Tag: Elon Musk
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Dragon successfully launched, rocket recovery demo crash lands
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 4:47 a.m. EST (0947 GMT) from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II/Scriptunas Images A commercial Dragon spaceship soared into orbit from Cape Canaveral on Saturday in pursuit of the International Space Station, but the automated craft’s Falcon 9 booster crash landed after flying back…
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SpaceX rocket crash-lands on drone ship in ambitious recovery attempt
The “autonomous spaceport drone ship” that SpaceX built to recover the Falcon 9 first stage. SpaceX was unsuccessful in its inaugural attempt to land the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket softly on a barge in the ocean, the company reported overnight. The company’s founder, Elon Musk, says the hard landing of the unmanned first…
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SpaceX hopes to recover rocket intact after next launch
SpaceX’s reusable rocket testbed — the Falcon 9R — touches down at the company’s Central Texas development facility after a brief vertical takeoff and landing test flight. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX will test out new stabilizing fins that could help land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating barge in the Atlantic Ocean…
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SpaceX launching Seattle-area office, recruiting squadrons of Microsoft engineers
Elon Musk Space Exploration Technologies, the Elon Musk-owned company better known as SpaceX, has been heavily recruiting engineers from Microsoft and other companies in the region as it gears up a new Seattle-area office. Recent status updates on LinkedIn show several former Microsoft engineers in the Seattle region joining SpaceX within the past month, and we’re hearing…
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Construction of Texas launch site to begin next year
SpaceX broke ground on a new commercial spaceport Sept. 22 on the shores of South Texas, committing to the construction of the world’s first privately-owned satellite launch pad scheduled to be operational as soon as late 2016. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Texas Gov. Rick Perry break ground on the South…
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Musk vs. Bezos: SpaceX challenges Blue Origin’s rocket-landing patent
SpaceX’s SuperDraco thruster would enable a landing similar to one described in a Blue Origin patent. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is petitioning the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to overturn a patent awarded to Blue Origin, the space venture backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — arguing that Blue Origin’s approach for landing a booster rocket at sea is actually nothing…
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Elon Musk Q and A – Updates SpaceX status on Falcon and Dragon
Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies – commonly known as SpaceX – has given NASASpaceflight.com an exclusive interview, in which he updates the status of their Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, along with their push towards the debut of their Dragon manned spacecraft. Musk speaks candidly about the challenges involved with taking…
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SpaceX has magical goals for Falcon 9
Elon Musk, CEO of The Space Exploration Company – commonly known as SpaceX – has spoken about the improvements necessary at his Pacific island launch site in the US Army’s Kwajalein test range to support the Falcon 9, progress on the vehicle’s development, and work on the next generation of Merlin 1 engines. The Falcon…
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Space X – investigation heading for closure
The official US Government joint investigation into the Falcon 1 launch failure in March will be completed in approximately two weeks, SpaceX reports. The findings of the “DARPA/SpaceX Return to Flight Board” will be made public after the senior DARPA leadership has been briefed, stated Elon Musk yesterday in his first official update since just…
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SpaceX’s Musk and Thompson Q and A
SpaceX founder Elon Musk and VP of Development Operations Chris Thompson have answered questions submitted by NASASpaceflight readers. In the full Q&A text below, Elon Musk reveals initial launch site plans for the Falcon 9, how the STS External Tank effected Falcon material selection, mission control with a crew of six, a redesigned Merlin 1…