Tag: Cape Canaveral
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Blue Origin test fires second stage and continues preparations for New Glenn’s second flight
Blue Origin recently test-fired the second stage for New Glenn’s second flight, while other preparations for this and other future flights are underway at the company’s facilities in Florida. The second stage’s test firing is one of a number of steps that must be completed before the rocket’s second flight, currently thought to be around…
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Launch Roundup: China launches crew, Falcon 9 launches Bandwagon rideshare and 250th Starlink mission
This week, China has launched three taikonauts to the Tiangong space station. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 had four flights scheduled, with its third Bandwagon rideshare mission followed by three more Starlink missions, including its 250th dedicated Starlink flight. United Launch Alliance successfully launched its first batch of operational Kuiper satellites aboard an Atlas V 551 rocket.…
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Cape launch sites bustling with activity, New Glenn and Starship preparations underway
While several Cape Canaveral launch sites remain busy with launches from SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin, other facilities at the United States’ premier space launch facility are undergoing important work for a new generation of rockets to debut in the not-too-distant future. Changes that will affect existing vehicles, such as the Falcon 9, are also…
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Falcon 9 launches second lunar mission of 2025 with IM-2 lander
SpaceX launched its second lunar mission of 2025, just over a month after flying the Firefly Blue Ghost and HAKUTO-R M2 Resilience landers to the Moon atop a single Falcon 9. Another Falcon 9, this time with the Intuitive Machines IM-2 NOVA-C lander on board, launched successfully from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX returns to launching Starlink following Starship launch
With the dust settling following the launches of Blue Origin’s New Glenn and SpaceX’s Starship last week and two consequential mishap investigations underway, business returns to usual this week. SpaceX missions dominated the week, with four SpaceX Starlink launches. SpaceX continues its drive to launch approximately 7,500 v2 Mini Starlink satellites into orbit. At the…
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Launch Roundup: New Glenn and Starship headline a week dominated by SpaceX missions
SpaceX dominated this week’s launch manifest with two Falcon 9 missions and the seventh flight of its Starship rocket. The two Falcon 9 missions will see the launches of a Transporter rideshare mission, and two Moon landers. Blue Origin’s New Glenn achieved orbit on Thursday morning following the scrub of its maiden flight attempt on…
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Starship preparations to return to the Roberts Road facility
SpaceX is laying the groundwork for expansion at its Roberts Road facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Driven by a commitment to future advancements, SpaceX continuously enhances its infrastructure along the Space Coast. These developments include new buildings, property expansions, and Starship’s production in Florida. Starship’s History in Florida SpaceX has already made…
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New Glenn second stage completes hot fire test
Blue Origin has hot-fired the second stage of New Glenn for the first time, continuing to work toward its inaugural launch. Over the last year, the company has continued to lead New Glenn to its first flight and has confidently and rapidly pushed for a successful mission. The launch date is coming up in only…
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With a landmark launch, the Pentagon is finally free of Russian rocket engines
United Launch Alliance delivered a classified US military payload to orbit Tuesday for the last time with an Atlas V rocket, ending the Pentagon’s use of Russian rocket engines as national security missions transition to all-American launchers. The Atlas V rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:45 am EDT…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 returns to flight, China launches Earth observation satellites
The launch schedule in the past few weeks had been notably quieter than usual. Last week, a Chang Zheng 4B launched the latest set of Gaofen-11 high-resolution Earth observation satellites in the early hours of Friday, July 19 — the only launch of the week of July 14 through July 20. Following a Falcon 9…