Tag: commercial-space
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SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule arrives in Florida to get set for uncrewed test flight
Technicians check out the Crew Dragon capsule in Florida after the completion of thermal vacuum and acoustic testing at NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Ohio. (SpaceX via Instagram) After months of testing, a SpaceX Dragon capsule that’s designed to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station has arrived in Florida, marking a significant…
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U.S. cargo craft tests reboost capability at International Space Station
The Russian Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft, left, and Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft, right, are seen attached to the International Space Station in June. Credit: NASA A commercial Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship berthed at the International Space Station fired its main engine for 50 seconds Tuesday in a test of the spacecraft’s ability to reboost,…
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Here’s why space engineers come to Seattle … and why some of them leave
Engineers work on New Shepard’s crew capsule at Blue Origin’s Kent factory. (Credit: Blue Origin) A new employment study indicates that roughly 3,000 people are directly employed by Washington state’s space industry, and roughly half of them are at Blue Origin, Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space venture. Most of Blue Origin’s 1,500 employees work at…
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SpaceX could try to land rocket in California later this year
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket booster landing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Credit: SpaceX A recent federal regulatory filing by SpaceX suggests the company may attempt to return a Falcon 9 rocket booster to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for the first time later this year. Landing a Falcon 9…
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Dragon capsule reaches space station with three tons of cargo
The Dragon spacecraft approaches the International Space Station on Monday, soaring over the Nile River Delta in Egypt. Credit: NASA/Ricky Arnold A commercial cargo carrier owned and operated by SpaceX pulled into port at the International Space Station on Monday, three days after launching from Cape Canaveral with a NASA Earth science instrument, a spare…
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Photos: Falcon 9 rocket dazzles at dawn
Powering into a pre-sunrise sky over Florida’s Space Coast on Friday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket provided a memorable show as it climbed into sunlight, delivering a Dragon cargo craft to orbit on a trip to the International Space Station. The 213-foot-tall (65-meter) rocket lifted off at 5:42 a.m. EDT (0942 GMT) Friday from Cape…
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SpaceX launches AI-enabled robot companion, vegetation monitor to space station
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket takes off at 5:42 a.m. EDT (0942 GMT) Friday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: SpaceX A commercial SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule packed with a robot assistant for the International Space Station’s crew, pouches of extra strong coffee, and a NASA science instrument designed to track the health of plants on Earth…
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Rocket Lab’s first commercial launch grounded to fix nagging technical issue
Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab will bypass its current launch window to resolve a recurring problem with a motor controller on the company’s light-class Electron rocket, officials said Thursday, likely postponing its first commercial satellite launch at least a few weeks. The indefinite delay is the second time the U.S.-New Zealand launch company, which is…
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Live coverage: SpaceX supply ship arrives at space station
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral with SpaceX’s 15th operational Dragon resupply flight to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”NASA TV”] [tabby title=”SpaceX Webcast”] [tabbyending]
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Commercial SpaceX cargo capsule readied for launch Friday
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is carrying a spare latching end effector (top) and NASA’s ECOSTRESS instrument to the space station inside the vehicle’s trunk. Credit: SpaceX A Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon supply ship, primarily using previously-flown hardware, are scheduled for liftoff before dawn Friday at Cape Canaveral on SpaceX’s 15th cargo launch to the International…