Tag: Falcon 9
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NASA, SpaceX launch CRS-24 to the International Space Station
NASA and SpaceX launched the Commercial Resupply Services 24 (CRS-24) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) early Tuesday morning aboard a SpaceX Cargo Dragon 2 vehicle. Liftoff occurred at 5:07 AM EST (10:07 UTC) on Tuesday, December 21, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following launch and separation,…
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Turksat-5B rides second of three Falcon 9 launches in three days
Following a successful Starlink mission from Vandenberg, California, SpaceX has launched a second Falcon 9 mission Saturday, this time from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The second of three missions planned for just three days will carry the Turksat-5B communications satellite to GTO (geostationary transfer orbit). The launch occurred Saturday evening on December 18 at the opening…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 completes rare 53 degree inclination launch from Vandenberg
In the company’s third-to-last launch of 2021, SpaceX deployed another group of Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit early on Saturday morning. The Starlink Group 4-4 mission launched 52 Starlink satellites into a 53.22° inclination orbit at 4:41 AM PST (12:41 UTC) Saturday morning. The mission lifted off from SLC-4E (Space Launch Complex 4 East)…
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NASA, SpaceX launch IXPE x-ray observatory atop Falcon 9
NASA and SpaceX have launched the revolutionary Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) space observatory from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Thursday morning atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 1:00 a.m. EST (06:00 UTC). IXPE is a 325 kg, three-telescope polarized x-ray observatory. A joint venture between NASA and the Italian Space…
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SpaceX enters busy December with Starlink launch from Florida
Kicking off a busy end to the company’s 2021 launch campaign, SpaceX successfully launched a group of Starlink satellites from Florida on Thursday evening. The Group 4-3 mission, carrying 48 Starlink satellites and two rideshare payloads to low Earth orbit, lifted off from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:12 PM EST…
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NASA and CNES to begin SWOT testing as its launch date approaches
With less than one year to launch, France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and NASA are completing the final spacecraft assembly of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft. SWOT is a joint NASA and CNES mission with contributions by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA). The SWOT…
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NASA’s DART asteroid redirect mission launches aboard Falcon 9 from Vandenberg
SpaceX has launched NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirect Test) mission onboard a Falcon 9 rocket. DART is a demonstration mission to determine the effects of an intentional impact on an asteroid. DART’s collision with the asteroid moon Dimorphos is set for October 2022. The launch of the small spacecraft from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force…
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SpaceX conducts Saturday Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral
SpaceX has resumed Starlink launches from the East coast on Saturday, as the company delivered 53 second-generation satellites aboard to orbit. Following Friday’s weather-related scrub, the launch took place on Saturday, at 7:19 AM EST, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Named Starlink 4-1, this is the…
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SpaceX launches mostly-rookie Crew-3 mission to ISS
SpaceX and NASA have successfully launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on the Crew-3 mission. The crew took flight onboard a Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon Endurance from Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A Wednesday evening, November 10, at 9:03 PM EST (02:03 UTC on November 11). At the station, the four will spend…
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DART in transit to Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of November 2021 launch
After completing months of tests and assembly, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is in transit to Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California ahead of its launch. DART is a first-of-its-kind NASA mission to demonstrate an asteroid deflection via a kinetic impact. The probe will launch on a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket from Space…