Category: orbit

False Alarm: No Space Junk Threat After All to SpaceX Crew

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—SpaceX’s four astronauts had barely settled into orbit last Friday when they were ordered back into their spacesuits because of a potential collision with orbiting junk. It turns out there was no object and no threat, the U.S. Space Command acknowledged Monday. The false alarm is under review. Lt. Col. Erin Dick, a…


Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Reaches Space on 2nd Try

LOS ANGELES—Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit reached space on Sunday, eight months after the first demonstration flight of its air-launched rocket system failed, the company said. A 70-foot-long LauncherOne rocket was released from beneath the wing of a Boeing 747 carrier aircraft off the coast of Southern California, ignited moments later and soared toward space. The…