Tag: Kennedy Space Center
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Photos: Falcon 9 rocket poised for first national security flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is being readied for launch with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office early Sunday, the commercial launcher’s 33rd overall flight, and first dedicated to a U.S. government national security mission. The two-stage rocket stood vertical on launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Saturday evening as…
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Photos: Falcon 9 rocket poised for first national security flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is being readied for launch with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office early Sunday, the commercial launcher’s 33rd overall flight, and first dedicated to a U.S. government national security mission. The two-stage rocket stood vertical on launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Saturday evening as…
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Falcon 9 rocket rolled to launch pad with classified payload
The Falcon 9 rocket slated to launch on SpaceX’s first national security mission is seen on launch pad 39A on Saturday morning. Credit: Spaceflight Now Working overnight on Florida’s Space Coast, SpaceX technicians transferred a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket from the company’s commercial hangar a quarter-mile up the ramp to launch pad 39A early Saturday,…
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Weather looks good for Falcon 9 launch Sunday, but payload still a mystery
The National Reconnaissance Office has released its mission patch for Sunday’s launch. The NROL-76 mission patch “depicts Lewis and Clark heading into the great unknown to discover and explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory,” the NRO said. Credit: NRO An official weather outlook issued by U.S. Air Force meteorologists Thursday calls for partly cloudy skies…
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Watch a Falcon 9 rocket fire its engines Tuesday at pad 39A
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket completed a prelaunch hotfire test at launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday in a signifiant step before Sunday’s scheduled liftoff of a top secret U.S. government spy payload. Email the author. Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.
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SpaceX completes static fire test for Sunday launch of secret satellite
Nine Merlin engines at the base of SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket fired up Tuesday on a launch pad in Florida, wringing out the booster and ground systems ahead of a planned liftoff Sunday with a top secret payload for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency. The computer-controlled countdown sequencer oversaw filling of the two-stage…
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Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket on track for Sunday launch
Live coverage of SpaceX’s preparations for the next Falcon 9 rocket launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will launch a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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Photos: SpaceX’s photos from Thursday’s reflight of Falcon 9 booster
Remote sound-triggered cameras around launch pad 39A captured stunning views of Thursday evening’s launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the first reflight of a commercial orbital-class booster. Powered by nine Merlin 1D engines, the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 lifted off at 6:27 p.m. EDT (2227 GMT) Thursday with the SES 10 communications satellite.…
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SpaceX flies rocket for second time in historic test of cost-cutting technology
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Scriptunas Images A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sporting a fresh cleaning and several refurbishments took off Thursday from a seaside launch pad in Florida to send an SES communications satellite into space, then landed on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean to repeat a feat the same booster achieved nearly…
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Falcon 9 launch to landing replay
Video from the SpaceX webcast, featuring the launch of the SES 10 satellite atop a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket, followed by a successful barge landing by the first stage. The Falcon 9 lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:27 p.m. EDT (2227 GMT) on March 30, 2017. Video: SpaceX.