Tag: Elon Musk
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NASA astronauts launch from U.S. soil for first time in nine years
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft take off from the Kennedy Space Center on the first orbital spaceflight from U.S. soil since 2011. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now Two veteran NASA astronauts rocketed away from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday to begin a test flight of a…
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After seeing milestone launch, President Trump hails space effort as a force for ‘pride and unity’
President Donald Trump delivers remarks in Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building with a mockup of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule in the background. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota) President Donald Trump held up America’s space effort as a unifying endeavor for a divided nation after becoming only the third sitting president to witness the launch…
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Dragon crew names their spacecraft Endeavour; complete first manual flight test
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT) on May 31 with downlink video. Credit: NASA TV / Spaceflight Now Hours after arriving in orbit, Dragon astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken completed their first manual flight test using touchscreen controls on the SpaceX’s new crew capsule, and revealed “Endeavour” as the name of their…
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SpaceX Starship test vehicle explodes moments after test-firing
A full-size prototype of SpaceX’s Starship violently exploded in South Texas moments after a test-firing of its Raptor engine Friday, dealing a setback to the company’s next-generation reusable rocket program. A prototype of SpaceX’s Starship violently exploded in South Texas moments after a test-firing of its Raptor engine Friday, dealing a setback to the company’s…
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SpaceX test-fires Raptor engine on Starship test rocket
Video credit: SPadre / YouTube A test-firing of a Raptor engine on the latest in a series of Starship test rockets Tuesday night in Texas moved SpaceX closer to performing a low-altitude “hop” to gather data on the vehicle’s launch and landing characteristics. The single methane-fueled Raptor engine on the bottom of the Starship…
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NASA confirms it’s working with Tom Cruise (and SpaceX?) to make a movie on space station
Tom Cruise played a drone repairman who turned into an action hero in the 2013 sci-fi movie “Oblivion.” (Universal Pictures) NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has confirmed in a tweet that the space agency is working with movie star Tom Cruise on a project that involves shooting a film on the International Space Station. Deadline Hollywood…
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SpaceX to debut satellite-dimming sunshade on Starlink launch next month
SpaceX plans to debut a new sunshade structure on its future Starlink satellites. Credit: SpaceX A new sunshade, or visor, designed to reduce the brightness of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband Internet satellites will debut on the company’s next launch, a measure intended to alleviate astronomers’ concerns about impacts on observations through ground-based telescopes, SpaceX founder Elon…
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Starship prototype clears cryogenic pressure test
SpaceX founder Elon Musk said a prototype for the company’s planned Starship launch vehicle passed a cryogenic proof test Sunday night in South Texas, clearing the way for teams to install a Raptor engine this week for a test-firing. The Starship test vehicle, designated SN4, was loaded with super-cold liquid nitrogen Sunday night in a…
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Space companies rally to supply medical equipment amid pandemic
A “bridge ventilator” designed by Virgin Orbit. Credit: Virgin Orbit While production of rockets and satellites continues across much of the space industry amid the coronavirus pandemic, engineers at several space companies — including SpaceX, Virgin Orbit and Blue Origin — have started working on medical devices and protective equipment in response to shortages in…
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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says there’s nothing to fear from Starlink broadband satellites (and no spin-out)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk discusses Starlink and Starship during a fireside chat at the Satellite 2000 conference. (Via Satellite / Access Intelligence via YouTube) Will SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellite constellation ruin astronomy? Will it threaten the telecom industry? Will SpaceX spin out Starlink anytime soon? SpaceX’s billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, answered all three questions today…