Falcon 9 deploys 56 Starlink satellites on SpaceX’s 20th launch of the year

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket heads downrange after liftoff Friday morning from Cape Canaveral. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography SpaceX continued launching satellites for the Starlink internet network Friday, sending a Falcon 9 rocket aloft from Cape Canaveral with 56 more older-generation broadband spacecraft as ground teams troubleshoot problems with a batch …

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Rocket Lab recovers booster again after launch with BlackSky satellites

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An Electron rocket lifts off Friday with two BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites. Credit: Rocket Lab Two BlackSky optical Earth-imaging satellites rode an Electron launcher into orbit Friday from New Zealand, while the Electron’s first stage booster gently parachuted into the Pacific Ocean as engineers consider abandoning airborne rocket recovery in favor of ship-based retrieval and reuse. …

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SpaceX pausing launches of new-generation Starlink satellites

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A side-by-side comparison of the Starlink V1.5 and the Starlink V2 Mini satellites. Credit: SpaceX / Spaceflight Now SpaceX’s next two missions will revert to launching older versions of the company’s Starlink internet satellites, instead of new second-generation Starlink platforms as originally planned, while ground teams work out unspecified problems with the first batch of …

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Resilient bug-sized robots keep flying even after wing damage

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MIT researchers have developed resilient artificial muscles that can enable insect-scale aerial robots to effectively recover flight performance after suffering severe damage. Photo: Courtesy of the researchers By Adam Zewe | MIT News Office Bumblebees are clumsy fliers. It is estimated that a foraging bee bumps into a flower about once per second, which damages …

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Relativity Space ready for third attempt to launch 3D-printed rocket

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Watch our live coverage of the countdown and launch of Relativity Space’s first 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket during a three-hour launch window opening at 10 p.m. EDT Wednesday, March 22 (0100 UTC Thursday, March 23). The Terran 1 will lift off from Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on its inaugural …

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Penultimate Delta rocket to launch next month on ULA’s first mission of 2023

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ULA’s Delta 4-Heavy rocket lifted vertical on pad 37B at Cape Canaveral ahead of launch on the NROL-68 mission. Credit: United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance’s second-to-last Delta 4-Heavy rocket is scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral April 20 with a classified cargo for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency, a mission that will …

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Good weather expected for Relativity Space’s late-night launch attempt

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Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket on Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: Relativity Space Relativity Space will try a third time to launch a 3D-printed rocket from Cape Canaveral Wednesday night, and weather forecasters predict a 95% chance of favorable conditions for the late-night test flight. The three-hour launch window at …

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Webb telescope sees the prelude to a supernova

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The luminous, hot star Wolf-Rayet 124 (WR 124) is prominent at the center of the James Webb Space Telescope’s composite image combining near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths of light from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera and Mid-Infrared Instrument. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a rare …

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Virgin Orbit pauses operations amid financial troubles

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Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft, a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet, takes off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California with a LauncherOne rocket under its left wing. Credit: Virgin Orbit Virgin Orbit announced last week it is pausing operations after sustained financial losses, furloughing most of the company’s approximately 750 employees as officials seek …

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