News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket upper stage is poised to slam into the moon one month from today (Feb. 4). In February 2015, the Falcon 9 launched the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), a joint mission between the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. The rocket carried DSCOVR toward the Earth-sun Lagrange … Read more
SpaceX just added another 49 satellites to its growing Starlink internet megaconstellation. A Falcon 9 rocket launched 49 new Starlink satellites to orbit today (Feb. 3), lifting off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on the east coast of Florida at 1:13 p.m. EST (1813 GMT). About nine minutes after launch, the Falcon 9 rocket’s … Read more
SpaceX sent a U.S. spy satellite to orbit today (Feb. 2) in the second of three planned launches over a four-day stretch. A two-stage Falcon 9 rocket topped with the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) NROL-87 payload lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California today at 3:27 p.m. EST (2027 GMT; 12:27 p.m. local … Read more
NASA’s first Artemis moon mission will have to wait to launch. The rollout for the agency’s Artemis 1 mission, the first flight of its Artemis program that will ultimately return humans to the moon, has been pushed back. NASA announced Wednesday (Feb. 2) that the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket and Orion capsule won’t … Read more
SpaceX’s launch of an Italian Earth-observation satellite was worth the wait. SpaceX originally aimed to launch the Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation FM2 (CSG-2) satellite on Thursday (Jan. 27), but bad weather forced scrubs on three consecutive days. Mother Nature cooperated on Sunday (Jan. 30) but a rogue cruise liner didn’t, straying into the “no-go zone” downrange … Read more
A new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a classified spy satellite for the United States today (Feb. 2) and you’ll be able to watch it all live online. The Falcon 9 rocket will launch the secret NROL-87 payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from Space Launch Complex 4E at California’s Vandenberg Space Force … Read more
SpaceX appears to be targeting Wednesday (Feb. 2) to fly its next batch of Starlink satellites, setting up what could be a coast-to-coast launch doubleheader for the private spaceflight company. According to a forecast from the U.S. Space Force’s Delta 45 weather squadron, SpaceX’s next Starlink mission (called Starlink 4-7) is now expected to launch … Read more
A Long March 8 rocket has arrived at the coastal Wenchang spaceport for the second mission of what is planned to be China’s first reusable launch vehicle. The Long March 8 will launch in late February or early March and will be carrying 22 satellites for Chinese commercial space companies, including optical and radar Earth … Read more
SpaceX delayed two back-to-back rocket launches from Florida on Saturday (Jan. 29) due to bad weather that has already pushed back the missions in recent days. The private spaceflight company hoped to launch an Earth-observation satellite for Italy Saturday evening from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:11 p.m. EST (2311 GMT), but unacceptable … Read more
Mother Nature has foiled a planned SpaceX launch for the second day in a row. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was originally supposed to launch the Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation FM2 (CSG-2) satellite from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday evening (Jan. 27), but thick clouds and strong winds forced a 24-hour delay. That … Read more