Launches
The Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft blasted off for its Orb-7 mission for NASA
A little while ago Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft blasted off atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral. After about 21 minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage went en route to its destination. This is its seventh official mission, called Orbital-7 or simply Orb-7 but also CRS OA-7, to transport supplies to the International Space Station for NASA.
A success for the first launch of a reused rocket by SpaceX
A few hours ago the SES-10 satellite was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral. The innovation compared to regular launches of this type is that the rocket’s first stage was already used in a previous mission. It’s the first time that this happens in an actual mission.
The Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage did its job and after the second stage successfully separated it landed for the second time on the “Of course I still love you” dron ship. It will be brought back to the mainland and subjected to a new series of checks and tests to understand how it endured its second mission.
The Earth observation Sentinel-2B satellite has been successfully launched
A few hours ago, the Sentinel-2B satellite of the Copernicus / GMES program, blasted off from the Kourou base, French Guiana, on a Vega rocket. Shortly after, the spacecraft regularly separated from the rocket’s last stage and started sending signals. A few hours later it started deploying its solar panels.
A success for the launch of the Russian cargo spaceship Progress MS-5 to the International Space Station
A few hours ago the Progress MS-5 spacecraft blasted off atop a Soyuz U rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After about nine minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and was placed on it route. The cargo spacecraft began its resupply mission to the International Space Station also called Progress 66.
