An Atlas V is set to launch on November 19th in a 541 configuration (5 meter payload fairing, 1 Common Core Booster, and 4 Solid Rocket Boosters) carrying the GOES-R payload for NASA and the NOAA. This satellite will be placed into a geostationary orbit around the earth to monitor the general weather conditions of the […]
Category: Space
NROL-37 Delta IV Heavy Launch 360 Degree View
This video, released a few weeks ago, is an amazing way to experience Junes NROL-37 launch, via use of full 360 degree cameras placed around the launch complex. It’s exactly as it sounds, no more, no less: multiple views of the launch, with you being able to look around much like you were there. 360 […]
The Legacy Of Project Gemini – 1967 NASA Film
As mentioned in the previous article, the Gemini Project, NASA’s 2nd manned space program, ended on November 15th, 1966. The 10 manned missions over 2 years proved that humans could do everything needed in space to make a successful flight to the Moon. All that would be left would be to prove out the Apollo […]
50 Years Ago, The End Of The Gemini Program
On November 15th, 1966, Gemini XII, the final mission of the United States Gemini program returned to Earth, marking the end of space program to prove humans could do work outside of their spacecraft, could survive in space for the possible 2 week long duration moon missions would take, and lastly to prove two spacecraft […]
Finally, A Successful Launch for WorldView-4
After a nearly 2 month delay, the Worldview 4 satellite successfully launched today into a sun-synchronous polar orbit. Worldview 4 is an Earth Imaging satellite owned by Digital Globe, which will provide nearly double the imaging resolution currently available in non-military satellite imagery. This was a mission made up of delays, it would seem: A […]
59 Years Ago, Sputnik 2 And A Dog In Space
One month shy of the launch of Sputnik 1, another R-7 missile was readied on the pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying another special payload destined for Earth orbit. This time the payload wasn’t just a simple metal sphere with a radio transmitter – instead, the payload was a dog named Laika. Laika was a stray […]
50 Years Ago, The Manned Orbiting Laboratory Test Flight
50 years ago today, on November 3rd 1966, the United States Air Force launched the 6th Titan III-C booster on a very unique test flight. Sitting atop the powerful launch vehicle was an extension made from a spare Titan I rocket oxidizer tank classified as OPS 0855, built to simulate an orbital laboratory payload, and […]
55 Years Ago, The Flight of The First Saturn Rocket: SA-1
On October 27th, 1961, the first Saturn booster, SA-1 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34 on a 15 minute sub-orbital flight to test the booster. This first flight beget a series of 10 Saturn 1 test flights, 9 Saturn 1B flights, and 13 Saturn V flights. Saturn 1 was a […]
What Are Tiangong 1 and Tiangong 2?
A few days ago China launched a crewed mission to it’s newest space station, Tiangong 2. The crew has since successfully docked and are, as far as reports indicate, having a perfectly normal mission on board the orbital laboratory. Obviously in reading this you know that they are space stations, sure, but just what are […]
Soyuz MS-02 Launch Replays
What rocket launch article on Xadara would be complete without a companion article on the launch replays? In this case, as mentioned in the last article we have a beautiful day launch of the Soyuz booster and the MS-02 spacecraft. This booster didn’t launch from “Gagarin’s Start,” the normal pad that most Russian manned flights […]
Soyuz MS-02 Launches To The International Space Station
Antares Flies Again
For the first time in nearly 2 years, an Antares rocket launched from the launch facilities on Wallops Island, Virginia, carrying a Cygnus cargo craft to the International Space Station. While a pretty straightforward launch of a somewhat plain seeming booster, this launch was a critical moment for Orbital ATK, creators of Cygnus and Antares, […]
Shenzhou 11 Launches To The Tiangong 2 Space Station
Very early today, at around 7:30 in the morning Beijing time, China launched its Shenzhou 11 mission to its new Tiangong 2 space station. Tiangong 2, which was launch September 15th of 2016, can support the manned mission for around 30 days, or so reports say. Shenzhou is a spacecaft very similar to the Soviet […]
Those Damn Rocket Engines
The Launch of Apollo 7
48 Years ago today, Apollo 7 launched on the first manned flight of the Apollo Program, and the first manned flight on a Saturn 1B rocket. This mission, a planned 2 week stay in orbit testing the Apollo Command / Service Module system with a crew, was the mission originally planned for Apollo 1. 18 […]