Tag: Reusability
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Video: Falcon 9 rocket test-fired at pad 40
SpaceX fired up a Falcon 9 booster at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad Wednesday in advance of a space station resupply launch Dec. 12, returning the pad to service after a rocket explosion there last year. The previously-flown rocket fired its Merlin 1D main engines at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) Wednesday in a…
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Test-firing at repaired launch pad clears way for SpaceX cargo flight next week
The Falcon 9 rocket’s previously-flown first stage fired its engines at pad 40 Wednesday. Credit: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now SpaceX ignited a reused Falcon 9 first stage booster at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad Wednesday ahead of a planned space station resupply launch Dec. 12, a major step in restoring the repaired facility to service…
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Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket fires engines in hold-down test at Cape Canaveral
Live coverage of SpaceX’s preparations for the next Falcon 9 rocket launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 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. Follow us on Twitter. File photo of…
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NASA agrees to launch station supplies on reused SpaceX rocket
A Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster returns to landing at at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on June 3 following launch of a Dragon supply ship to the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX will launch a space station-bound cargo ship with nearly 2.5 tons of supplies and experiments next Friday, Dec. 8, with…
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SpaceX delays launch to study data from recent payload fairing test
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Nov. 17. The Falcon 9 rocket with Zuma stands at pad 39A on Wednesday afternoon. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now SpaceX has postponed its next launch from the Kennedy Space Center indefinitely to examine data from a recent payload fairing test for another customer. The company said in a statement Thursday that the…
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Top secret ‘Zuma’ mission puzzles satellite trackers
EDITOR’S NOTE: The launch of Zuma has been delayed to Friday, Nov. 17. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands poised for launch at pad 39A in Florida with the Zuma payload. Credit: SpaceX A top secret payload developed in secrecy for the U.S. government is set to ride into orbit from Florida’s Space Coast aboard a…
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Iridium swaps two new Falcon 9 rockets for “flight-proven” boosters
A Falcon 9 first stage lands on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean in June following a liftoff with Iridium satellites. Credit: SpaceX Citing schedule concerns over price benefits, Iridium announced Thursday it will launch its next 20 satellites on a pair of previously-flown Falcon 9 boosters from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California,…
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Photos: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off and lands at Cape Canaveral
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A on Thursday, then its first stage booster touched down on a nearby landing target after sending a U.S. Air Force X-37B spaceplane toward orbit. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket lifted off from pad 39A at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) with the…
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Video: Press site view of Falcon 9’s liftoff with X-37B spaceplane
Video credit: Spaceflight Now Watch a replay of Thursday morning’s Falcon 9 launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in this view recorded from the press site around 3 miles from pad 39A. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket lifted off from pad 39A at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) with the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B…
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Video: Falcon 9 fires away from pad 39A
Video credit: Spaceflight Now This zoomed-in shot shows SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket firing off launch pad 39A Thursday with the U.S. military’s X-37B spaceplane. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket lifted off from pad 39A at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) with the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane, a robotic miniature space shuttle that can operate without…