Tag: Falcon 9
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SpaceX launches 100th Direct to Cell Starlink satellite on Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral
The plume from the second stage lights up the pre-dawn sky over the Kennedy Space Center about seven and a half minutes after launch. Image: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now. Update 5:24 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the Starlink 8-9 mission and landed the booster, B1073, on the droneship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ SpaceX launched a batch of…
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Yahsat Chooses SpaceX for $1.1 Billion Satellite Launch Program
Yahsat, the Emirati satellite operator, announced on Friday that it has selected SpaceX to launch its Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 geostationary communications satellites as part of a $1.1 billion program. The Al Yah 4 satellite is scheduled for launch in 2027, followed by Al Yah 5 in 2028, both aboard SpaceX’s Falcon…
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SpaceX continues record-breaking year with Starship’s full success and Falcon milestones
SpaceX continues to break records with its Falcon rockets during 2024 completing to date a total of 67 missions so far and putting the company on track to complete 135 launches by the end of it. SpaceX also unveiled a new extravehicular activity suit, completed several missions for the US and foreign governments, as well…
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket Lifts Indonesian Satellite into Orbit from Cape Canaveral
In a significant stride toward enhancing broadband internet access across Indonesia, the country’s latest communications satellite, Telkomsat HTS 113BT, also known as Merah Putih 2, was successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 3:11 p.m. EST. The launch, conducted amidst challenging windy conditions, saw the Falcon 9…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches NROL-186 Mission for U.S. National Reconnaissance Office
n a night-time spectacle at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the NROL-186 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on June 28. The mission, conducted from Space Launch Complex 4 East, involved the deployment of a new batch of satellites for a classified imaging satellite constellation jointly developed…
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Eumetsat Shifts Weather Satellite Launch to Falcon 9, Surprising European Space Sector
Eumetsat, the European weather satellite operator, has unexpectedly decided to launch its upcoming Meteosat Third Generation-Sounder 1 (MTG-S1) satellite on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket instead of Europe’s Ariane 6, a move that has stirred frustration among European space officials. Announced late on June 28, Eumetsat attributed the decision to “exceptional circumstances” but did not elaborate…
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Mere days before its debut, the Ariane 6 rocket loses a key customer to SpaceX
In a shocking announcement this week, the European intergovernmental organization responsible for launching and operating the continent’s weather satellites has pulled its next mission off a future launch of Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket. Instead, the valuable MTG-S1 satellite will now reach geostationary orbit on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in 2025. “This decision was driven…
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SpaceX launches multiple satellites for the NRO from Vandenberg Space Force Base
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the NROL-186 mission on June 28, 2024. Image: SpaceX SpaceX launched a national security mission on behalf of the United States’ National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from Vandenberg Space Force Base Friday night. The spy agency described the classified mission as “the second…
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Rocket Report: China flies reusable rocket hopper; Falcon Heavy dazzles
Welcome to Edition 6.50 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX launched its 10th Falcon Heavy rocket this week with the GOES-U weather satellite for NOAA, and this one was a beauty. The late afternoon timing of the launch and atmospheric conditions made for great photography. Falcon Heavy has become a trusted rocket for the US government,…
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Some European launch officials still have their heads stuck in the sand
There was a panel discussion at a space conference in Singapore 11 years ago that has since become legendary in certain corners of the space industry for what it reveals about European attitudes toward upstart SpaceX. The panel included representatives from a handful of launch enterprises, including Europe-based Arianespace, and the US launch company SpaceX.…