Tag: commercial-space
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SpaceX’s first rocket built for humans test-fired in Texas
The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was test-fired Aug. 29 at the company’s test site in McGregor, Texas. The booster will launch NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Credit: SpaceX The Falcon 9 booster assigned to launch two NASA astronauts on an orbital test flight of…
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SpaceX’s Dragon capsule back on Earth with 3,400 pounds of cargo
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft flies over the Canadian Rocky Mountains in this view captured from the International Space Station after the supply ship departed Tuesday. Credit: NASA/Christina Koch A SpaceX Dragon supply ship departed the International Space Station and returned to Earth Tuesday to conclude its third round-trip flight to the orbiting research outpost, bringing home…
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Live coverage: Dragon supply ship returns to Earth
Live coverage of the departure of SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship from the International Space Station and its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean with several tons of experiment samples and cargo. SpaceX and NASA will not provide live video coverage of the splashdown. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page.…
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SpaceX launches Starship “hopper” on dramatic test flight
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION SpaceX launched its sub-scale Starship “hopper” spacecraft on a brief unpiloted up-and-down test flight at the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, test facility Tuesday, a dramatic demonstration of rocket technology intended to pave the way to a new, more powerful heavy lift booster and, eventually, crew-carrying interplanetary spacecraft. Running…
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Boeing, SpaceX aim for more commercial crew test flights this fall
Technicians at Boeing’s satellite production facility in El Segundo, California, position a CST-100 Starliner inside an environmental test chamber for testing earlier this year. This specific Starliner vehicle will fly on Boeing’s Crew Flight Test, the first Starliner mission with astronauts on-board. Credit: Boeing Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule could take off in October on its…
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SpaceX aborts Starhopper test flight, could try again Tuesday
Credit: SpaceX SpaceX aborted an attempted flight Monday of the company’s Starhopper test rocket, a prototype for the company’s next-generation Starship vehicle. The hop test was to fly to a height of around 500 feet (150 meters) over SpaceX’s launch site at Boca Chica, Texas. SpaceX said teams could mount another attempt for the Starhopper…
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Launch providers announce rideshare missions large and small
Artist’s illustration of a Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX and Arianespace recently announced plans to launch rideshare missions to sun-synchronous and geostationary orbit, dedicating big rocket capacity for small satellites as the U.S.-based launch broker Spaceflight committed to using a new Indian microsatellite launcher set to debut later this year. The announcements…
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Rocket Lab launch fulfills initial block of BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket streaks into the sky over Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand in this long exposure image. Credit: Rocket Lab The fourth and last spacecraft in BlackSky’s initial flock of commercial Earth-imaging microsatellites successfully launched Monday aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket with three other payloads, setting the stage for the final assembly…
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China’s Jielong 1 smallsat launcher successful on first flight
The first flight of the Chinese Jielong 1 rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan space center in northwestern China at 0411 GMT (12:11 a.m. EDT) Saturday. Credit: Xinhua A solid-fueled small satellite launcher named Jielong 1 fired into orbit Saturday on its first flight from northwestern China, debuting a new rocket developed by a spinoff…
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Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches four satellites
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand carrying four small satellites into orbit on a rideshare mission arranged by Spaceflight and Rocket Lab. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Rocket Lab’s live video webcast begins approximately 15 minutes…