SpaceX's launch of its next 60 Starlink satellites proceeded smoothly on Wednesday morning. About 1 hour after launch, the stack of satellites deployed into low-Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket's thrice-used first stage landed on the drone ship.
On Thursday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida bound for the International Space Station. It marked SpaceX’s 19th trip to the space station and the company's final trip to the station for the decade.
LightSail 2 is the third attempt to send a light sail spacecraft into orbit by the global non-profit society, which is devoted to promoting space exploration. Since reaching orbit, the LightSail 2 has been indicated that it is in good working order.
The European Space Agency is developing its own reusable spacecraft. Space Rider will be an un-crewed vehicle with high-tech capabilities that will provide access to space for scientific and commercial enterprises.
Researchers have recently conducted a successful stratospheric test of their wafercraft. If all goes well, the spacecraft will be able to reach relativistic speeds and make it to the nearest star system within our lifetimes.
Indeed, the Demo-1 mission went exactly as planned, signifying an important milestone for the U.S. as it strives to regain its ability to independently send astronauts into space.
NASA and SpaceX announced that they are ready to conduct the first orbital launch of Crew Dragon as early as March 2nd, a demonstration that will directly precede the first crewed launch on a US rocket in more eight years.
With Thursday's launch, SpaceX has now flown 18 mission this year, tying its record set in 2017. The company could fly as many as four more rockets this year.
A mission to deflect asteroids that might threaten Earth has begun its final assembly phase, according to a news release. NASA is testing a technique meant to protect the planet from an impending asteroid strike.
Boeing will target the end of this year (or early 2019) for an uncrewed orbital flight test of its Starliner vehicle.
Though just a test, it’s an important milestone for the Richard Branson-led company, which aims to eventually offer suborbital flights to space tourists.
The novel European Space Agency technology would scoop up atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen during near-Earth orbits and turn it into fuel.
China plans to create new classes of heavy rockets in future, these include the Long March 9 rocket, a three-stage, super-heavy rocket that would allow for crewed missions to the Moon.
According to a recent interview Musk made at the 2018 SXSW conference, the Big Falcon Rocket will be ready to conduct test launches in the next two years.
Friday's launch went off without a hitch, with the Falcon 9 booster sending a Dragon spacecraft into a good orbit to reach the ISS. This marks the company's 20th successful landing overall.
