January 13, 2015 – The interaction of solar winds and Earth’s atmosphere produces northern lights, or auroras, that dance across the night sky and mesmerize the casual observer. However, to scientists this interaction is more than a light a display. It produces many questions of the role it plays in Earth’s meteorological processes and the […]
Launches
Falcon 9 Launches Fifth Contracted SpaceX ISS Mission; Booster Recovery Test Fails
A Falcon 9 rocket blasted into space early this morning carrying the fifth mission to resupply the International Space Station under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Topped by the company’s Dragon spacecraft, Falcon lifted off on time at 4:47 am EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral AFS […]
Technical Glitches, Orbital Mechanics Push Falcon 9 CRS-5 Launch Into 2015
The next launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver cargo to the International Space Station is being delayed until early January, company officials confirmed this morning. Trouble encountered during a test firing of the vehicle’s first stage prompted SpaceX to move the launch date until after the holidays. During the static test on […]
Amid Testing Trouble, Firm Launch Date Expected Today For Falcon 9 CRS-5
We should learn today whether or not SpaceX will be able to attempt a launch this week of its Falcon 9 rocket on a mission to the space station. However, a slip of a day or two, possibly longer, is expected after difficulties were encountered during Tuesday’s static test fire of the rocket’s nine Merlin […]
X Marks the Spot: Falcon 9 To Attempt Ocean Platform Landing
(Source: SpaceX) During our next flight, SpaceX will attempt the precision landing of a Falcon 9 first stage for the first time, on a custom-built ocean platform known as the autonomous spaceport drone ship. While SpaceX has already demonstrated two successful soft water landings, executing a precision landing on an unanchored ocean platform is significantly […]
Powerful Atlas Launches Clandestine Satellite From California
The largest Atlas rocket to fly from California blasted off tonight on a successful mission to deliver the classified NROL-35 satellite to polar orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office. Following a one day delay due to bad weather, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 lifted off from Space Launch Complex-3 at 10:19 p.m. EST. “We […]
Atlas To The Rescue, Orbital Selects ULA To Launch Cygnus To ISS In 2015
As the company continues to recover from October’s spectacular launch failure of the Antares medium-lift launch vehicle, Orbital Sciences Corporation announced that it has signed a contract with United Launch Alliance to conduct one and possibly two cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station using ULA’s Atlas V. The Atlas launch vehicle, with a […]
NASA’s Orion Spacecraft Completes “Picture Perfect” First Test Flight
Reaching a pinnacle in its nine-year development program, NASA’s next-generation Orion deep-space exploration craft soared through a picture-perfect test flight today to mark a major milestone in NASA’s plans to return to human space exploration with sights firmly fixed on Mars. Exploration Flight Test-1 was Orion’s first mission and the first “real-life” test for many […]
Inferno Over Wallops! A first-hand Photo And Video Account Of Antares Launch Failure
Read the story with a full page of launch pad remote camera photos and video! Last month, Zero-G News had the opportunity to travel to Wallops Flight Facility, VA in order to cover the anticipated launch of an Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket to deliver the Cygnus Orb-3 spacecraft on a cargo resupply run to […]
Antares Explodes, ISS Cargo Lost In Launch Failure
Launch of the Cygnus spacecraft was supposed to be the start of the third of Orbital Science Corporation’s eight NASA-contracted resupply missions to the International Space Station. Instead, Orbital and NASA are left picking up this pieces today after the company’s Antares rocket erupted into a roiling ball of fire after liftoff that consumed the […]