Aviation Week reports, “Blue Origin says initial data suggests one of two BE-3U upper-stage engines did not deliver sufficient thrust to dispatch the AST SpaceMobile BlueBird 7 satellite to its intended orbit. The power issue occurred on the GS2 upper stage’s second burn, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said April 20. The issue has temporarily sidelined New Glenn as the company assesses what caused the malfunction.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Tag: rockets
New Glenn Mission Falls Short, Raising Questions for NASA’s Artemis Plans
The New York Times reports, “A rocket built by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company appeared to launch perfectly on Sunday, its booster even landing successfully on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. A few hours later, however, it became clear that all had not gone well. The massive New Glenn rocket had failed in its primary task: putting a commercial satellite into the proper orbit. This is a setback not only for Blue Origin, but also possibly NASA. Although the space agency played no role in Sunday’s mission, it is counting on Blue Origin to support the Artemis moon program.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)
New Glenn Booster Completes Hot Fire as Blue Origin Eyes Sunday Launch
Spaceflight Now reports, “Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket roared to life in a critical pre-launch demonstration of its main engines Thursday, less than an hour after the Sun crested over the horizon in Florida. The seven BE-4 engines fired for about 20 seconds, at 7:45 a.m. EDT (1145 UTC). Engineers will now pore through the data and if everything looks good, the launch with AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird-7 satellite could take place as soon as Sunday, April 19.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX Launches Two Starlink Missions 19 Hours Apart
SPACE reports, “SpaceX began and ended the day with Starlink launches. The company sent two Falcon 9 rockets soaring, first from Florida before sunrise on Tuesday (April 14), and then from California after sunset the same day (by local time zone). Both launches were successful, according to SpaceX”
Full Story (SPACE)
Video
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on April 14. (Launch occurs at the 0:13 mark)
VideoFromSpace; YouTube
Watch: SpaceX Launches Cygnus XL Cargo Ship to Resupply ISS Crew
SPACE reports, “A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soared into a blue sky over Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:41 a.m. EDT (1141 GMT) on Saturday, sending Northrop Grumman’s ‘Cygnus XL’ resupply freighter toward the International Space Station (ISS).”
Full Story (SPACE)
Video
SpaceX launches Cygnus XL cargo ship to ISS from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Saturday at 7:41 a.m. EDT (Launch at the 00:12 mark)
VideoFromSpace; YouTube
Artemis II Reentry Streams Tonight
SPACE reports, “A Virtual Telescope Project livestream will track NASA’s Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft as it races back toward Earth. Here’s how to watch it live.”
Full Story (SPACE)
VTP’s official WebTV
Artemis Era Could Help Solve Longstanding Questions About the Moon
Scientific American reports, “If NASA’s ambitious lunar exploration plans succeed, scientists will cover the moon with sensors—and find answers to several long-standing questions about the inner solar system.”
Full Story (Scientific American)
Artemis II Sets New Human Distance Record During Lunar Flyby
SPACE reports, “NASA’s Artemis 2 moon mission just etched its name in the record books. The four Artemis 2 astronauts have now traveled farther from Earth than any people in history, breaking the mark set by the Apollo 13 crew on April 15, 1970.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Artemis II Crew Nears Moon as Spacecraft Enters Lunar Orbit Phase
The New York Times reports, “Early on Monday morning Eastern time, the astronauts of Artemis II will enter the lunar sphere of influence, when the pull of the moon’s gravity becomes stronger than Earth’s. That is when their spacecraft will start speeding up for the main event of the 10-day mission, swinging around the moon for a first close-up look by astronauts in more than 53 years.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)
SpaceX Secures SDA-4 Launch Task Order from U.S. Space Force
Defense Daily reports, “SpaceX has received a more than $178 million task order from U.S. Space Force’s Systems Command (SSC) for two National Security Space Launch Phase 3, Lane 1 launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., and Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., for the Space Development Agency-4 (SDA-4) mission in fiscal 2027. The latter includes ‘dozens of missile tracking satellites’ by Sierra Space, SSC said on Tuesday.”
Full Story (Defense Daily)