Launches

The L-1011 Stargazer aircraft taking off with the ICON satellite (Photo NASA/Frank Michaux)

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A few hours ago the ICON (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph) satellite was launched using a Pegasus XL rocket by Northrop Grumman brought to an altitude of about 11,900 meters by an L-1011 airplane, also by Northrop Grumman, modified for this purpose. After a little more than 11 minutes, ICON was brought into a low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 575 kilometers, where the solar panels regularly deployed and sent the first signals.

The HTV-8 cargo spacecraft blasting off atop a H-IIB rocket (Image JAXA / NASA TV)

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A little while ago the HTV-8 spacecraft blasted off atop a H-IIB rocket from the Tanegashima space center in Japan for a resupply mission to the International Space Station. About fifteen minutes after the launch, the cargo spacecraft separated regularly from the rocket’s last stage, entered its preliminary orbit and deployed its solar panels and navigation antennas.

The Progress MS-12 cargo spacecraft approaching the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)

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A few hours ago the Progress MS-12 spacecraft blasted off atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After about nine minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and was placed on its ultra-fast track in its resupply mission to the International Space Station also called Progress 73 or 73P. After almost 3.5 hours it reached the International Space Station docking with its Pirs module.