Payload Launch
Orbital Payload Launch
Rocket Lab launches NASA solar sail test, South Korean observation satellite
Rocket Lab launched two satellites on April 24. One is an Earth observation satellites for a Korea university and the other is a solar sail technology demonstration.
Second Starship test flies higher before failure
With 33 Raptor engines belching flame, SpaceX’s Starship demonstrated the full power of its main booster, reaching an altitude of 91 miles before the second uncrewed attempt to launch the massive rocket from Boca Chica, Texas, ended when the second stage apparently failed.
India P.M. calls safe landing of lunar probe ‘Dawn of a New Era’
Space workers in India celebrated the landing of their Chandrayaan-3 probe, making it the fourth nation to safely land a spacecraft on the Moon, and had their efforts lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “India is on the Moon,” Modi boomed in a broadcast to India’s 1.4 billion residents.
ESA Sending Heroic, Fictional Sheep Aboard Artemis I
NASA says its Artemis I flight set to launch as soon as late August will be an uncrewed lunar fly-by. The Paris-based European Space Agency would beg to differ. Shaun is leaving the happy confines of Mossy Bottom Farm to lead the flight around the Moon, an agency press release announced.
2017 – U.S. Payload Launch – Snapshot
The U.S. share of global orbital launch activities continued to grow, from 26% in 2016 to 33% in 2017. In 2017, the nation’s launch service providers. . .
2017 – Iran launches Simorgh – Snapshot
In 2017, Iran was the only other nation to attempt an orbital launch. Iran conducted a single test launch of . . .
2017 – Europe Payload Launch – Snapshot
European launch activities in 2017 accounted for 11 SLV launch attempts, the same rate as the previous two years. Although launch numbers remained the same . . .
2017 – Russia Payload Launch – Snapshot
In 2017, Russia conducted 21% of global orbital launch attempts, a negligible increase from 20% in 2016. While its share of launch activities remained almost static, the country’s . . .
2017 – China Payload Launch – Snapshot
China’s share of global orbital launch activity fell from its 2016 high of 26% to 20% for 2017. The nation’s 18 launch attempts moved it down in global launch activity ranking from . . .
2017 – India Payload Launch – Snapshot
India’s global orbital launch activity share and launch rate both declined in 2017. The number of launch attempts by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) fell to . . .