Tag: commercial-space
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Launch of 250th Ariane rocket marks new era for Inmarsat broadband fleet
The 250th launch of an Ariane rocket — and the 106th Ariane 5 flight — delivered the TIBA 1 and Inmarsat GX5 communications satellites to orbit Tuesday evening. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon Egypt’s first military communications satellite and a powerhouse spacecraft to beam Internet signals to airline passengers…
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After quiet autumn, SpaceX preps for busy December launch schedule
File photo of a Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. Credit: SpaceX After a lull in launch activity this fall, SpaceX teams at Cape Canaveral are preparing for up to four Falcon 9 missions in December to close out 2019 with a surge of launches. SpaceX has launched just one Falcon…
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Live coverage: Ariane 5 rocket launches with satellites for Egypt and Inmarsat
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the TIBA 1 and Inmarsat GX5 communication satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s live video webcast will begin approximately 15 minutes before launch and will be available on this page.
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Photos: Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft rolls out of factory
Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now Boeing’s first Starliner spacecraft designed to fly to the International Space Station rolled out of a converted space shuttle hangar before dawn Thursday. The 16.5-foot-tall (5-meter) capsule emerged from its factory around 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) Thursday to begin a journey of several miles to United Launch Alliance’s Vertical Integration…
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Boeing’s first space-ready Starliner crew capsule meets its Atlas 5 launcher
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 1:30 p.m. with confirmation of lift and mate inside the Vertical Integration Facility. Boeing’s first Starliner crew capsule. Credit: Boeing Boeing’s first Starliner crew capsule to fly in space departed its factory Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a trip to a launch pad a few miles away, where…
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Boeing’s Starliner space taxi — and Rosie the Rocketeer — meet up with their rocket
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space taxi is transported out to United Launch Alliance’s vertical integration facility in Florida, where an Atlas 5 rocket is waiting. (ULA Photo) Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space taxi was moved to its Florida launch complex and set atop its United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket today in preparation for next month’s uncrewed test…
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SpaceX’s first Starship prototype ruptures during cryogenic test
Video credit: @LabPadre / LabPadre on YouTube SpaceX’s first partially-assembled Starship vehicle, originally built for atmospheric test flights, ruptured in dramatic fashion Wednesday during a cryogenic loading test at the company’s launch facility in South Texas. The winged rocket appeared to blow its upper bulkhead while undergoing testing at SpaceX’s Boca Facility facility on the…
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SpaceX offering Starship to NASA for lunar landing missions
Artist’s concept of SpaceX’s Starship on the lunar surface. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX is eligible to propose using its next-generation Starship vehicle to carry NASA robotic science payloads to the lunar surface, the U.S. space agency announced Monday, on missions that could precede future Starship flights with people on-board. SpaceX is one of five companies NASA…
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NASA watchdog report sharpens debate over cost of SpaceX vs. Boeing spaceships
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner are being developed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station for NASA. (SpaceX / Boeing Illustrations) Boeing is in line to get paid substantially more per seat than SpaceX for astronaut trips to the International Space Station, in part because it negotiated an increase in…
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Broadband satellite to serve Pacific islands delivered to Florida launch base
The JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 communications satellite has arrived at Cape Canaveral for pre-launch processing. Credit: Kacific A powerful commercial communications satellite to broadcast Internet signals over the Asia-Pacific region has arrived at Cape Canaveral for final launch preparations ahead of a planned Dec. 15 liftoff on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The JCSAT…