Tag: commercial-space
-
Amazon buys nine Atlas 5 launches for Kuiper broadband constellation
Nine Atlas 5 rockets will launch satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper internet network. Credit: United Launch Alliance Amazon has selected United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket for nine missions from Cape Canaveral to deploy satellites for the Kuiper internet constellation, a fleet designed to eventually number more than 3,200 spacecraft, the companies announced Monday. The nine…
-
Dragon crew rehearses for launch day, first-look weather forecast looks good
NASA commander Shane Kimbrough, pilot Megan McArthur, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan’s Akihiko Hoshide stand inside the crew access arm leading to the Crew Dragon hatch at pad 39A during Sunday’s dress rehearsal. Credit: SpaceX After completing a dress rehearsal for launch day over the weekend, the four astronauts gearing up for…
-
NASA chooses SpaceX to land next astronauts on the Moon
Artist’s concept of a Starship on the moon. Credit: SpaceX NASA has selected SpaceX to build a spacecraft to land the first astronauts on the Moon since 1972, choosing Elon Musk’s space company over competing proposals from Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and the aerospace firm Dynetics, officials announced Friday. A derivative of SpaceX’s next-generation Starship…
-
SpaceX test-fires rocket for crew launch
SpaceX test-fired the Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday ahead of launch with the next four astronauts heading to the International Space Station. The static fire test before sunrise Saturday in Florida was a major step toward liftoff Thursday. The Falcon 9 launch team stationed inside Firing Room 4 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center oversaw an…
-
Crew Dragon astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center for launch preps
European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, Crew-2 pilot Megan McArthur, Crew-2 commander Shane Kimbrough, and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Friday for final launch preparations. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani An all-veteran crew of four astronauts jetted into NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Friday for the final few days of rehearsals, briefings,…
-
NASA, SpaceX clear crew capsule for launch next week
Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX’s vice president of build and flight reliability, participates in a Flight Readiness Review for the Crew-2 mission Thursday. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett NASA and SpaceX officials are moving forward with preparations to launch the next commercial Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station next week after a Flight Readiness Review Thursday, pending…
-
Watch a live view of the Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad
Live coverage of preparations for the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, and Crew-2 astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide, and Thomas Pesquet on a flight to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”SFN Live”] [tabby title=”NASA TV”] [tabbyending]
-
Arianespace announces competition for free nanosatellite launch
Spectators in Kourou, French Guiana, watch as an Ariane 5 rocket launches three commercial satellites from the Guiana Space Center in August 2020. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin Arianespace announced this week it is organizing a contest open to startups, labs, and universities for a free launch of a…
-
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour meets Falcon 9 rocket for launch next week
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft arrives at the company’s Falcon 9 hangar April 13 near pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX trucked its Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft — refurbished with a new heat shield and structural enhancements — across the Cape Canaveral spaceport this week for attachment to a…
-
‘It’s time’: Jeff Bezos hails Blue Origin’s fiery rehearsal for crewed suborbital spaceflight
Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, checks out the New Shepard suborbital rocket booster on its landing pad. (Blue Origin via Instagram) Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture flew a mannequin into space today during the 15th test flight for its New Shepard reusable suborbital spaceship — but for…