Tag: commercial-space
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Live coverage: Rocket Lab launch attempt scrubbed
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Rocket Lab’s live video webcast begins around 20 minutes prior to launch, and will be available on this page.
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Trump calls for establishment of U.S. “space force”
President Donald Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, delivered remarks at Monday’s meeting of the National Space Council at the White House. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls Catching observers off guard, President Trump, in remarks before a National Space Council Meeting at the White House Monday, officially directed to Pentagon to establish a sixth branch of…
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SpinLaunch raises $40M from Airbus, Google and others for space catapult
SpinLaunch’s hangar is home to a vehicle that’s designed to be launched from a catapult. (SpinLaunch Photo) A stealthy Silicon Valley startup called SpinLaunch says it’s raised a total of $40 million from a high-profile array of investors to get a space catapult system ready for launch by 2022. The company, founded in 2015 by…
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Axiom Space offers space station vacations starting in 2020, for $55 million
An artist’s conception shows a space traveler floating in zero gravity. (Axiom Space Illustration) How much would you pay for a 10-day stay in low Earth orbit? Houston-based Axiom Space has set a $55 million price point for trips that it says could begin as early as 2020. If you want to fly that soon,…
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SpaceX plans new facilities at KSC to support more launches, landings
Artist’s concept of SpaceX’s new launch and landing control center. Credit: SpaceX/NASA An airport-like viewing tower standing up to 30 stories tall is the centerpiece of SpaceX’s planned rocket refurbishment and operations base proposed for vacant land at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Information published in a draft environmental assessment prepared by KSC officials…
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Northrop Grumman completes Orbital ATK acquisition
File photo of an Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft, developed by Orbital ATK to haul cargo to the International Space Station. Photo credit: Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman concluded its purchase of Orbital ATK on Wednesday, with the absorption of launch vehicle developer, satellite manufacturer, and munitions supplier as a new business unit named Northrop…
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Photos: SpaceX successful in nighttime blastoff from Cape Canaveral
Photos from the liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Monday from Cape Canaveral show the 20-story launcher climbing into a starry sky with the SES 12 communications satellite. The two-stage rocket, powered by a reused booster with nine Merlin main engines, lifted off at 12:45 a.m. EDT (0445 GMT) Monday from Cape Canaveral’s…
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NASA’s chief talks about handing over space station to commercial consortium
An artist’s conception shows a Boeing Starliner space taxi approaching the International Space Station. (Boeing Illustration) For months, the White House has been talking about transitioning the International Space Station to commercial control by 2025, and now NASA’s administrator says he’s working on it. In a Washington Post interview, Administrator Jim Bridenstine says “there are people…
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Multi-mission telecom craft launched by SpaceX for SES
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Monday with the SES 12 communications satellite. Credit: SpaceX A powerful commercial communications satellite driven by plasma thrusters rode a reused SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster away from Cape Canaveral early Monday, climbing into orbit to connect companies, homes, airplanes and ships across much of the Eastern Hemisphere. Cocooned…
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Video: Falcon 9 soars into space with SES 12
Video credit: SpaceX Watch a replay of the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral shortly after midnight Monday with the SES 12 communications satellite. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket took off at 12:45 a.m. EDT (0445 GMT) Monday from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad, and headed east over the Atlantic…