Tag: commercial-space
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SpaceX performs hold-down firing for heavyweight satellite launch Monday
A previously-flown Falcon 9 booster ignited its nine Merlin engines at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad for a test-firing at 1:20 p.m. EST (1820 GMT) Friday. Credit: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now A test-firing of a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster Friday at Cape Canaveral paved the way for SpaceX’s next launch, scheduled for Monday night with…
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Live coverage: Falcon 9 set for launch Monday from Cape Canaveral
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 the JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 communications satellite for Sky Perfect JSAT Corp. and Kacific Broadband Satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Credit: Spaceflight Now Check…
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Rocket Lab to debut Virginia launch pad with U.S. Air Force mission next year
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) after press conference. File photo of an Electron rocket lifting off from Rocket Lab’s launch site in New Zealand, powered by nine liquid-fueled Rutherford engines. Credit: Rocket Lab / Andrew Burns & Simon Moffatt Rocket Lab plans to launch a research and development microsatellite mission for the…
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NASA gives go-ahead for Starliner test flight to space station
Boeing’s first space-ready Starliner capsule stands atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad. Credit: United Launch Alliance NASA officials cleared Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for flight Thursday after a “thorough and comprehensive” review of the crew capsule’s readiness, setting the stage for final pre-launch preparations at Cape Canaveral…
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It’s all systems go from NASA for uncrewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner to space station
Perched atop its Atlas 5 rocket, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space taxi is being prepared for launch. (United Launch Alliance Photo) After conducting a flight readiness review today, NASA gave its go-ahead for launching Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space taxi on an uncrewed demonstration flight to the International Space Station on Dec. 20. Starliner is due for…
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Blue Origin’s rocket ship sends postcards, science and art to outer space and back
A drone’s-eye view shows Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship blasting off from its West Texas launch pad. (Blue Origin via YouTube) Thousands of postcards, an array of science experiments and a couple of art projects took a suborbital ride to space today on Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship, during a test flight aimed at blazing…
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Blue Origin launches New Shepard on 12th test flight
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Blue Origin’s New Shepard booster blasts off Wednesday from West Texas. Credit: Blue Origin Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched a reusable New Shepard rocket Wednesday, boosting an unpiloted capsule on a successful up-and-down flight to space in the 12th test of a spacecraft designed to carry “space tourists”…
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After weather delay, Blue Origin counts down to test flight of suborbital spaceship
Blue Origin’s New Shepard booster touches down after a test flight in 2017. (Blue Origin Photo) Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is counting down to today’s uncrewed flight test of its New Shepard suborbital spaceship, with a cargo manifest that should warm kids’ hearts for the holidays. The company plans to fly…
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Blue Origin preps for suborbital launch
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 9:15 a.m. CST (10:15 a.m. EST; 1515 GMT) after Blue Origin scrubbed Tuesday’s launch attempt. File photo of a New Shepard rocket at Blue Origin’s test site in West Texas before a previous flight. Credit: Blue Origin After poor weather scrubbed a launch attempt Tuesday, Blue Origin plans to launch the 12th…
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SpaceX to experiment with less-reflective satellite coatings on next Starlink launch
Artist’s concept of a Starlink satellite with its solar array wing unfurled. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s next launch of satellites for the company’s Starlink broadband network — planned in the final days of 2019 — will carry one spacecraft with an experimental coating designed to make it less reflective in orbit, a first step in assuaging…