Tag: commercial-space
-
Xplore partners with Nanoracks to set up opportunities for deep-space missions
An artist’s conception shows Xplore’s Xcraft probe making its way to the moon. (Xplore Illustration) Seattle-based Xplore says it’s joining forces with Houston-based Nanoracks to create low-cost rideshare opportunities for payloads heading for the moon, Mars and other destinations beyond Earth orbit. The partnership takes advantage of the commercial approach to deep-space exploration that’s being…
-
SpaceX boosts 60 more Starlink satellites into orbit after weather delays
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 9:06:49 a.m. EST (1406:49 GMT) Wednesday with 60 Starlink Internet satellites. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now After waiting more than a week for good weather, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday from Cape Canaveral with 60 more satellites for the company’s Starlink Internet network, continuing to…
-
Axiom wins NASA approval to attach commercial habitat to space station
Axiom Space says it plans to attach multiple commercial modules to the International Space Station beginning in the latter half of 2024. Credit: Axiom Space NASA has selected Axiom Space, a Houston-based startup partnering with Boeing and other aerospace contractors, to attach a commercial habitat to the International Space Station and begin constructing an orbiting…
-
NASA clears Axiom Space to put commercial habitat on space station, with Boeing on the team
Artwork shows the Axiom Segment connected to the International Space Station. (Axiom Space Illustration) Houston-based Axiom Space has won NASA’s nod to attach a commercial habitation module to the International Space Station by as early as 2024. The “Axiom Segment” of the space station is designed to connect to the station’s Harmony node and provide…
-
SpaceX scrubs Starlink launch due to winds aloft, will try again Wednesday
EDITOR’ S NOTE: Updated at 6:15 p.m. EST (2315 GMT) after SpaceX confirmed a launch delay to Wednesday, Jan. 29. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands vertical at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad Monday before officials scrubbed the countdown due to strong upper level winds. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now SpaceX called off a scheduled…
-
Live coverage: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket with more Starlink satellites
Live coverage of SpaceX’s preparations for the next Falcon 9 rocket launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will launch SpaceX’s fourth batch of Starlink broadband satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Spaceflight Now members can watch a live view of the Falcon 9 rocket…
-
Bipartisan House bill spurns 2024 moon landing goal, favoring focus on Mars
Rep. Kendra Horn (D-Oklahoma), chair of the space and aeronautics subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani A NASA authorization bill released by the House Science Committee Friday proposes major changes to the direction of the agency’s human spaceflight programs, with a goal to land crews on the moon…
-
SpaceX wins contract to launch Egyptian communications satellite
File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX and the Egyptian satellite operator Nilesat have signed a contract to launch the Nilesat 301 communications craft on a Falcon 9 rocket in early 2022, SpaceX confirmed this week. The commercial agreement was…
-
Firefly confirms fire during first stage test
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated with additional details and video from Firefly. Firefly Aerospace tweeted this picture Wednesday evening, writing that teams were loading liquid oxygen into a test version of the company’s Alpha booster in preparation for the first hotfire qualification test of the rocket’s first stage. Credit: Firefly Aerospace Firefly Aerospace confirmed a “test anomaly” resulted…
-
SpaceX releases preliminary results from Crew Dragon abort test
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Jan. 25 with change in description of trigger setting. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule is offloaded from the company’s recovery ship, Go Searcher, after returning to Port Canaveral on Jan. 19 following an in-flight launch escape demonstration. Credit: SpaceX Data from the Jan. 19 in-flight launch escape demonstration of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft indicate…