Tag: Launch Pad 39A
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Video: SpaceX rocket runs through hotfire test at pad 39A
SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket ignited its Merlin main engines for several seconds Thursday at Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A ahead of a planned launch next week. The Merlin 1D engines fired at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT), sending a plume of exhaust out the flame trench to the north of pad 39A. Liftoff is…
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4K and HD video replays of SpaceX rocket undergoing static fire test at pad 39A
In one of its final preflight tests, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ignited at pad 39A in Florida for several seconds Thursday, ramping up to full throttle in an end-to-end checkout of the booster before liftoff next week on a space station resupply flight. The cargo mission is set for launch Monday at 12:31 p.m.…
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Live coverage: SpaceX rolls out rocket for static fire
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 Dragon supply ship with several tons of cargo and experiments for the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page.…
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Shuttle-era structure dismantled piece-by-piece at pad 39A
Credit: Spaceflight Now A heavy-duty crane towering over launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in recent weeks has removed several large sections of a disused structure once needed to install satellites and space station modules into space shuttle cargo bays. A demolition crew hired by SpaceX, the launch pad’s current tenant, has plucked…
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Musk aims for November debut of Falcon Heavy
Artist’s concept of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket in flight. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX aims to launch the first Falcon Heavy rocket in November, company chief Elon Musk said Thursday, the latest in a series of schedule targets for the heavy-lift launcher’s delayed debut. Musk shared the updated schedule on social media late Thursday, a week after…
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Musk sets expectations low for maiden Falcon Heavy launch
Artist’s illustration of the Falcon Heavy’s two side-mounted boosters separating from the rocket’s core stage a few minutes after liftoff. Credit: SpaceX When SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket finally takes off for the first time, a debut now scheduled this fall, there’s a good chance the commercial heavy-lifter will falter short of reaching orbit, company founder…
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Photos: Falcon 9’s blastoff with BulgariaSat 1
Check out imagery from Friday’s liftoff of a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket booster with the BulgariaSat 1 communications satellite from Florida’s Space Coast. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket took off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 3:10 p.m. EDT (1910 GMT) Friday after a one-hour delay. The first stage of the Falcon 9…
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Live coverage: Previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket fires engines on Florida launch pad
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 the BulgariaSat 1 communications satellite for television broadcasts in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us…
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Video: SpaceX’s second reused Falcon 9 rocket test-fired in Florida
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket ignited its nine Merlin main engines for several seconds Thursday at launch pad 39A in Florida, moving the previously-flown booster closer to a scheduled blastoff Monday with a Bulgarian communications satellite. The nine Merlin 1D first stage engines fired at 6:25 p.m. EDT (2225 GMT) after SpaceX’s launch team, stationed in…
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SpaceX aims to restore damaged launch pad to service by end of summer
File photo of the damaged strongback tower at Complex 40 shortly after the Sept. 1 Falcon 9 rocket explosion. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now Construction crews at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad are busily repairing and upgrading the facility after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded there last year, with the pad’s return to service…