Tag: commercial-space
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Timeline for SpaceX’s fourth launch of Iridium satellites
Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the fourth set of 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Friday at 5:27 p.m. PST (8:27 p.m. EST; 0137 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SpaceX will not attempt…
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Live coverage: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket makes its final launch of the year
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with 10 next-generation Iridium communications satellites. SpaceX’s live video coverage begins at approximately 8:12 p.m. EST (0112 GMT; 5:12 p.m. PST). Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow…
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Falcon 9 rocket set for launch Friday from California
A Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, is ready to be raised vertical on its launch pad for Friday’s liftoff. Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News SpaceX is set to close out a record-breaking 2017 launch campaign Friday night with the delivery of 10 more Iridium voice and data relay satellites to orbit…
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SpaceX releases first pictures of Falcon Heavy rocket
Credit: SpaceX SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk released the first images of his company’s Falcon Heavy rocket Wednesday, showing the massive triple-core booster almost fully assembled inside its hangar at the Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A, where it is scheduled to lift off some time in January. The three images posted on Twitter show the…
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Photos: Falcon 9 lifts off from Cape Canaveral, returns for landing
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket closed out a busy 2017 Cape Canaveral launch schedule on Dec. 15 with a successful liftoff on a space station resupply mission. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster, making its second launch, returned to Florida’s Space Coast for an on-target landing. The 213-foot-tall (65-meter) rocket lifted off at 10:36:09 a.m. EST…
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Elon Musk lifts the veil on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket being readied for its debut
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket makes use of 27 Merlin engines arranged on three cores. (SpaceX via Elon Musk / Twitter) SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket just got more real, now that billionaire founder Elon Musk has tweeted out pictures of the triple-barreled launch vehicle. The late-night tweet was accompanied by three views of the rocket cores…
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Video: Dragon capsule arrives at space station
Closing out a two-day pursuit following launch from Cape Canaveral, a reused SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule arrived at the International Space Station Sunday with more than 4,800 pounds of supplies and experiments. The free-floating supply ship was snared by the station’s robotic arm — under the control of astronaut Mark Vande Hei — at 5:57…
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Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch space venture puts monster plane through first taxi test
The world’s biggest airplane taxis along the Mojave Air and Space Port’s runway during a ground test conducted by Stratolaunch. For a size comparison, note the pickup truck driving between the plane’s twin fuselages. (Paul Allen via Twitter) That’s one more not-so-small step for Stratolaunch’s giant airplane: The space venture’s founder, software billionaire Paul Allen,…
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Station astronauts begin unpacking refurbished SpaceX cargo craft
The Dragon spacecraft was berthed to the space station’s Harmony module Sunday, a few hours after its capture by the robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now A SpaceX-owned supply ship arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday with 2.4 tons of cargo, including space debris and solar energy monitors mounted in the Dragon spacecraft’s…
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Rocket Lab test launch delayed to early 2018
Credit: Rocket Lab The launch of a light-class booster by Rocket Lab, a U.S.-New Zealand company aiming to provide rides to orbit for small satellites, has been delayed to early next year after technical reviews, repairs and unfavorable weather combined to keep the test flight grounded this week. The mission’s pre-approved 10-day launch window closes…