Tag: commercial-space
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Smallsat launch providers readying for first missions of 2021
Virgin Orbit technicians complete work with the LauncherOne vehicle’s payload fairing for the Launch Demo 2 mission, which is set to loft 10 NASA-sponsored CubeSats into orbit. Credit: Virgin Orbit/Greg Robinson Virgin Orbit and Rocket Lab teams are gearing up for their first missions of the year in the coming days, with Virgin’s air-launched rocket…
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SpaceX delivers for Turkey in first launch of 2021
Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thundered into space from Cape Canaveral and deployed a Turkish communications satellite Thursday night, the first of more than 40 Falcon rocket missions scheduled this year from launch pads in Florida and California. The rapid-fire cadence of launches in 2021, if achieved, would break…
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Falcon 9 launch timeline with Turksat 5A
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the Turkish Turksat 5A communications satellite into orbit around 33 minutes later. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is poised for launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida during a…
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Photos: Falcon 9 poised for first launch of 2021
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is standing more than 20 stories tall on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, ready for blastoff with the Turksat 5A communications satellite. The two-stage launcher, with a first stage booster reused from three prior missions, is set for takeoff during a four-hour window opening at 8:28 p.m.…
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Live coverage: SpaceX launches first mission of 2021
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida with the Turksat 5A communications satellite for Turksat. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”SpaceX webcast”] [tabby title=”SpaceX mission audio”] [tabbyending] SpaceX’s live video webcast begins around 15 minutes prior to launch,…
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Turksat telecom satellite set to launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
The Turksat 5A satellite inside an Airbus test chamber in Toulouse, France. Credit: Turksat A Turkish-owned communications satellite is set to rocket into orbit Thursday night from Cape Canaveral to open SpaceX’s 2021 launch schedule. The Turksat 5A spacecraft, built by Airbus and owned by the Turkish company Turksat, is ready for liftoff aboard a…
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Three astronauts assigned to Crew Dragon mission in late 2021
The members of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station. Pictured from left are NASA astronaut Raja Chari, European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer, and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn. Credit: NASA/ESA Rookie NASA astronaut Raja Chari — a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot — veteran physician-astronaut Tom Marshburn, and European Space Agency…
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Two payloads orbited by SpaceX’s launch of NRO mission
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on the NROL-108 mission Dec. 19 from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: SpaceX Tracking information released by the U.S. military indicates two government payloads rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Dec. 19 on the NROL-108 mission, a dedicated launch for the National…
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Lockheed Martin to buy rocket engine-builder Aerojet Rocketdyne
An Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C-X prototype engine, which includes 3D-printed core components, undergoes hotfire testing at Aerojet Rocketdyne’s facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. Credit: Aerojet Rocketdyne Lockheed Martin, the largest U.S. defense contractor, announced late Sunday that it has reached a deal valued at $4.4 billion to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne, a supplier of engines to…
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SpaceX closes out record-setting year of launches from Florida’s Space Coast
A Falcon 9 rocket takes off from pad 39A with the NROL-108 mission. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX hurled a secret cargo into space for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency Saturday, the 30th rocket launch to fly into Earth orbit from pads on Florida’s Space Coast in 2020. The Falcon 9 flight broke an annual record…