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Launch

366 'Launch' stories March 2020 - May 2020
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List of launch sites by country

United States of America

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Active and Planned
  • SLC-11
    • Atlas (Historically)
    • New Glenn (Combined with SLC-12 and SLC-36)
  • SLC-12
    • Atlas (Historically)
    • Atlas-Able (Historically)
    • Atlas-Agena (Historically)
    • New Glenn (Combined with SLC-11 and SLC-36)
  • SLC-13
    • Atlas (Historically)
    • Atlas-Agena (Historically)
    • SpaceX LZ-1
    • SpaceX LZ-2
    • Daytona I (Planned)
    • Dauntless (Planned)
  • SLC-14
    • Atlas (Historically)
    • Mercury-Atlas (Historically)
    • Atlas-Agena (Historically)
    • Nova (Planned)
  • SLC-16
    • Titan I (Historically)
    • Titan II (Historically)
    • Pershing 1a (Historically)
    • Pershing II (Historically)
    • Terran 1 (Historically)
    • Terran R (Planned)
  • SLC-20
    • Titan I (Historically)
    • Titan III (Historically)
    • Alpha (Planned)
    • Medium Launch Vehicle (Planned)
  • LC-36
    • Demolished Sites
      • SLC-36A
        • Atlas-Centaur (Historically)
        • Atlas II (Historically)
      • SLC-36B
        • Atlas-Centaur (Historically)
        • Atlas I (Historically)
        • Atlas II (Historically)
        • Atlas III (Historically)
    • Combined Site
      • New Glenn (Combined with SLC-11 and 12)
  • SLC-40
    • Titan III (Historically)
    • Titan IV (Historically)
    • Falcon 9
  • SLC-41
    • Titan III (Historically)
    • Titan IV (Historically)
    • Atlas V
    • Vulcan
  • SLC-46
    • Trident II (Historically)
    • Athena I (Historically)
    • Athena II (Historically)
    • Minotaur IV (Historically)
    • Rocket 3 (Historically)
    • Future Astra Rocket (Planned)
Inactive
  • SLC-1
    • Snark (Historically)
    • Matador (Historically)
    • Aerosat (Historically)
  • SLC-2
    • Snark (Historically)
    • Matador (Historically)
    • Aerosat (Historically)
  • SLC-3
    • Bumper-WAC (Historically)
    • BOMARC (Historically)
    • Polaris (Historically)
    • X-17 (Historically)
  • SLC-4
    • SLC-4A (Second pad)
      • BOMARC (Historically)
    • BOMARC (Historically)
    • Redstone (Historically)
    • Matador (Historically)
    • Jason (Historically)
    • Draco (Historically)
  • SLC-5
    • Jupiter-C (Historically)
    • Mercury (Historically)
    • Mercury-Redstone (Historically)
  • SLC-6
    • Redstone (Historically)
    • Jupiter (Historically)
  • SLC-9
    • Navaho (Historically)
  • SLC-15
    • Titan I (Historically)
    • Titan II (Historically)
    • RS1 (Cancelled)
  • SLC-18
    • Viking (Historically)
    • Vanguard (Historically)
    • Thor (Historically)
    • Blue Scout Junior (Historically)
    • Blue Scout (Historically)
  • SLC-19
    • Titan I (Historically)
    • Titan II – Gemini
  • SLC-21
    • Goose (Historically)
    • Mace (Historically)
  • SLC-22
    • Goose (Historically)
    • Mace (Historically)
  • SLC-23/24
    • Triton (Historically)
    • Snark (Historically)
  • SLC-25
    • Polaris (Historically)
    • X-17 (Historically)
    • Poseidon (Historically)
    • Trident I (Historically)
  • SLC-26
    • Redstone (Historically)
      • Explorer 1 launch site
    • Jupiter (Historically)
  • SLC-29
    • Polaris (Historically)
  • SLC-30A
    • Pershing 1 (Historically)
  • SLC-31
    • Minuteman (Historically)
    • Pershing 1a (Historically)
    • Burial of Challenger remains
  • SLC-32
    • Minuteman (Historically)
  • SLC-34
    • Saturn 1 (Historically)
    • Saturn 1B (Historically)
      • Site of Apollo 1 fire
  • SLC-37B
    • Saturn 1 (Historically)
    • Saturn 1B (Historically)
    • Delta IV (Historically)
    • Delta IV Heavy ((Historically)
  • SLC-44
    • Sounding Rockets (Historically)
    • Super Loki ((Historically)
    • Super Loki Lite Star (Historically)
    • LOFT-1 (Historically)
Demolished
  • Launch Complex A (Replaced with SLC-46)
    • Matador (Historically)
    • Launch Complex B (Replaced with SLC-46)
      • Matador (Historically)
  • Launch Complex C (Replaced with SLC-46)
    • Matador (Historically)
  • Launch Complex D (Replaced with SLC-46)
    • Matador (Historically)
  • SLC-10 (Replaced with SLC-31 and 32)
    • Jason (Historically)
    • Draco (Historically)
    • Nike Tomahawk (Historically)
  • SLC-17A
    • Thor (Historically)
    • Thor-Able (Historically)
    • Thor-Ablestar (Historically)
    • Thor-Delta (Historically)
    • Delta II (Historically)
  • SLC-17B
    • Thor (Historically)
    • Thor-Ablestar (Historically)
    • Thor-Delta (Historically)
    • Delta II (Historically)
    • Delta III (Historically)
  • SLC-37A (Taken over by SLC-37B)
    • Saturn 1 (Historically)
    • Saturn 1B (Unused)
  • SLC-43 (Replaced with SLC-46)
    • Super Loki ((Historically)
  • SLC-44 (Replaced with submarine turning basin)
    • Dragon (Missile) ((Historically)
  • SLC-45 (Replaced with SLC-46)
    • Roland (Cancelled)

Kennedy Space Center

  • LC-39A
    • Saturn V (Historically)
    • Space Shuttle (Historically)
    • Ares V (Canceled)
    • Falcon 9
    • Falcon Heavy
    • Starship (In Development)
  • LC-39B
    • Saturn V (Historically)
    • Saturn IB (Historically)
    • Space Shuttle (Historically)
    • Ares I-X (Historically)
    • Space Launch System
  • LC-39C (Canceled)
  • LC-48
    • No tenants
  • LC-49 (Planned)

Pacific Spaceport Complex – Kodiak

Vandenberg Space Force Base

Wallops Flight Facility

Virgin Orbit dropping space-bound LauncherOne rocket from 747 wing in first orbital flight test [Update]

Avatar for Zac Hall May 24 2020 - 9:00 am PT
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Update 5/24/2020 8:37 p.m. EDT: New launch target between 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 25

Update 5/25/2020 3:56 p.m. EDT: Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket had a clean release from the wing of the Cosmic Girl 747, but the mission terminated shortly after release. Virgin Orbit says the crew and aircraft are safe.

A rocket typically lifts off from a launchpad to move a payload from the ground to somewhere in space, but Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit sees another path to sending orbital vehicles and satellites to low Earth orbit.

How does dropping a rocket into free fall from an airplane named Cosmic Girl before its engines fire off sound?

Virgin Orbit planned to complete the first orbital flight test of its LauncherOne rocket today to demonstrate just that, but a “minor sensor issue” has caused Virgin Orbit to scrub the test flight for Sunday.

The company believes the sensor problem can be resolved with a quick turnaround, however, suggesting a potential Memorial Day orbital flight test for LauncherOne.

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SpaceX launching 60 Starlink satellites to space for global internet service [Updates]

Avatar for Zac Hall Apr 9 2020 - 10:58 am PT
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Update 4/21/20: SpaceX says the launch today is now set for 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Update 4/20/20 5:13 p.m. EDT: Citing a more favorable weather forecast on Wednesday, SpaceX is now targeting Wednesday, April 22, at 3:37 p.m. EDT.

Update 4/20/20: Launch windows are hard, but this change is positive. SpaceX is once again targeting Thursday, April 23, at 3:16 p.m. EDT.

Update 4/15/20: SpaceX is now targeting Friday, April 24, 2020.

Update 4/14/20: SpaceX is now targeting Thursday, April 23, 2020.

Update 4/13/20: The launch target has slipped from April 16; no new date yet.

SpaceX is targeting Thursday, April 16, for its next Starlink mission to deploy a batch of 60 satellites to low Earth orbit.

The mission will mark SpaceX’s seventh Starlink launch and sixth deployment of operational satellites. Starlink will provide satellite internet access to North America and around the world as the constellation of small satellites is built out.

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NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy launches to ISS as Expedition 63 Commander

Avatar for Zac Hall Apr 8 2020 - 10:49 pm PT
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NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy will make the journey from Earth to the International Space Station on Thursday, April 9. Astronaut Cassidy, who is also a U.S. Navy SEAL, will fly with Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.

The crew will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan using a Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft, joining NASA flight engineers Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir and Roscosmos Expedition 62 Commander Oleg Skripochka.

Astronaut Cassidy, who is returning to space for his third spaceflight, will take on the role of Expedition 63 Commander once the crew of Expedition 62 leaves the ISS on Friday, April 17.

Astronaut Jessica Meir made history during her time on the ISS by completing the first all-female space walk with Astronaut Christina Koch.

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Night Launch: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching tonight for CRS-20

Avatar for Zac Hall Mar 6 2020 - 6:48 pm PT
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SpaceX is preparing to launch a Dragon supply capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket tonight at 11:50 p.m. ET. I drove down to Titusville, Florida, from South Mississippi last night to attend the launch from a boat thanks to Star Fleet Tours.

The objective is a resupply and payload return flight to and from the International Space Station. Here’s an idea of some of the payload being delivered.

For me, this will be my first time viewing a nighttime launch; I saw CRS-19 during the day in December. I’ll also be positioned well to see the booster landing if they successfully return.

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Watch Astra’s first DARPA Launch Challenge attempt from Alaska [Update: Scrubbed]

Avatar for Zac Hall Mar 2 2020 - 2:20 pm PT
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A $2 million prize is at stake today for the DARPA Launch Challenge attempt from Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska on Kodiak Island.

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, designed the challenge to help discover companies demonstrating “new and groundbreaking capabilities to address emerging Department of Defense needs.” California-based Astra is tasked with today’s launch which, if successfull, will be the first of three cash prize-winning launches.

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