Tag: Mission

SpaceX Launches Communications Satellite on 16th Flight this Year

CBS News reports that SpaceX is maintaining a rapid-fire launch pace while gearing up to launch four fresh crew members to the International Space Station.  Marking the company’s 16th launch this year, a SpaceX “Falcon 9 blasted off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 3:11 p.m. EST,” Tuesday, “putting a powerful Indonesian communications satellite into orbit.”
Full Story (CBS News)

 

Video

Falcon 9 launches Merah Putih 2 and Falcon 9 first stage landing
(SciNews; YouTube)

Japan’s flagship H3 Rocket Successfully Reaches Orbit

CBS News reports “Japan’s flagship H3 rocket reached orbit and released two small observation satellites in a key second test following a failed debut launch last year, buoying hope for the country in the global space race. The report adds that “the launch is a boost for Japan’s space program following a recent streak of successes, including a historic precision touchdown on the moon of an unmanned spacecraft last month.”
Full Story (CBS News)

 

Video

Japan Successfully Launches H3 Rocket, 17 February 2024
(Firstpost; YouTube)

Rocket Lab’s Electron Rocket Launches on Space Debris Removal Mission

Spaceflight Now reports “a small satellite that will inspect a discarded rocket body in orbit lifted off Sunday/Monday on a mission to develop techniques for removing space debris.”  Built by Japan-based Astroscale, the satellite “launched atop a Rocket Lab Electron” rocket from New Zealand at 9:52 a.m. EST
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

Video

Rocket Lab – Electron Launch, 18 February 2024
(Space Affairs; YouTube)

Axiom Space Astronauts Depart ISS for Trip Home

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the first human spaceflight “of the year is headed home as the four crew of the Axiom Space Ax-3 mission climbed aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom and departed the International Space Station on Wednesday heading for a planned Friday morning splashdown off Florida’s coast.” The astronauts “spent nearly 18 days docked to the ISS after launching from KSC on Jan. 18 and arriving two days later.” On board “are Axiom chief astronaut and mission commander Michael López-Alegría along with Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei, Alper Gezeravcı of Turkey and European Space Agency project astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden.” Departing the ISS “at 9:20 a.m. EST, they now have just over a 47-hour ride home set to splash down off the coast of Daytona Beach targeting 8:30 a.m. Friday.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel – Subscription Publication)

SpaceX Launches NASA Earth Science Probe

The Orlando Sentinel reports that “delayed two days because of weather, a NASA satellite that will look at the tiniest parts of the air and ocean blasted off early Thursday morning and shook households in Central Florida when the rocket’s booster unleashed a massive sonic boom during its landing.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel – Subscription Publication)

 

 

 

 

Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches NASA’s PACE-Payload
(NASASpaceflight; YouTube)

Cygnus Resupply Mission Capsule Arrives at ISS

Aviation Week reports that “Northrop Grumman’s 20th Cygnus resupply mission capsule successfully berthed to the International Space Station (ISS) early Feb. 1, delivering a more than 8,200-lb. cargo that includes a wide range of science and technology investigations.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

SpaceX’s Starship to Launch Starlab Space Station

Space News reports, “Starlab Space, a joint venture of Voyager Space and Airbus Space and Defence, announced Jan. 31 it reached an agreement with SpaceX to launch the Starlab station on Starship. The companies did not disclose terms of the agreement or a projected launch date, although a spokesperson for Starlab Space said the company was confident that Starlab would be launched before the decommissioning of the International Space Station, currently scheduled for 2030.” Voyager Space Chairman and CEO Dylan Taylor said in a statement, “SpaceX’s history of success and reliability led our team to select Starship to orbit Starlab. … SpaceX is the unmatched leader for high-cadence launches and we are proud Starlab will be launched to orbit in a single flight by Starship.”
Full Story (Space News)

 

Video

Starlab Space Station Update
(The Space Race; YouTube)

AIAA Statement on the End of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Mission

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 31, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) CEO Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:

“We join NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the entire aerospace community in marking the end of mission for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on 25 January 2024. What a mission it was – 72 powered controlled flights on another planet.

We’ll remember the historic date and location of Ingenuity’s first flight, 19 April 2021, at Jezero Crater, Wright Brothers Field, Mars. Ingenuity’s remarkable mission of taking off-world risks proves anything is possible. Going from a flight test experiment to an operational scout is an amazing accomplishment.

AIAA was honored to present the 2021 AIAA Space Systems Award to the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter team, “For the design and flight test validation of the first helicopter designed for flight at Mars.” In addition, ASCEND was honored to host the 2021 NASA JPL William H. Pickering Lecture on the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.

Over the years, innovators have chronicled their work on rotorcraft designed for missions on other planets and moons by authoring articles for AIAA peer-reviewed journals, books, and meeting papers for AIAA forums. Their original research results and technological progress have been published in AIAA’s Aerospace Research Central (ARC) at arc.aiaa.org, the leading source of aerospace industry archives. AIAA is committed to ensuring students and professionals have access to the most important advances in aerospace science and technology through ARC. Read more about AIAA publications on the technology and development of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at aiaa.org/ingenuitymarshelicopter.

On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we salute the whole team who made the dream of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter a reality. We admire your engineering determination in combination with your innovative and inspirational thinking.

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has shaped the future of aerospace.”

AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.