Launches

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

The Dragon 2 spacecraft blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocke to start its CRS-35 mission (Image NASA+)

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A little while ago, the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in its CRS-35 (Cargo Resupply Service 35) mission, also referred to as SPX-35. After almost 12 minutes, it separated successfully from the rocket’s last stage and went en route. This is the 35th mission for the Dragon/Dragon 2 spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station with various cargoes and then return to Earth, again with various cargoes.

The Crew Dragon Grace spacecraft lifts off atop a Falcon 9 rocket to begin the Crew-13 mission (NASA+ image).

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A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Grace spacecraft docked with the Harmony module of the International Space Station, completing the first part of its Crew-13 or SpaceX Crew-13 mission that began with its launch about 8 hours earlier. After checking that the pressure is properly balanced, the hatch will be opened to allow Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk, and Sergey Teteryatnikov to enter the Station and start their mission.

SuperHeavy 21 and Starship 41 at liftoff (Image courtesy SpaceX)

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It was the morning in the USA when SpaceX conducted a new flight test of its Super Heavy rocket and Starship prototypes, launched from its base in Boca Chica, Texas. This is the 14th test involving the entire system of Elon Musk’s company, which is supposed to revolutionize space travel with an unprecedented transport capacity and be totally reusable. They are prototypes advanced enough to conduct an orbital mission and the deployment of real Starlink V3 satellites. In this flight, the Super Heavy was identified as Booster 21 and the Starship was identified as Starship 40 or Ship41 or simply S41.

The Sentinel-3C and FLEX satellites lift off atop a Vega-C rocket (Photo: ESA–S. Corvaja. ESA Standard Licence)

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A few hours ago, the Sentinel-3C, part of the GMES/Copernicus program, and the FLEX satellites were launched from the space center in French Guiana atop a Vega-C rocket. After approximately an hour, Sentinel-3C separated from the rocket’s final stage, the adapter known as Vespa. About 57 minutes later, FLEX also separated from Vespa. Their final orbit is sun-synchronous, meaning they will pass over a specific area of ​​Earth at the same local time, at an altitude of approximately 815 kilometers.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope blasting off atop a Falcon Heavy rocket (Image NASA+)

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A little while ago, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center. After just over 31 minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and set course for the area known as L2 (Lagrange Point 2), where its scientific mission will begin.

Originally known as the Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST) and later named after astronomer Nancy Grace Roman, this space telescope had a complicated and unusual history. Various infrared astronomy projects seemed impossible to approve due to a lack of funding, but in 2012, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) donated two unused spy satellites to NASA, each equipped with a mirror the size of Hubble’s, which has a diameter of 2.4 meters. This allowed this project to get started.