February 29, 2000 - A regularly updated listing of planned missions from spaceports around the globe. Dates and times are given in Greenwich Mean Time. Dates within square brackets indicate when the information was updated. Please send any corrections, additions or updates by e-mail to: justin@spaceflightnow.com
NET March 4 Taurus  MTI Launch window: approx. 0922-0952 GMT (0422-0452 EST)
Launch site: Area 576-E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Fifth Orbital Sciences Taurus rocket will launch the Multi-spectral Thermal Imager satellite developed by Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. The U.S. Department of Energy craft will be used as an R&D; mission of new technologies aimed at national defense and civilian applications. Launch slipped from Feb. 20. Mission delayed from Feb. 28 after launch safety area was rejected by Tahitian government. New date is pending U.S. State Dept. efforts. [Feb. 26] March 12 Sea Launch  ICO F1 Launch time: 1549 GMT (1049 EST)
Launch site: Odyessy platform, Pacific Ocean (154° West, 0° North)
The third flight of the Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket will launch the first satellite for ICO mobile communications constellation. [Feb. 28] NET March 18 Delta 2  IMAGE Launch window: approx. 2114:02-2122:02 GMT (1314:02-1322:02 EST)
Launch site: SLC-2W, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Boeing Delta flight 277 will launch NASA's Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft. The Delta 2 will fly in the 7326 vehicle configuration. Launch delayed from Feb. 15 to conduct assessment of IMAGE mission following recent failures of other NASA satellites. Launch date of March 15 delayed for check of parts installed on IMAGE. New date very tentative. [Feb. 28] March 20 Atlas 2AS  NRO Launch time: 2148 GMT (1648 EST)
Launch site: SLC-36A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Lockheed Martin's AC-157 will launch a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The launch will be run by the U.S. Air Force. [Feb. 15] March 21 Ariane 505  AsiaStar and Insat 3B Launch window: TBA
Launch site: ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana
Arianespace Flight 128, the fifth Ariane 5 mission, will launch the AsiaStar and Insat 3B satellites. Launch delayed from March 16 due to problem with AsiaStar satellite. New date very tentative. [Feb. 24] March 24 Pegasus XL  TSX 5 Launch window: TBA
Launch site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
An Orbital Sciences air-launched Pegasus rocket will carry the Air Force's Tri-Service Experiment 5 satellite into space. Launch date slipped from March 5. [Jan. 14] March Soyuz-Fregat Test Flight Launch window: TBA
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
The second test launch of a Soyuz rocket with a Fregat upper stage will carry replicas of ESA's Cluster satellites to be launched later this year. [Dec. 30] Late-March Rockot  Test Flight Launch window: TBA
Launch site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
The Rockot will launch with a Breeze-KM upper stage and satellite simulators as a test flight prior to commercial launches by Eurockot. Launch date uncertain pending successful completion of investigations into launch pad accident on December 22. [Jan. 24] March 29 Proton  Express 6A Launch time: TBA
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
An Russian government Proton will launch Intersputnik's Express 6A communications satellite for Intersputnik. The Express A1 satellite was lost in a Proton failure in 1999. Launch delayed from early March. [Feb. 28] Early-April Ariane 42L  Galaxy 4R Launch window: TBA
Launch site: ELA-2, Kourou, French Guiana
Arianespace Flight 129 will launch the Galaxy 4R communications satellite for operator PanAmSat and builder Hughes Space and Communications. The craft will replace Galaxy 4, which malfunctioned in orbit in 1998. [Jan. 25] April 9 Titan 4B  DSP 20 Launch time: 1523 GMT (1123 EDT)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
The U.S. Air Force Titan 4B, known as B-29, will launch the 20th Defense Support Program missile-warning satellite with Inertial Upper Stage 22. Launch delayed from January 30 so spacecraft could be inspected for oil contamination that dripped from an overhead crane at pad. Those inspections found no oil on the satellite. Launch date moved up from tentative date of March 1 due to Range down period. Date on Feb. 21 delayed to replace core vehicle actuators with ones tested in different fashion. [Feb. 21] April 14 Atlas 3A  W4 Launch window: 2135-2348 GMT (1735-1948 EDT)
Launch site: SLC-36B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Lockheed Martin's AC-201, the inaugural Atlas 3A rocket, will launch Eutelsat's W4 communications satellite. [Feb. 24] April 18 Shuttle Atlantis  ISS 2A.2A Launch time: 2230-2240 GMT (1830-1840 EDT)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
STS-101 will be the third U.S. mission to the International Space Station. The flight will deliver supplies and logistics to the orbiting station using a Spacehab Double Module and Itegrated Cargo Carrier. Launch delayed from March 16. Range reservation for April 18; NASA still saying date no earlier than April 13 but that is not available on Range due to Atlas 3 launch. [Feb. 24] April 21 Delta 2  GPS 2R-4 Launch time: approx. 1500 GMT (1100 EST)
Launch site: SLC-17A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Boeing Delta flight 279 will launch the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System 2R-4 military navigation satellite. The launch will be run by the U.S. Air Force. The rocket will fly in the 7925 vehicle configuration. [Feb. 15] 2nd Quarter Proton  Sirius 1 Launch window: TBA
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
An ILS Proton will launch the first satellite for the Sirius Satellite Radio constellation, formerly called CD Radio. Launch delayed from Janaury due to Proton grounding after failure in October. [Feb. 15] April 28 Cosmos  CHAMP Launch time: approximately 1100 GMT (0700 EST)
Launch site: Svobodny Cosmodrome, Russia
A Russian Cosmos rocket will launch the CHAMP Earth sciences research satellite. [Jan. 5] April 30 Pegasus XL  OrbView 3 Launch window: TBA
Launch site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
An Orbital Sciences air-launched Pegasus XL rocket will carry the company's OrbView 3 Earth-imaging satellite into space. [Nov. 30] ON HOLD Proton  Sesat Launch window: TBA
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian government Proton will launch Eutelsat's Siberian-European Satellite (SESAT) to provide communications services to Central and Eastern Europe and Siberia. Launch on hold since Proton failure in October. [Nov. 23]
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 Launches on hold
Launch news
NASA has pushed back the launches of IMAGE, HETE-2, EO-1 and VCL to March 15, June 1, July 1 and Nov. 6, respectively. [Feb. 17] Launch of the Zvezda service module to the International Space Station is now planned for no earlier than July 8. The space shuttle launch schedule has been adjusted accordingly. [Feb. 12]
Launch log
Spaceflight Now keeps a running log of completed launches from around the world.
Meet the launchers
The following rockets are seen throughout Spaceflight Now's launch schedule. Follow the links to see our earlier coverage of the rockets' missions: Ariane 4
European Arianespace Ariane 4 rockets are the workhorse commercial launch vehicles. They family of six launchers has captured a majority of the commercial market. Ariane 5
European Arianespace Ariane 5 is a heavy-lift rocket that will ultimately replace the Ariane 4. The vehicle is completed a series of trest flights and will soon embark on its first commercial launch. Atlas 2 and 3
U.S. Lockheed Martin Atlas 2 and 3 rockets fly in a variety of configurations, launching a range of payloads into orbit. The rocket was derived from a missile of the 1950s. Delta 2
U.S. Boeing Delta 2 rockets are medium-lift vehicles that can be flown in a variety of configurations. The rocket was derived from a missile of the 1950s. Delta 3
U.S. Boeing Delta 3 is designed to launch twice the amount of cargo as the smaller Delta 2. The new vehicle has failed in its first two flights. Pegasus
U.S. Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket is launched in mid-air from the belly of a modified L-1011 jet. The vehicle is used to launch small satellites into space. Proton
The Russian Proton rocket has been flying for over 30 years. The heavy-lift launcher is used to deliver commercial and government payloads into space. Sea Launch
International consortium Sea Launch sends commercial satellites into space aboard Zenit 3SL rockets from converted oil platform in Pacific Ocean along equator. Soyuz
The Russian Soyuz rocket is one of the oldest and most reliable in the world. The vehicle is used to launch commercial and government satellites and people to orbiting space staions. Space shuttle
NASA's fleet of space shuttles are the world's only reusable, piloted spacecraft. The shuttles have been flying since 1981, and are now in the midst of assembling the International Space Station. Titan
U.S. Air Force Titan rockets flying today are based upon versions dating back 40 years. Currently, Titan 2 and 4 vehicles are in use, launching government payloads into space.
'''December 13, 2004'''

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - The first new heavy lift space vehicle in a generation is cleared to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Boeing '''Delta IV Heavy''' has missed launch opportunities three days in a row (starting Friday, December 12) due to minor technical difficulties. It is now scheduled to launch Dec. 20 or 21 from pad SLC-37B.

The '''Delta 4''' was developed as part of the U.S Air Force's ''Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle'' program to reduce costs and improve reliability.  The basic design is a two stage, cryogenic LOx/LH2 rocket.  Strap-on boosters may be added to increase lift capacity.  

Two major obstacles have plagued the project in recent years; a bidding scandal which cost Boeing a large portion of the military satellite launch business for which it was competing, and a downturn in commercial satellite launches in 2001.

The ''Heavy'' variant of the Delta 4 rocket can place 13,100 kg (28,950 Lb) into geostationary transfer orbit, greater than any other current rocket. Two additional first stage cores are used as strap-on boosters for this configuration. Their rated thrust is 2,900,000 N (656,000 lb) each. 

Delta 4's main engine, the RS68, is the most powerful hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine in the world, approximately three times as powerful as the Ariane 5 Vulcain HM60. Its design sacrifices efficiency for increased reliability and lower cost: rated specific impulse is 365s at sea level and 410s in a vacuum. The second stage engine, Pratt and Whitney's RL-10B-2, has a specific impulse of 462s.

The primary market for this launcher will be classified spy satellites for the US intelligence community. Most of these satellites were previously launched on the Titan 4, which has since been retired. The Delta 4 Heavy's published launch cost is $170 million, compared to the Titan 4's $400 million (1999 dollars).

Delta 4 Heavy's maiden launch is a demonstration and will carry a dummy load and two nano-satellites. The main payload, dubbed ''DemoSat'' is a 6020 kg (13271 lb) mass designed to simulate the dynamic and initial properties of a real satellite.  Its design consists of large brass rods, intended to fully burn up on reentry.

The two nano-satellites are part of the US Department of Defense ''Nanosat-2 Program'', and built by students from New Mexico State University, Arizona State University, and the University of Colorado at Boulder.