Tag: commercial-space
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Chinese private company reaches orbit for first time
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated with orbital parameters. The Hyperbola 1 rocket lifted off Thursday from the Jiuquan space center in northwestern China’s Inner Mongolia region. Credit: i-Space A startup company named i-Space became the first Chinese private firm to achieve orbit Thursday with a successful launch of a light-class Hyperbola 1 booster. The Hyperbola 1 rocket carried…
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Video: SpaceX CRS-18 pre-launch press conference
NASA and SpaceX officials briefed the media Wednesday on the planned launch of a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo capsule on a resupply flight to the International Space Station. See our Mission Status Center for live coverage of the countdown and launch. Email the author. Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.
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Live coverage: SpaceX cargo ship arrives at space station
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral with SpaceX’s 18th operational Dragon resupply flight to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”NASA TV”] [tabby title=”SpaceX Webcast”] [tabbyending]
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Threatening storms scrub SpaceX launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad during Wednesday’s countdown. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX called off a Falcon 9 countdown Wednesday due to the threat of lightning from thunderstorms along Florida’s Space Coast, pushing back the departure of a cargo mission for the International Space Station until Thursday. But weather conditions…
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Rocket Lab announces August launch with commercial and military satellites
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated with orbital parameters, and identities of the U.S. Air Force Command satellites. The first stage for Rocket Lab’s next Electron launch. Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab’s next launch from New Zealand in August will carry four small spacecraft into orbit for BlackSky’s Earth-imaging constellation, the U.S. Air Force, and a French startup developing…
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Ariane 5 launch delayed in aftermath of Vega failure
The first stage for the next Ariane 5 launch is prepared for stacking on top off a mobile launch table inside the launcher integration building at the Guiana Space Center. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin The next flight of an Ariane 5 rocket, previously set for next week, has…
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Falcon 9 rocket test-fired ahead of station cargo launch
A plume of exhaust appears from pad 40 Friday evening as SpaceX test-fires the Falcon 9 rocket’s nine Merlin engines. Credit: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Friday evening, igniting nine Merlin engines for several seconds while hold-down restraints kept the launcher on the ground. The company also confirmed…
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Live coverage: Falcon 9 ignited for test-firing ahead of launch next week
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 a Dragon supply ship with several tons of cargo and experiments for the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. A SpaceX Falcon…
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Olis Robotics and Tethers Unlimited join forces on remote-controlled space robots
An artist’s conception shows a Mantis robotic arm at work on Tethers Unlimited’s Refabricator 3-D printer and recycler. (Tethers Unlimited / Olis Robotics Illustration) Two space tech companies that are headquartered in the Seattle area, Olis Robotics and Tethers Unlimited, are joining forces to create a new kind of remote-controlled robotic system that could be…
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SpaceX points to leaky valve as culprit in Crew Dragon test accident
A prototype of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule completed a pad abort test at Cape Canaveral in May 2015. Credit: SpaceX Investigators believe a leak of propellant inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft’s propulsion system led to the capsule’s explosion April 20 during a ground test at Cape Canaveral, and a senior SpaceX official said Monday that…