Tag: Falcon 9
-
Rocket Report: North Korean rocket explosion; launch over Chinese skyline
Welcome to Edition 6.46 of the Rocket Report! It looks like we will be covering the crew test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and the fourth test flight of SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket over the next week. All of this is happening as SpaceX keeps up its cadence of flying multiple Starlink missions per week.…
-
SpaceX launches 14th Falcon 9 rocket of May using booster flying for 14th time
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Starlink 6-64 mission. This was the 14th Falcon 9 launch of the month of May. Image: Spaceflight Now Update 9:30 p.m. EDT: SpaceX pushed back the T-0 liftoff time to the end of the launch window to “allow…
-
SpaceX has launched the EarthCARE climate research satellite for ESA and JAXA
The joint European-Japanese EarthCARE satellite has begun its mission to improve our understanding of Earth’s climate Tuesday, with a launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 3:20 PM Pacific Time (22:20 UTC). The Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer…
-
SpaceX launches ESA’s EarthCARE on a Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base
The European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellites is deployed from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket following its launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base on May 28, 2024. Image: SpaceX The European Space Agency launched its latest Earth observing satellite, designed to better understand the climate. The Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) has four instruments…
-
Launch Roundup: North Korean launch failure, Starliner CFT, EarthCARE
As May transitions into June, a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to study the Earth’s clouds and aerosols as well as a Russian cargo ship to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) were both on this week’s docket of launches. Two Starlink and three Chinese satellite launch missions were also scheduled, as well as the…
-
SpaceX completes Tuesday Starlink launch after Memorial Day scrub
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 on the Starlink 6-60 mission on May 28, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 10:54 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launches Starlink mission. SpaceX scrubbed a Memorial Day morning Falcon 9 launch shortly before 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC). The company did not state a…
-
SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites as the company reaches 3 million customers globally
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket takes flight supporting the Starlink 6-62 mission on Wednesday, May 23, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now SpaceX continued the expansion of its Starlink internet satellite mega-constellation with the first of two planned Falcon 9 launches from Florida this week as the company boasts hitting more than three million users. First…
-
SpaceX launches first batch of satellites for the NRO’s reconnaissance satellite constellation
A Falcon 9 heads to orbit with a payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. Image: SpaceX. Update 11:09 p.m. EDT: Adding additional information from the NRO. The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) began building a constellation of unknown size with a middle-of-the-night launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission, dubbed NROL-146, featured…
-
Launch Roundup: 100th launch of the year, Starliner delays, NASA’s PREFIRE-1 mission
There are two launches from China to start this week, the first of which will be the 95th launch attempt of the year worldwide. If all goes to plan, this week should see the 100th launch of 2024, although the schedule is rather fluid at present. SpaceX has already passed 50 launches this year and…
-
SpaceX launches Falcon 9 booster on record-breaking 21st flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage creates a so-called ‘jellyfish’ effect as it streaks across the sky over the Atlantic Ocean and a cruise ship out on the horizon. The Starlink 6-59 mission launched on May 17, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now SpaceX reached a new reusability milestone with its Falcon 9 rocket with a…