Ariane 5 launches the Aeolus satellite. (Credit: Arianespace)
KOUROU, French Guiana (Arianespace PR) — Arianespace marked another mission accomplished for the Earth’s sustainable development as its light-lift Vega vehicle successfully orbited Europe’s Aeolus – the first satellite designed to profile wind profiles on a global scale.
Lifting off from the Spaceport’s Vega Launch Complex at 6:20:09 p.m. local time in French Guiana – the planned precise moment of launch – Vega lofted its passenger during a flight lasting just under 55 minutes, with Aeolus placed into a Sun-synchronous orbit.
Built by Airbus Defence and Space, the satellite carries a laser Doppler wind LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) system called Aladin that will probe the lowermost 30 km. of the atmosphere in measuring winds around the Earth. (more…)
Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9 Payloads: Iridium Next 56-65 communications satellites Launch Time: 7:39:26 a.m. EDT; 4:39:26 a.m. PDT (1139:26 GMT) Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California Webcast: www.spacex.com (Coverage begins 20 minutes before launch)
The timing is perfect for folks on the East Coast and in Europe, but not so much for us out here in California. If I can roll out of bed in time, I’ll try to take some video of the Falcon 9 launch from here in Mojave. No promises.
The launch will be the 13th for the Falcon 9 and the 14th flight overall for Elon Musk’s SpaceX in 2018. The company’s other launch was the successful maiden flight of Falcon Heavy in February.
A successful mission on Wednesday will put the United States in a tie with China with 20 launches apiece this year. The two launches will bring the worldwide total to 61 for the year.
Ariane 5 will be launching for the third time this year. It will also be the fourth launch of 2018 from Kourou.
The first Falcon 9 Block 5 booster heads for the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. (Credit: SpaceX)
After a three-week break, SpaceX is gearing up for a busy stretch of launches with three coming up in an 11-day period on opposite sides of the country.
The launch campaign kicks off with an early Sunday morning launch from Cape Canaveral. Falcon 9 will carry Telesat’s Telstar 19 VANTAGE communications satellite, which will provide service to China, India, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
KOUROU, French Guiana – 9 July 2018 (ESA PR) — This week, the largest solid rocket motor ever built in one piece will be test fired at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana for the first time.
This important milestone validates the booster for use on Vega-C next year and on Ariane 6 from 2020.
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket carrying the NROL-47 mission lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base. (Credit: ULA)
by Douglas Messier Managing Editor
The world’s launch providers were extremely busy in the first half of 2018, with China and the United States battling for the lead.
There with 55 orbital launches through the end of June, which amounted to a launch every 3.29 days or 79 hours. The total is more than half the 90 launches attempted in 2017. With approximately 42 missions scheduled for the last six months of the year, the total could reach 97. (more…)
KOUROU, French Guiana (ESA PR) — An Ariane 5, operated by Arianespace, has delivered the DSN-1/Superbird-8 and Hylas-4 telecom satellites into their planned orbits.
Liftoff was announced at 21:34 GMT (23:34 CEST, 18:34 local time) yesterday from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The mission lasted about 33 minutes.
DSN-1/Superbird-8, with a launch mass of 5348 kg, was moved into position for release after about 25 minutes. The 4050 kg Hylas-4 was released 33 minutes after liftoff.
DSN-1/Superbird-8, operated by Sky Perfect JSAT, will provide communications services for Japan. The satellite has a design life of more than 15 years.
Hylas-4, owned and operated by Avanti, provides broadband and connectivity services to Africa and Europe. The satellite has a design life of 15 years.
The performance requested for this launch was about 10 260 kg. The satellites totalled about 9398 kg, with payload adapters and support structures making up the rest.
Spaceport Earth: The Reinvention of Spaceflight by Joe Pappalardo The Overlook Press 240 pages 2018
by Douglas Messier Managing Editor
Most travel books promote exciting locales such as Paris, Machu Pichu or Bali that people actually want to visit to relax and escape the pressures of life in the 21st century.
Joe Pappalardo had a different idea for his travelogue. The contributing editor for Popular Mechanics decided to visit various spaceports and rocket test sites to gauge how commercial space is transforming the industry.
Pappalardo’s travels take him from the sandy beaches of Florida and Virginia to the desolate deserts of the American Southwest and steaming jungles of French Guiana. Along the way, we meet everyone from Elon Musk to the crew at Masten Space Systems and the local gentry in the various towns adjoining these facilities.
Soyuz rocket takes off from French Guiana on March 9, 2018. (Credit: Arianespace)
It was a successful week for launches around the world.
On Tuesday, SpaceX conducted its 50th launch of the Falcon 9 rocket. The booster orbited the 30W-6 communications satellite for Hispsat of Spain from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida. At 6 metric tons, it was the heaviest geosynchronous satellite ever launched by SpaceX.
On Friday, a Soyuz booster roared off the pad in French Guiana to deliver four O3b F4 communications satellites for SES. It was the third successful launch of Russia’s workhorse Soyuz rocket this year.
Atlas V booster launches the GOES-S weather satellite. (Credit: ULA)
Below is the current launch schedule for March. In total, there are 8 launches planned for the month with 16 communications satellites, one meteorological satellite, and one crew mission to the International Space Station. The launches include:
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen as it launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex 4 East with the Jason-3 spacecraft onboard, , Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California has been delayed until Wednesday, Feb. 21. The launch had been previously scheduled for Feb. 16 and Feb. 18.
The primary payload is the Paz satellite for Hisdesat of Spain. The spacecraft will provide radar imaging as well as ship tracking and weather data. The flight will use a previously-flown first stage.
Elon Musk’s company will also launch two of its own satellites, Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b, that will demonstration technologies needed to provide global broadband services. The company plans to orbit 12,000 in two separate constellations for its Starlink broadband service.
Here is the launch schedule for the next two weeks. Check for updates here.
Feb. 21
Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9 Payload: Paz Launch Time: 9:17 a.m. EST; 6:17 a.m. PST (1417 GMT) Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Built by Airbus Defense and Space, Hisdesat’s Paz satellite will provide radar imaging as well as ship tracking and weather data. The flight will use a previously-flown first stage.
Feb. 24/25
Launch Vehicle: H-2A Payload: IGS Optical 6 Launch Window: 11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. EST on Feb. 24 (0400-0600 GMT on Feb. 25) Launch site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
The Japanese government’s Information Gathering Satellite carries an optical reconnaissance payload.
A Chinese Long March 3B booster successfully orbited two Beidou navigational satellites on Monday. The flight, which took off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, was the seventh orbital launch by China in 2018, leading all nations thus far.
SpaceX also conducted a static fire of a Falcon 9 booster on Monday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket is set to launch Hisdesat’s Paz satellite on Saturday using a previously-flown first stage. The launch will be followed by another flight five days later from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Here is the launch schedule for the weeks ahead. Check for updates here.
Feb. 17
Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9 Payload: Paz Launch Time: 9:22 a.m. EST; 6:22 a.m. PST (1422 GMT) Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Built by Airbus Defense and Space, Hisdesat’s Paz satellite will provide radar imaging as well as ship tracking and weather data. The flight will use a previously-flown first stage.
The Hispasat 30W-6 satellite, built by Space Systems/Loral, will provide communications services over Europe, North Africa and the Americas.
Feb. 24/25
Launch Vehicle: H-2A Payload: IGS Optical 6 Launch Window: 11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. EST on Feb. 24 (0400-0600 GMT on Feb. 25) Launch site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
The Japanese government’s Information Gathering Satellite carries an optical reconnaissance payload.
March 1
Launch Vehicle: Atlas 5 Payload: GOES-S Launch Time: 5:02-7:02 p.m. EST (2202-0002 GMT) Launch Site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
The United Launch Alliance rocket will launch the second next-generation geostationary weather satellite for NASA and NOAA.
March 6
Launch Vehicle: Soyuz Payload: O3b F4 Launch Time: 11:38:36 a.m. EST (1638:36 GMT) Launch Site: French Guiana
The four O3b Networks will provide broadband services to developing countries.
Falcon 9 carries the Dragon cargo ship into orbit. (Credit: NASA TV)
by Douglas Messier Managing Editor
SpaceX had a banner year in 2017, launching a record 18 times and helping to propel the United States to the top of the global launch table with a perfect 29-0 record. The U.S. total made up 32.2 percent of 90 orbital launches worldwide, which was an increase over the 85 flights conducted in 2016.
The 29 American launches were a leap of seven over the 22 flights conducted the previous year. This is the highest number of American orbital launches since the 31 flights undertaken in 1999. However, that year the nation’s launch providers suffered four failures whereas they were perfect in 2017.
The Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
We’ve got a busy launch week coming up with a new three-man crew headed for the International Space Station (ISS), SpaceX launching a Dragon resupply mission to the station, and Rocket Lab attempting the second flight test of its Electron small-satellite launcher. Europe and China are also launching satellites this week.
December 10
Launch Vehicle: Long March 3B Payload: Alcomsat 1 communications satellite (Algeria) Launch Time: Approx. 1635 GMT (11:35 a.m. EST) Launch Site: Xichang, China
December 10/11
Launch Vehicle: Electron Payloads: 3 Planet and Spire CubeSats Launch Window: 0130-0530 GMT on 11th (8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. EST on 10/11th) Launch Site: Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand Webcast:http://www.rocketlabusa.com
December 12
Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9 Payload: Dragon (CRS 13 mission) Launch Time: 1646 GMT (11:46 a.m. EST) Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida Webcast:http://www.spacex.com and http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv/
Flight VS13 was the 13th Soyuz liftoff performed from French Guiana since this vehicle’s 2011 introduction at the Spaceport. (Credit: Arianespace)
The protests that have largely shut down French Guiana show no sign of diminishing as locals and government officials in France remain far apart.
The movement behind more than two weeks of social unrest in French Guiana has called for a complete shutdown of the overseas territory from Monday, after a police officer was injured.
Activists are protesting decades of under-investment in the French territory in South America, paralysed by a general strike that 37 unions called on March 25.
Locals last week rejected an offer from Paris to inject a billion dollars of aid to the territory, home to 250,000 people, instead demanding $2.5 billion (Dh9 billion) immediately.
The protests also led to the indefinite postponement of an Arianespace rocket launch at Europe’s Guiana Space Centre in Kourou.
A Collective to Get Guiana Moving, spearheading protests to improve economic development and job creation programmes, on Saturday called for a complete blockade from Monday of the territory, which relies on huge injections of public funds.
