Tag: Spaceflight
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SpaceX launches 59 payloads, including Spaceflight’s latest breed of orbital tug
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises from its Florida launch pad. (SpaceX via YouTube) A new type of controllable orbital transfer vehicle built by Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. made its debut today when SpaceX sent dozens of satellites into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX’s Transporter-5 mission, which is part of the company’s rideshare program, lifted…
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Spaceflight Inc. hails a pair of successful launches as it deals with frictions in SpaceX relationship
Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle lifts off into the skies over New Zealand, sending two BlackSky satellites into orbit. Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. played a supporting role in the mission. (Joseph Baxter Photo via Rocket Lab) Thanks to its role in handling pre-launch logistics, Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. can claim a share of the credit for two…
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Seattle’s Space Needle makes its debut on Rocket Lab mission patch, thanks to Spaceflight Inc.
The rocket nose cone for Rocket Lab’s mission to launch two BlackSky satellites is emblazoned with a mission patch that features Seattle’s Space Needle on the right side. (Rocket Lab via Twitter) What could be more fitting than to put Seattle’s Space Needle on the patch for an actual space mission? Even though this particular…
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Astra rocket launches satellites from Alaska, giving a lift to Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc.
Astra’s LV0009 launch vehicle rises from its Alaska launch pad. (Astra Photo / Brady Kenniston) California-based Astra sent a batch of satellites into orbit for Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. from an Alaska launch pad today, a just a little more than a month after Astra’s launch failure in Florida. Astra’s LV0009 launch vehicle lifted off from…
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Astra successfully returns to flight with mission for Spaceflight Inc.
Rocket 3.3, the first Astra rocket to successfully launch to orbit, has successfully returned to flight in what was a closely watched mission just over one month after ELaNa-41 failed during fairing and stage separation. The launch took place on Tuesday, March 15 at 9:22am PDT / 16:22 UTC. This mission for Spaceflight Inc., designated Astra-1,…
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NASA puts Blue Origin and Spaceflight on a new list for commercial launch contracts
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on its launch pad. (Blue Origin Illustration) NASA has chosen a dozen companies to provide commercial launch services for relatively small-scale space missions over the next five years, including two ventures with Washington state connections. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture and Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. will…
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Orbite’s plans for space training complex get a boost from famed French designer Philippe Starck
Orbite customers and instructors take a zero-G airplane flight during spaceflight training. (Orbite Photo) The French designer who created the look for Virgin Galactic, Spaceport America and Axiom Space’s orbital habitat has taken on yet another space-centric project: the space training complex planned by a Seattle-based venture called Orbite. Orbite says Philippe Starck will design…
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Rocket Lab launches two more Earth observation satellites for BlackSky — and tracks a falling rocket
Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle rises from its New Zealand launch pad. (Rocket Lab via YouTube) BlackSky’s Earth-watching constellation has grown by two satellites, thanks to Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle and Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc.’s logistical help. Rocket Lab’s previous BlackSky launch ended in failure back in May, but the launch team traced the problem…
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RBC Signals strikes deal to hook up ground stations with Spaceflight Inc.’s orbital tugs
Artwork shows the Sherpa-LTE1 orbital tug firing up its propulsion system. (Spaceflight Inc. Illustration) Two Seattle-area space companies have forged an alliance to facilitate space-to-ground communications for orbital transfer vehicles. Under the terms of a ground station service agreement, Redmond, Wash.-based RBC Signals will support ground-based communications for multiple missions involving Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc.’s Sherpa…
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Spaceflight Inc announces rideshare mission to the moon and geostationary orbit
Spaceflight Inc has announced “GEO Pathfinder,” a rideshare mission to geostationary orbit that will use a lunar flyby. The mission will use a Sherpa EScape (Sherpa-ES) transfer vehicle, launched as a secondary payload with Intuitive Machines‘ IM-2 mission to the moon. The flight is scheduled for no earlier than Q4 2022 aboard a SpaceX Falcon…