Tag: Elon Musk
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Why is Elon Musk talking to Vladimir Putin, and what does it mean for SpaceX?
In a blockbuster story published Friday morning, The Wall Street Journal reports that Elon Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about two years, with the discussions covering a range of issues from geopolitics to business to personal matters. There are no on-the-record sources confirming the regular conversations between Musk…
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Dragon receives long-planned propulsive landing upgrade after years of development
SpaceX announced a new capability for the Dragon spacecraft on Sept. 27 in the unlikely event of a parachute failure. Dragon now has built-in redundancy to propulsively land using its SuperDraco thrusters, saving the vehicle and potential crew from a rough landing or imminent danger. SpaceX introduced the concept of a propulsive landing Dragon over…
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Elon Musk threatens to sue FAA after feds propose fining SpaceX $633,000
The Federal Aviation Administration alleged Tuesday that SpaceX violated its launch license requirements on two occasions last year by using an unauthorized launch control center and fuel farm at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The regulator seeks to fine SpaceX $633,009 for the alleged violations, which occurred during a Falcon 9 launch and a…
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Elon Musk says SpaceX and X will relocate their headquarters to Texas
Elon Musk said Tuesday that he will move the headquarters of SpaceX and his social media company X from California to Texas in response to a new gender identity law signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Musk’s announcement, made via a post on X, follows his decision in 2021 to move the headquarters of the…
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SpaceX’s unmatched streak of perfection with the Falcon 9 rocket is over
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket suffered an upper stage engine failure and deployed a batch of Starlink Internet satellites into a perilously low orbit after launch from California Thursday night, the first blemish on the workhorse launcher’s record in more than 300 missions since 2016. Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, posted on X that…
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SpaceX’s Starship Set for Fifth Test Flight in Four Weeks
SpaceX is gearing up for the fifth test flight of its ambitious Starship rocket, set to take place in the coming weeks, according to CEO Elon Musk’s recent announcement on Friday via his social media platform, X. “Flight 5 in 4 weeks,” Musk stated, underscoring the imminent schedule for the 400-foot-tall Starship, comprising the Super…
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SpaceX Starship Completes Successful Test Flight Despite Booster Engine Issue
SpaceX successfully conducted the fourth test flight of its Starship launch system on June 6, with both the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage returning to the surface intact. The launch, which took place at 8:50 a.m. Eastern from the Starbase test site at Boca Chica, Texas, encountered a minor setback when one of…
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SpaceX celebrates major progress on the third flight of Starship
SpaceX’s new-generation Starship rocket, the most powerful and largest launcher ever built, flew halfway around the world following liftoff from South Texas on Thursday, accomplishing a key demonstration of its ability to carry heavyweight payloads into low-Earth orbit. SpaceX’s third towering Starship rocket, standing some 397 feet (121 meters) tall and wider than the fuselage…
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U.S. Space Force Initiates Environmental Study for Potential SpaceX Starship Launches
The U.S. Space Force is embarking on environmental studies to assess the feasibility of SpaceX Starship launches from either the current Cape Canaveral facility or a potential new complex. The Department of the Air Force, inclusive of the Space Force, unveiled plans for an environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate Starship launch operations at Cape…
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Rocket Report: A new estimate of Starship costs; Japan launches spy satellite
Welcome to Edition 6.27 of the Rocket Report! This week, we discuss an intriguing new report looking at Starship. Most fascinating, the report covers SpaceX’s costs to build a Starship and how these costs will come down as the company ramps up its build and launch cadence. At the other end of the spectrum, former…