Tag: Falcon 9
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Station cargo flight leapfrogs commercial satellite launch on SpaceX manifest
A view of launch pad 39A, with SpaceX’s rocket erector vertical, taken on Jan. 26. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Scriptunas Images SpaceX said Sunday that the first Falcon 9 rocket launch from pad 39A, a former shuttle-era complex at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is scheduled to send a Dragon supply ship to…
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Landed Falcon 9 booster sails into Los Angeles
For the first time on the West Coast, a recovered Falcon 9 first stage has made it back to port, intact. Following its role with the successful launch of ten Iridium NEXT satellites, the booster completed a bullseye return on to the deck of SpaceX’s drone ship, before arriving in the Port of Los Angeles…
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Falcon 9 booster, first recovered off West Coast, back in port
The first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket launched Saturday has returned to port in Southern California after landing on a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean, ready for refurbishment and potential reuse on a future mission. The 15-story booster and its barge, named “Just Read the Instructions,” were towed into the Port of Los…
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SES 10 telecom satellite in Florida for launch on reused SpaceX rocket
A Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster descends to a propulsive landing on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean on April 8, 2016. The same booster is assigned to fly again next month with the SES 10 communications satellite. Credit: SpaceX A European-built communications satellite has arrived at Cape Canaveral for fueling and final launch…
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Fresh views of Saturday’s Falcon 9 rocket launch
Check out more imagery of Saturday’s liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, including pictures from remote cameras at the launch pad and new video released by the U.S. Air Force. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket soared into orbit from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, heading off with 10 Iridium voice and…
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Watch as Falcon 9 launches with 10 Iridium satellites and its first stage lands
Watch the first SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lift off since a catastrophic launch pad explosion at Cape Canaveral in September 2016. The rocket, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on January 14, 2017, was carrying 10 satellites for the Iridium mobile phone and Internet communications company. The Falcon 9 first stage was successfully…
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Photos: Falcon 9 returns to flight with weekend launch from California
Launching for the first time in four-and-a-half months, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Saturday morning with 10 satellites for Iridium’s space-based message relay network. Towering 229 feet (70 meters) tall and measuring 12 feet (3.7 meters) in diameter, the two-stage rocket fired into the sky on…
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Skywatchers: Get your Iridium flare fix now
Updated after successful launch. File photo of an Iridium flare. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now The launch of the first batch of new-generation Iridium communications satellites Saturday marked the beginning of the end for the predictable, spectacular flares of reflected sunlight produced by the old-design craft, a favorite of amateur skywatchers for nearly two decades. Iridium…
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Live coverage: SpaceX resumes launches from California
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with 10 Iridium communications satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. SpaceX’s live video coverage begins at approximately 12:20 p.m. EST (9:20 a.m. PST; 1720…
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SpaceX resumes flights with on-target launch for Iridium
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California’s Central Coast at 9:54:39 a.m. PST (12:54:39 p.m. EST; 1754:39 GMT). Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket climbed into orbit from California’s Central Coast on Saturday, resuming service after an explosive setback last year and delivering much-needed reinforcements to Iridium’s satellite constellation providing communications by land, sea…