Tag: Falcon 9
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch next ISS crew rotation; Electron launches debris removal demonstration
Despite multiple scrubs and delays due to weather violations, SpaceX broke its own cadence record in January with 10 launches and landings in a calendar month. Those weather challenges have prevailed into February. Between these and the pad logistics related to launching the Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission, PACE satellite, USSF-124, and an upcoming crewed mission,…
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SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket with national security satellites from Cape Canaveral
A Falcon 9 rocket supporting the USSF-124 mission for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Space Development Agency (SDA) launches from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now SpaceX launched its eighth Falcon 9 rocket on a National Security Space Launch (NSSL) mission on Wednesday evening. The launch, named United…
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SpaceX launches missile tracking satellites for MDA and SDA
SpaceX launched the USSF-124 mission carrying six prototype missile tracking satellites for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Space Development Agency (SDA) into a 1000 kilometer altitude, 40 degree inclination orbit on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 5:30 PM EST (22:30 UTC). The mission took off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in…
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SpaceX, Intuitive Machines launches robotic lander to the Moon
Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, named ‘Odysseus,’ displayed prior to encapsulation inside a pair of SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairings. Image: SpaceX Update 2:10 p.m. EST: The Nova-C lander successfully separated from the spacecraft and teams were able to acquire signal with the lander. A launch pad billed as the Apollo program’s “Moonport” once again honored…
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SpaceX launches Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base supporting the Starlink 7-13 mission. Image: SpaceX Update 8:00 p.m. EST: SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket and recovered the first stage booster on a droneship. SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from the West Coast following multiple weather-related scrubs earlier in the…
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SpaceX successfully launches NASA’s PACE mission on polar orbit flight
The Falcon 9 with NASA’s PACE mission atop stands ready for launch at pad 40. Image: SpaceX. Update 2:30 a.m. EST: SpaceX and NASA confirm a successful launch. SpaceX launched its second NASA mission of the year on Thursday morning. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Earth-observing spacecraft PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) lifted…
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Falcon 9 launches PACE science satellite for NASA
After a record-setting month featuring 10 launches, SpaceX is gearing up for a busy February. One of the launches this month is the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) ocean science satellite, which flew aboard a Falcon 9 in a rare polar corridor launch from Florida. PACE launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at the…
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NASA’s PACE mission aims to vastly increase understanding of the oceans, atmosphere
NASA’s PACE spacecraft inside a clean room at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, FL. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now From the oceans to the atmosphere, there’s still quite a bit we don’t understand about our planet. NASA’s latest Earth-observing spacecraft hopes to greatly expand our knowledge of the globe in just a few years. The PACE…
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Launch Roundup: NASA’s PACE mission, Chinese art satellites, and more Starlink missions
February started with two Chinese launches. On Feb. 2, a Long March 2C rocket launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China at 23:37 UTC, carrying 11 satellites for a Geely Constellation. A Chinese multistage solid rocket, Jielong-3, launched from a barge in coastal waters off Yangjiang in the South China Sea a few…
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Polaris Dawn astronauts discuss training for historic commercial spacewalk
Polaris Dawn Commander Jared Isaacman (left) and Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet alongside a SpaceX render of the spacewalk that will be performed during their mission. Photoillustration: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Amid a flurry of astronaut missions scheduled for 2024, a commercial flight is aiming to mark a historic first: a non-governmental spacewalk. This is just one…