Tag: Falcon 9
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Photos: Satellites readied for tandem launch on Falcon 9
Two communications spacecraft built by Boeing and owned by Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite will ride a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Sunday, and these pictures show the satellites stacked together and prepared for liftoff from Cape Canaveral. The images were taken at Boeing’s satellite factory in El Segundo, California, and at SpaceX’s payload processing…
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Live coverage: SpaceX Falcon 9 launches
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket with the Eutelsat 115 West B and ABS 3A communications satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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Legless Falcon 9 conducts Static Fire test ahead of Sunday launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 v1.1 has conducted a Static Fire – or Hot Fire – test at Cape Canaveral’s SLC-40 ahead of Sunday’s mission to loft the ABS-3A and Eutelsat 115 West B satellites into orbit. This mission won’t involve a propulsive landing on the company’s ASDS, although it will still provide another milestone for SpaceX –…
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Falcon Heavy rocket hangar rises at launch pad 39A
SpaceX’s new hangar goes up at launch pad 39A. Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now SpaceX began erecting a new hangar at a former space shuttle launch pad in Florida last week, moving the historic facility closer to launching astronauts again. Positioned at the south perimeter of launch pad 39A, the hangar sits on the gravel crawlerway…
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SES satellites could be first to launch from Texas spaceport
Story updated Feb. 26. File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on Feb. 11. Credit: SpaceX Two communications satellites owned by SES are booked to fly into orbit — possibly from South Texas — on a pair of Falcon 9 rockets in 2017, giving SpaceX two payloads that could be assigned…
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100th Merlin 1D engine flies on Falcon 9 rocket
File photo of a Merlin 1D engine. Credit: SpaceX Depending on how you count it, SpaceX launched its 100th kerosene-fueled Merlin 1D rocket engine on a Falcon 9 rocket Feb. 11, underscoring what it says is an accelerated flight regime for the centerpiece of the company’s propulsion shop. The Falcon 9 rocket uses 10 Merlin…
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SES signs up for launch with more powerful Falcon 9 engines
A Falcon 9 rocket launches Feb. 11 with NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory. Credit: NASA/Tony Gray A communications payload owned by the Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES will ride the first launch of an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket in mid-2015, SES officials said Friday. The decision comes after a review of the risks of launching the…
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SpaceX leases property for landing pads at Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg
Artist’s concept of a Falcon rocket stage on final descent to a vertical propulsive landing as envisioned by SpaceX. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX plans to set up landing pads on abandoned launch sites at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base in a step toward the company’s vision for eventual recovery and reuse of rocket boosters.…
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Photos: Falcon 9 soars into space at sunset
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral on its 15th flight just before sunset Wednesday, putting on a spectacular sky show en route to space with a NOAA satellite to measure the solar wind. The 224-foot-tall booster launched at 6:03 p.m. EST (2303 GMT) from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad, pitched east-northeast…
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Space weather observatory blasts off after 17-year wait
The Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at 6:03 p.m. EST (2303 GMT) with the Deep Space Climate Observatory. Credit: SpaceX An interplanetary space weather station rocketed away from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday, speeding toward a remote operating post a million miles from Earth to help forecasters warn of intense solar…