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A detached electrical connector on the second stage of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket caused a failure on a July 4 mission that destroyed seven small commercial satellites, but the company said Friday it is on track to resume launching before the end of August. Once the electrical system disconnected in flight, it cut power from the rocket’s battery to the electric turbopumps on the Electron’s second stage Rutherford engine. That caused the engine to switch off prematurely around five-and-a-half minutes after the rocket took off from Rocket Lab’s launch base in New Zealand. The early engine shutdown prevented the rocket...

The Electron rocket lifted off from the company’s Launch Complex 1 at Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, at 5:19 p.m. Eastern. The launch was originally scheduled for July 3 but pushed back two days because of poor weather in the forecast, only for the company to move up the launch to July 4 based on a reassessment of the weather. The initial phases of the launch appeared to go as planned, although the vehicle’s passage through “max-q,” or maximum dynamic pressure, appeared to be rougher than what was seen in previous launches. Onboard video taken shortly before first-stage separation showed material...

NASA’s top executive concentrating on human spaceflight, Doug Loverro, has resigned just a week before the scheduled start of a milestone space mission. Loverro became NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations last December, and was playing a leading role in NASA’s Artemis moon program as well as preparations for next week’s launch of a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station. That mission, set for liftoff on May 27 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is due to send NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the station for a stay that could last...

The U.S. Air Force's experimental unmanned space plane is about to take off again, this time with a new attachment near its tail to hold more payloads. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett announced Wednesday that the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) will take off May 16 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, for its sixth mission, which will incorporate tasks for U.S. Space Force and NASA, among other agencies. "This important mission will host more experiments than any prior X-37B flight, including two NASA experiments," she told viewers during a conference hosted by the Space Foundation. One NASA experiment...

ORLANDO, Fla., May 1 (UPI) -- The duration of SpaceX's first mission with astronauts on board -- planned to launch at May 27 from Florida -- has been extended from a few days to potentially weeks aboard the International Space Station, NASA said Friday. The mission was lengthened to ensure that the crew -- astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley -- can help maintain and operate the space station, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. "Among the work that will await their arrival is upgrading the space station's power system with new batteries due to arrive in May,"...

The United States has assessed that Iran successfully launched a military satellite into orbit for the first time on Wednesday, two US Defense Department officials said, according to CNN. The move is seen as a significant step because the country's space program utilizes the same technology that would be needed to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile, which would increase Tehran's capability to strike enemy targets. US Space Command is tracking two objects in orbit that were launched from within Iran, one of the officials said, according to CNN. One is a rocket body and the other is assessed to be...

The first flight of NASA astronauts from U.S. soil in nearly nine years finally has a launch date: May 27. The mission will launch astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in a final test flight for NASA. The mission, Demo-2, will mark NASA's first crew launch from American soil since the agency's space shuttle fleet retired in July 2011. Liftoff is set for 4:32 p.m. EDT (2032 GMT) from historic Launch Pad 39A, the same site used for NASA's Apollo and shuttle missions.

SpaceX has launched 60 more mini internet satellites, this time testing a dark coating to appease stargazers. It is a “first step” compromise between SpaceX and astronomers fearful of having dark skies spoiled by hundreds and, eventually, thousands of bright satellites circling overhead. The Falcon 9 rocket blasted into a cold, clear night sky, recycled by SpaceX for its fourth flight. As the first-stage booster flew to a vertical landing on an ocean platform, the Starlink satellites continued hurtling towards orbit to join 120 similar spacecraft launched last year. Flight controllers applauded and the launch commentator described the booster’s fourth...

By Yi Whan-woo, Kim Yoo-chul As nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the United States remain in a stalemate after no "substantial outcome" from their recent encounter in Sweden, the lack of visible progress in the denuclearization dialogue is raising concerns that the North is "buying time" for its military and nuclear advancement. During an Asan Institute for Policy Studies security forum held in Seoul, Tuesday, Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Washington-based RAND Corporation, claimed that despite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's promise to end his nuclear program, Pyongyang has not taken any meaningful measures toward this....

North Korea has test-fired at least one unidentified projectile from a missile base just five days after its first rocket and missile launch since 2017. The projectile was launched from a medium-range ballistic missile base as South Korean, American and Japanese officials meet in Seoul to discuss North Korea amid fears that tensions could escalate again. South Korea's military said the projectile was fired from Sino-ri in an eastwards direction at 4.30pm local time on Thursday.

Original in Japanese: 北朝鮮の飛翔体、弾道ミサイルか　国連制裁違反の可能性 ("North Korean Launch, Could Possibly Be Ballistic Missile, and Possible UN Violation") Two paragraph synopsis from the original Japanese--my translation (breaking): "Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the launch of projectiles yesterday from the east coast of North Korea into the Sea of Japan. Now based on photo analysis of the launch from images provided by official North Korean news sources, South Korean military specialists have analyzed the vehicle, and a viewpoint is emerging the launch yesterday was, in fact, likely a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions against North Korea launching such ballistic missiles." "...

Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital vehicle will launch on its 11th test flight this morning (May 2), and you can watch the spaceflight action live. The reusable rocket-capsule combo is scheduled to lift off from Blue Origin's West Texas testing ground at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT; 8:30 a.m. local Texas time). The uncrewed flight will carry 38 microgravity research payloads to suborbital space and back, company representatives announced via Twitter Wednesday You can watch live here at Space.com, courtesy of Blue Origin, or directly via the company's website. New Shepard is designed to carry paying customers, offering them great...

SpaceX will attempt to pull off the world's first successful triple rocket landing during the company's first commercial Falcon Heavy flight mission today (April 10), and you can watch it all live online. The Falcon Heavy megarocket, the most powerful booster currently in use, is set to launch the Arabsat-6A communications satelliteinto orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida today at 6:35 p.m. EDT (2235 GMT). After liftoff, the huge rocket's two side boosters and central core stage are expected to return to Earth for the triple landing. You can watch the Falcon Heavy launch live here and on...

After years of on-the-ground development and testing, the SpaceX spaceship that’s destined to carry NASA astronauts is going on its first uncrewed test mission to the International Space Station tonight — and you can watch the historic liftoff from multiple angles. When SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule lifts off from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, atop a Falcon 9 rocket, there won’t be any humans aboard. But there will be a crew member of sorts. SpaceX has placed a spacesuit-wearing, sensor-laden mannequin in one of the Dragon’s seats, to gather data about how rigorous the...

Satellite images from the company DigitalGlobe reveal a likely launch of an Iranian satellite between Feb. 5 and 6. Industry experts have suggested the launch failed just after liftoff... A previous Iranian launch failed on Jan. 15, according to a report from AP News. That imaging satellite, called Payam ("message"), failed during operation of the rocket's third stage. This was a newer, larger rocket than that used for the Doosti launch. The U.S. government has criticized Iran's space program for possibly helping the nation develop nuclear weapon capabilities, according to the AP. Iranian officials have classified both failed launches as...

The Falcon 9 rocket launch originally planned for early this week has been rescheduled to Friday, SpaceX announced on Twitter. The launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base is set for 7:31 a.m., according to the tweet. “Weather is 60 percent favorable,” the company said. Read more here: https://www.modbee.com/living/article224126380.html#storylink=cpy

The launch of a Delta IV Heavy rocket that had been postponed twice from Vandenberg Air Force Base last week is now slated for Tuesday, Dec. 18. The launch is scheduled for a window that will open at 5:57 p.m. from VAFB’s Space Launch Complex-6. The rocket, provided by United Launch Alliance, will carry a secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office in a mission dubbed NROL-71.

Tonight, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) is set to launch its most powerful rocket — the Delta IV Heavy — sending up a secret spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from California. The mission will be the 132nd mission for the ULA, and the latest of many launches the company has done for the NRO, a significant customer of the launch provider. NRO keeps the purposes of its missions under wraps. However, the satellite is likely pretty heavy and is perhaps going to a high orbit if it requires the power of the Delta IV Heavy. The rocket...

A test flight in Alaska of a small launch vehicle by a stealthy startup company ended in failure in late November, the Federal Aviation Administration has revealed. In a speech Dec. 6 at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce space conference here discussing the agency's approach to commercial spaceflight safety, FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell mentioned a recent, but previously unreported, accident involving a launch taking place from Alaska one week ago. A launch license the FAA issued to Astra Space Inc. on Oct. 15, also available on the FAA website, authorized the company to perform a suborbital flight of its...

The US military has raised concerns about the mysterious Russian launch They found five orbital bodies leaving the rocket instead of four, as suggested Either rocket's upper stage broke, or Russia had kept part of the launch secret The US military has raised concerns about the mysterious Russian launch after they found five orbital bodies leaving the rocket instead of four, as previously suggested. The US Combined Space Operations Centre (CSpOC) believe that either the rocket's upper stage broke in two, or the Russians had kept part of the launch secret.