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Atlas V Pierces into Vandenberg Fog on first West Coast Interplanetary Mission
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket (AV-078) launched from Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, at 11:05 UTC on May 5, 2018 with NASA’s InSight Mars Lander and two MarCO CubeSats
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Chinese Long March 3B Launches APStar-6C Communications Satellite
China was back in action on Thursday, conducting a rare commercial launch of a Long March 3B rocket with the APStar-6C communications satellite for APT Satellite Holdings
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Re-Entry: RXTE
The Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE or XTE) spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere on April 30, 2018 after over 22 years in orbit
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Blue Origin’s New Shepard Reaches new Heights in latest Test Flight
Blue Origin returned to its West Texas testing grounds on Sunday for the eighth flight of its reusable New Shepard launch system – reaching new heights in a test designed to expand the vehicle’s operational envelope
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Re-Entry: Long March 11 Rocket Body
The upper stage of a Long March 11 rocket re-entered the atmosphere on April 29, 2018 after only three days in orbit.
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Re-Entry: Iridium 13
Iridium 13 re-entered the atmosphere on April 29, 2018 after over 20 years in orbit as part of the original Iridium Communications Constellation
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Re-Entry: Briz-M Auxiliary Propellant Tank
A Briz-M propellant tank re-entered the atmosphere on April 29, 2018 after three and a half years in orbit, making a slow decay from an elliptical orbit where it arrived as part of a mission to Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
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Re-Entry: STARE B
The STARE B (Horus) satellite, launched on a Minotaur rocket as part of the ORS-3 cluster mission, re-entered on April 26, 2018 after four and a half years in orbit.
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Russia gives up on Silent AngoSat-1, Promises Replacement Satellite to Angola
The Russian-built AngoSat-1 communications satellite has been officially declared lost this week after repeated attempts to revive the crippled spacecraft had been in vain.
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Chinese Long March 11 Launches Five Video & Hyperspectral Satellites for Zhuhai Constellation
A Chinese, all-solid-fueled Long March 11 rocket packed with five Earth-imaging satellites lifted off from the country’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 4:42 UTC on Thursday
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Sentinel-3B Land & Ocean-Sensing Satellite Delivered to Orbit by Russian Rockot Booster
Europe’s Copernicus Earth Observation Constellation welcomed its seventh member on Wednesday after the Sentinel-3B ocean- and land-sensing satellite received a smooth ride to orbit atop a Russian ballistic-missile-turned-space-launcher.
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Photos: Converted Ballistic Missile Launches from Russia with Sentinel-3B Observation Satellite
A Rockot/Briz-KM launch vehicle lifted off from Site 133/3 at Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome on April 25, 2018 at 17:57:52 UTC with the Sentinel-3B satellite set to join Europe’s Copernicus Constellation as its seventh member.
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Video: Russian Rockot Booster Blasts Off with Sentinel-3B
A Rockot/Briz-KM launch vehicle lifted off from Site 133/3 at Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome on April 25, 2018 at 17:57:52 UTC with the Sentinel-3B satellite set to join Europe’s Copernicus Constellation as its seventh member.
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Sentinel-3B Satellite to Join Copernicus Constellation via Launch on Rockot Booster
Europe’s Copernicus satellite fleet is gearing up for the arrival of its next addition on Wednesday with a Russian Rockot booster set to blast off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 17:57 UTC with the Sentinel-3B multi-function satellite.
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Re-Entry: EXOS B
The Japanese EXOS-B (Jikiken) satellite re-entered the atmosphere on April 22, 2018 after nearly four decades in orbit following liftoff in September 1978 atop an Mu-3H launch vehicle.
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Falcon 9 Lifts TESS Exoplanet Hunter to Survey Earth’s Cosmic Neighborhood for Habitable Worlds
NASA’s search for Earth-like planets around other stars took one major step forward Wednesday night when the agency’s TESS exoplanet hunter received a smooth ride into a high-energy transfer orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9
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