Tag: commercial-space
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Video: SpaceX conducts Falcon 9 static fire at dusk
SpaceX fueled its next Falcon 9 rocket at launch pad 39A and ignited the booster’s nine Merlin engines at sunset Thursday, passing a major step in the launch campaign leading up to liftoff of the Intelsat 35e communications satellite Sunday. The rare evening hotfire test occurred at 8:30 p.m. EDT Thursday (0030 GMT Friday), with…
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Video: Falcon 9 lifted vertical for static fire test at pad 39A
Watch a time lapse replay of SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket being raised vertical Thursday at launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a mock countdown and engine test, ahead of a scheduled liftoff this weekend with an Intelsat communications satellite. Email the author. Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.
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Imagery from Wednesday’s Ariane 5 launch in French Guiana
Blasting off shortly before sunset in French Guiana, an Ariane 5 rocket delivered two communications satellites to orbit Wednesday for the Indian space agency and companies based in Greece and the United Kingdom. Propelled by two solid rocket boosters and a hydrogen-fueled Vulcain 2 main engine, the Ariane 5 took off at 2115 GMT (5:15…
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Launch timeline for Ariane 5’s flight with Hellas-Sat 3/Inmarsat S EAN and GSAT 17
An Ariane 5 rocket will make its fourth flight of the year Wednesday, hauling two communications satellites into orbit for Inmarsat, Hellas-Sat and India’s space agency. The nearly 180-foot-tall (55-meter) launcher will blast off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 2059 GMT (4:59 p.m. EDT; 5:59 p.m. French Guiana time) with the Hellas-Sat 3/Inmarsat S EAN…
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Ariane 5 rocket tallies 80th straight success with on-target satellite launch
Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin Two geostationary communications satellites rode an Ariane 5 rocket into orbit Wednesday from a launch pad in French Guiana, embarking on missions to broadcast television across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, link European air travelers with Wi-Fi, and relay video and data signals…
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Ariane 5 rocket scheduled for launch Wednesday from French Guiana
The Ariane 5 rocket arrives at the ELA-3 launch pad Tuesday in French Guiana. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon Arianespace’s launch team in French Guiana rolled an Ariane 5 booster to its launch pad Tuesday and readied the rocket for liftoff Wednesday with an Inmarsat satellite to connect airline…
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Photos: Falcon 9’s blastoff with BulgariaSat 1
Check out imagery from Friday’s liftoff of a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket booster with the BulgariaSat 1 communications satellite from Florida’s Space Coast. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket took off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 3:10 p.m. EDT (1910 GMT) Friday after a one-hour delay. The first stage of the Falcon 9…
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SpaceX will try for third Falcon 9 launch in less than two weeks
File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket inside a hangar at Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX After back-to-back launches last weekend, SpaceX could launch its next Falcon 9 mission as soon as Sunday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a high-power Intelsat communications satellite. Liftoff Sunday will hinge on the ability of SpaceX’s…
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Video: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg, lands in Pacific
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Sunday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and carried 10 Iridium communications satellites toward a perch in low Earth orbit, then the launcher’s first stage nailed a landing on a platform positioned in the Pacific Ocean. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket took off at 1:25:14 p.m. PDT (4:25:14 p.m.…
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SpaceX closes out a rocket doubleheader with Iridium launch and booster landing
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasts its way into orbit. (SpaceX via YouTube) Two days after launching a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida and landing it again, SpaceX accomplished the same feat in California, bringing 10 satellites to low Earth orbit for Iridium’s next-generation communications network. Liftoff came at 1:25 p.m. PT from Vandenberg Air Force Base…