Launches

Blogs about launches of satellites, space probes, manned spacecraft.

The Space Launch System lifts off with the Orion Integrity spacecraft (NASA Photo/Bill Ingalls)

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It was afternoon in the USA when NASA’s Orion spacecraft separated from the last stage, called the ICPS (Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage), of the Space Launch System (SLS), which blasted off almost two hours earlier from the Kennedy Space Center. The Orion entered the trajectory that will take it around the Moon to carry out its mission, which will last about 10 days. This is the second launch for the SLS and for the Orion in its full configuration. The Artemis II mission is important because it’s the first of this program to have a crew aboard.

The Crew-12 mission crew: Andrey Fedyaev, Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir, and Sophie Adenot.

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A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in its Crew-12 or SpaceX Crew-12 mission. After almost exactly ten minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and went en route to carry out its mission. This is the 12th crewed mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft within the normal rotation of the International Space Station crew.

The Menghzou spacecraft splashes down (Photo courtesy of Wang Heng/Xinhua)

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Yesterday, the Chinese Menghzou spacecraft, launched on the Long March 10 rocket’s first stage from the Wenchang launch site, completed a suborbital flight test. The rocket conducted its own test, lasting nearly 8 minutes, with a controlled splashdown, as part of the development of a reusable launch system. At the end of the test, the Menghzou splashed down as well, but in its case, it was also recovered, as the capsule is designed to carry taikonauts and is also reusable. These were important tests because their success represents a step forward toward Chinese crewed Moon missions.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifting off on the Twilight rideshare mission (Image courtesy SpaceX)

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A few hours ago, a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the Twilight rideshare mission, carrying a total of 40 satellites in various phases. About two hours and twenty minutes after launch, the final group of satellites was deployed by SpaceX’s system. Among them were NASA’s Pandora Space Telescope and the BlackCAT and SPARCS nanosatellites, both 30x20x10-centimeter CubeSat-class satellites, part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative. These satellites will conduct their astronomical observations from low-Earth orbit.

The Zhuque-3 Y1 rocket blasting off (Photo courtesy LandSpace)

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A few hours ago, the Chinese Zhuque-3 Y1 rocket blasted off from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone, carrying a mass simulator consisting of a prototype of the Haolong cargo spacecraft, currently under development. The second stage successfully reached orbit with payload separation, achieving a successful primary mission upon its debut. LandSpace, the company that developed the rocket, aimed to land the first stage, but this failed due to an anomaly during the reenter maneuvers.