Tag: commercial-space
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NRO, the U.S. spy satellite agency, preps for first dedicated launch on foreign soil
The payload shroud for Rocket Lab’s next mission — designed NROL-151 by the National Reconnaissance Office — is pictured inside a processing facility in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab’s first mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, which owns the U.S. government’s fleet of intelligence-gathering satellites, is scheduled to launch from New Zealand as…
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Live coverage: Next SpaceX launch expected no earlier than Monday
Live coverage of SpaceX’s 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. SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket was raised vertical Monday on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral…
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Photos: Crew Dragon returns to port after in-flight abort test
The Crew Dragon spacecraft arrives at Port Canaveral on Jan. 19, 2020, after SpaceX’s in-flight abort test. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now Loaded onto a SpaceX recovery ship, the Crew Dragon capsule that performed a successful in-flight abort test Sunday over Florida’s Space Coast pulled into Port Canaveral hours later after being retrieved from…
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SpaceX test-fires rocket for next Starlink mission; launch date under review
Nine Merlin engines on the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired for several seconds at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) Monday during a prelaunch static fire test. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now Just one day after a mission from a nearby launch pad, SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket Monday at…
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SpaceX aces final major test before first crew mission
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster disintegrated in a fireball — as expected — a few seconds after the Crew Dragon capsule fired away from the top of the rocket in an in-flight escape demonstration Sunday. Credit: Spaceflight Now SpaceX performed a dramatic high-altitude test flight Sunday of the company’s Crew Dragon capsule over Florida’s Space Coast,…
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Photos: SpaceX purposely fails rocket to test crew capsule safety system
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Jan. 21 with additional photos. Credit: Katie Darby SpaceX simulated an in-flight emergency Sunday to verify the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft has the capability to catapult itself away from a failing Falcon 9 rocket. The in-flight abort test demonstrated the human-rated capsule can safely and rapidly fly away from a Falcon 9 rocket…
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SpaceX aces fiery rehearsal of worst-case scenario for Crew Dragon spaceflights
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from its Florida launch pad to begin an in-flight test of the Crew Dragon space taxi’s abort system. (SpaceX / NASA via YouTube) With a fiery flash and volleys of cheers, SpaceX and NASA today rehearsed something they hope will never happen: a catastrophic rocket failure at the worst…
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SpaceX will trigger an intentional rocket failure to prove crew capsule’s safety
Illustration of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket during the company’s uncrewed In-Flight Abort Test for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. This demonstration test of Crew Dragon’s launch escape capabilities is designed to provide valuable data toward NASA certifying SpaceX’s crew transportation system for carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX…
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Pending test outcomes, NASA says SpaceX could launch astronauts in early March
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) Saturday with abort test launch delay. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley inside SpaceX’s crew access arm early Friday at launch pad 39A, where they participated in a dry run of their suit-up activities and movements before their launch on a Crew Dragon spacecraft later this…
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Live coverage: SpaceX successfully performs Crew Dragon abort test
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”NASA TV”] [tabby title=”SpaceX Webcast”] [tabbyending] NASA TV coverage of the SpaceX In-Flight Abort Test begins around 15 minutes prior to liftoff,…