and NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer — take off on their own separate journeys.”
Full Story (New York Times)

Blue Origin Successfully Launches New Shepard on NS-29 Mission

AP News reports that yesterday “Blue Origin launched the 29 lunar technology experiments to the edge of space from West Texas. The company later confirmed that roughly two minutes of artificial lunar gravity were achieved by spinning the capsule 11 times a minute. It was Blue Origin’s first attempt at mimicking lunar gravity, which is one-sixth that of Earth.”
Full Story (AP News)
More Info (AIAA Statement)

 

 

 

Video

New Shepard Mission NS-29 Webcast
(Blue Origin; YouTube)

India to Launch European Proba-3 Satellites on Dec. 5 to Create Artificial Eclipses in Space

SPACE reports, “A European mission that will use two satellites to create artificial eclipses in Earth orbit will launch early Thursday morning (Dec. 5) … The ESA’s Proba-3 formation-flying mission is scheduled to lift off atop an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Satish Dhawan Space Center on Thursday at 5:42 a.m. EST (1042 GMT; 4:42 p.m. local time in India).”
Full Story (SPACE)

Blue Origin Set to Launch New Shepard Moon-Gravity Mission

SPACE reports, “Blue Origin is targeting Feb. 4 for the 29th launch of its New Shepard suborbital rocket, which was postponed from Jan. 28 due to weather and a technical “issue with the rocket’s avionics. But everything appears to be in order now … Liftoff of the NS-29 mission is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. ET.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Japan’s H3 Rocket Launches Michibiki 6 Navigation Satellite

Space News reports, “Japan’s flagship H3 rocket successfully launched the Michibiki 6 navigation satellite early Sunday, enhancing the country’s regional GPS capabilities. The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) H3 rocket lifted off at 3:30 a.m. Eastern (0830 UTC) Feb. 2 from Tanegashima Space Center. Aboard was the 1,900-kilogram Michibiki 6 satellite, also known as the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZS-6), for Japan’s navigation satellite system.”
Full Story (Space News)

 

Video

Japan’s flagship H3 rocket launches Michibiki 6 aboard H3-22S (Launch at 0:45:57 mark)
(The Launch Pad; YouTube)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 21 Starlink Satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX sent its latest batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit Monday late afternoon. Among the 21 V2 Mini satellites were 13 that feature Direct to Cell capabilities. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 12-7 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 5:05 p.m. EST.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

 

 

Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 launches 21 Starlink satellites from from Cape Canaveral (Launch at 0:59:42 mark)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 23 Starlink Satellites from California

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched its latest batch of Starlink satellites from California during a Falcon 9 flight Friday morning. Liftoff of the Starlink 11-6 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) happened at 6:07 a.m. PST (9:07 a.m. EST, 1407 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

 

 

Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 23 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg  (Launch at 18:59 mark)
(NASASpaceflight; YouTube)