Atlas V to Add Second Next-Generation Satellite to U.S. GOES Weather Constellation

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rolled to its Cape Canaveral launch pad on Wednesday in preparation for liftoff Thursday afternoon with the second in the next-generation of U.S. Geostationary Weather Satellites to complete the operational constellation with two sharply-eyed weather assets watching over the Western Hemisphere from their high-altitude perch.

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Soyuz Parachutes to Safe Landing on Snow-Covered Kazakh Steppe with U.S.-Russian Crew Trio

A veteran Cosmonaut and two NASA Astronauts parachuted into the sunrise on Wednesday aboard their Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft after a half-year mission to the International Space Station, touching down on the snow-covered steppe of Kazakhstan after circling the Earth 2,688 times and covering 114.5 million Kilometers.

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Japan’s H-IIA Rocket Sends IGS Optical 6 Reconnaissance Satellite into Orbit

Blasting into clear skies over the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan’s H-IIA rocket embarked on a clandestine mission on Tuesday to launch the country’s next sharply-eyed optical reconnaissance satellite flying under the Information Gathering Satellite Program.

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ISS Crew Members from U.S. & Russia Set for Post-Sunrise Soyuz Landing in Kazakhstan

Two NASA Astronauts and a veteran Russian Cosmonaut are on the verge of their return to Earth after a 168-day stay on the International Space Station, set for a parachute-and-rocket-assisted touchdown on the frozen steppe of Kazakhstan just after sun-up on Wednesday aboard their Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft.

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Trace Gas Orbiter Concludes Aerobraking ahead of Final Orbit Trimming, Science Operations

ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter circling Mars since October 2016 this week finished a delicate aero-braking campaign of nearly one year that moved the spacecraft from a highly elliptical orbit into a nearly circular Low Mars Orbit in preparation for a final set of trimming maneuvers and the start of a highly anticipated science mission.

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Falcon 9 Launches PAZ Radar Satellite & SpaceX Starlink Prototypes, Debuts Fairing 2.0

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket provided a spectacular show to morning commuters across Southern California on Thursday after taking off from Vandenberg Air Force Base with Spain’s PAZ radar satellite and a pair of SpaceX prototype broadband satellites.

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Photos: Pre-Sunrise Launch of Recycled Falcon 9 Rocket with PAZ & MicroSats

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg’s SLC-4E at 14:17 UTC on February 22, 2018 with the Spanish PAZ Radar Observation Satellite and a pair of SpaceX prototype satellites for the company’s Starlink broadband constellation

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U.S.-Japanese Spacewalking Duo Aces Final ISS Robotics Rejuvenation EVA + Get-Ahead Tasks

A veteran NASA spacewalker and an EVA rookie from Japan ended their week with nearly six hours of work outside the International Space Station on Friday to finish the restoration of the Station’s Mobile Servicing System that started last year and continued in January to provide Canadarm2 with a new pair of grappling hands.

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Photos: Soyuz Rockets Skyward in the Dead of Winter with Progress Cargo Spacecraft

After a two-day delay, Russia’s Soyuz 2-1A rocket lifted off from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8:13:33 UTC on February 13, 2018 on a nine-minute climb into orbit with the Progress MS-08 cargo spacecraft headed to the International Space Station.

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