Tag: commercial-space
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Live coverage: SpaceX launches first upgraded Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of the first SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite. SpaceX’s live video coverage begins at approximately 3:59 p.m. EDT (1959 GMT) Friday. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page.…
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First launch of enhanced version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 set for Thursday
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT) to correct reference from “re-flown” to “flown.” SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, featuring reusability and reliability upgrades, rolled to pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center last week for a static fire test. Credit: SpaceX The launch of Bangladesh’s first communications satellite on top of a new…
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SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 Block 5 test-fired at pad 39A
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 10:30 p.m. EDT (0230 GMT) with details. SpaceX’s launch team loaded liquid propellants into the company’s first upgraded Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket Friday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the countdown rehearsal culminated in a brief ignition of the launcher’s nine Merlin main engines on the launch…
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Communications satellite launched from China to connect Asia-Pacific
A Long March 3B rocket lifts off with the Apstar 6C communications satellite. Credit: Xinhua A Chinese-built communications satellite owned by Hong Kong-based operator launched Thursday aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang space base in southwest China. The Apstar 6C communications craft lifted off at 1606 GMT (12:06 p.m. EDT) Thursday from…
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Live coverage: Upgraded Falcon 9 rocket test-fired at pad 39A
Live coverage of SpaceX’s preparations for the first Falcon 9 “Block 5” rocket launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will launch the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Spaceflight Now Members can watch a live view of the launch pad.
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Time-lapse video: First Falcon 9 Block 5 arrives at pad 39A for hotfire test
SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, sporting changes to make the booster easier to reuse, rolled out of its hangar and up the ramp to launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday ahead of a planned hold-down engine firing. The two-stage rocket, revealed for the first time Thursday, features black landing…
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Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg foresees busy commercial ‘ecosystem’ in Earth orbit
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg speaks at Northwestern University, with a model of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket standing in front of him. (Boeing via Facebook) Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg predicts that the number of space destinations will grow from one — the International Space Station — to 10 or 12 over the next couple of…
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Firefly’s commercial satellite launcher to use Delta 2 pad at Vandenberg
File photo of a Delta 2 rocket at Space Launch Complex 2-West at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: United Launch Alliance A commercial rocket under development by Firefly Aerospace will conduct its first orbital test flight in 2019 from a launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California that will become vacant with…
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Dragon cargo craft’s return to Earth delayed to Saturday
The Dragon cargo craft was grappled by the space station’s robotic arm April 27 in preparation for its departure. Credit: NASA A commercial Dragon cargo capsule will remain at the International Space Station until Saturday, three days later than previously planned due to high sea states observed by the SpaceX recovery team in the spaceship’s…
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2020 or bust? GAO watchdogs foresee further delays for orbital spaceships
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s Orion capsule in flight. (NASA Illustration) The Government Accountability Office issued a downbeat report on NASA’s major space projects today, saying that cost and schedule performance has deteriorated over the past year. The full extent of the cost issues is unknown, primarily due to uncertainties surrounding the effort to build…