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India prepares to return troubled rocket to flight
Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/07/30 06:00 CDT | 13 comments
India is preparing for the return-to-flight of their Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, which has suffered back-to-back failures.
Pretty picture: An Atlas launch and a very surprised bird
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/19 12:30 CDT
If you take hundreds of photos of every single spacecraft launch you can get to, you will eventually get lucky shots like this one. It was taken by Ben Cooper at today's launch of the U.S. Navy satellite MUOS-2 and features a very surprised turkey vulture in a striking pose in front of the American flag.
J-2X: A Distant Dot Lights Up the Night
Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/07/18 09:51 CDT | 3 comments
On Tuesday, NASA released new high-definition video of a June 26 nighttime J-2X engine test at Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi.
In-flight entertainment: cameras aboard the Space Launch System
Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/07/09 06:04 CDT | 1 comments
When the Space Launch System lifts off on its inaugural flight in 2017, eight engineering cameras will collect crucial in-flight data while providing breathtaking views for the public.
Russian rocket crashes in spectacular explosion
Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/07/02 07:11 CDT | 2 comments
A Russian Proton-M rocket veered off course and crashed in a nearby field shortly after liftoff from Baikonur, Kazahkstan.
Ten years since Spirit's launch
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/06/10 04:10 CDT | 1 comments
Ten years ago, Spirit launched on a Delta II rocket toward Mars, and I was there to see it.
Antares sails test payload into orbit
Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/04/22 11:12 CDT | 3 comments
Orbital Sciences Corporation completed a major milestone for NASA's COTS program as their Antares rocket sent a test payload into orbit.
Antares ready for inaugural flight
Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/04/11 09:48 CDT | 5 comments
Orbital Sciences Corporation is ready to send their Antares rocket system on its inaugural flight.
SpaceX's Grasshopper makes leap toward reusability
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/12/26 01:18 CST | 14 comments
SpaceX's Grasshopper rocket passed its most ambitious test flight yet, rising 12 stories before hovering and settling gently back down onto its landing pad.
North Korea launches first satellite
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/12/12 05:04 CST
North Korea successfully launched their first satellite from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station at 9:49 a.m. local time Wednesday.
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2012/11/26 04:44 CST
MSL Curiosity left the Earth one year ago today. This is my experience of the launch.
Examining India's new RISAT 1 Earth observation satellite
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/05/02 12:03 CDT | 1 comments
Last week, India launched RISAT 1, a new Earth-observing satellite. How does its synthetic aperture radar compare to that of Envisat, which has fallen silent?
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/04/11 12:29 CDT
A classified U.S. military satellite recently launched into an orbital inclination of 123 degrees. What makes this trajectory so unique? Pondering the answer affords the opportunity to learn some deceptively tricky concepts about the nature of all spacecraft orbits.
Curiosity is on its way to Mars!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/11/26 09:09 CST
It was a textbook launch for the Atlas V 541 today at 15:02 UTC, and within an hour after liftoff, the Centaur second stage had sent Curiosity on its way for an 8.5-month journey to Mars.
SLS updates: tower crawl, engine burn and flight test
Posted by Jason Davis on 2011/11/21 02:22 CST | 1 comments
A few updates on the Space Launch System, NASA's next-generation deep exploration vehicle.
From the "Just Plain Cool" department: Time-lapse photo of GRAIL's Delta 2 tower rollback
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/09/08 01:01 CDT
The terrific launch photographer Ben Cooper is at the Cape waiting for GRAIL's Delta 2 rocket to take off, and last night he took this very cool photo.
GRAIL twins together on their rocket
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/08/18 07:35 CDT
GRAIL twins together on their rocket
ESA mission analyst suggests 2010 AL30 might be Venus Express rocket
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2010/01/13 10:30 CST
2010 AL30 zipped past us harmlessly about five hours ago. Because of its one-year orbital period, many people speculated it might be a manmade object, but 2010 AL30 might, in fact, be artificial.
Watching Spirit Launch to Mars
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2003/06/10 09:27 CDT
Spirit has successfully launched to Mars, and I was there with members of the science team to witness it.
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