Tag: Reusability
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Watch Falcon 9 go upright on the launch pad in time lapse video
A Falcon 9 rocket is moved into the position for a static test firing of its nine Merlin 1D engines on March 27, 2017. This is second time this vehicle has stood on a launch pad in readiness for launch. It will be the first time SpaceX has reused a Falcon 9 first stage. This…
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Hotfire test completed ahead of milestone Falcon 9 launch Thursday
SpaceX tweeted this image of the Falcon 9 rocket conducting its static fire test at pad 39A on Monday afternoon. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX has set the first launch of a “flight-proven” Falcon 9 rocket for Thursday evening after running the booster through a hold-down engine firing Monday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Nearly…
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SES 10 telecom satellite fueled and readied for launch on reused rocket
SES 10 at its manufacturing site at Airbus Defense and Space in Toulouse, France. Credit: Airbus Defense and Space Launch preparations for the SES 10 communications satellite, the first spacecraft to ride a reused Falcon 9 booster to space, are on track for a late March blastoff from Florida, officials said. The satellite, designed to…
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Drone’s view of Sunday’s SpaceX rocket landing
Check out a dazzling drone’s-eye view of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket booster returning to an on-target landing at Cape Canaveral a few minutes after launching Sunday with more than 2.5 tons of space station cargo. Email the author. Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.
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SpaceX rocket tagged for reuse test-fired in Texas
The test-firing of a previously-flown Falcon 9 first stage booster in late January paves the way for its second launch scheduled for no earlier than March. Credit: SpaceX The Falcon 9 first stage booster assigned to launch as soon as March on SpaceX’s first mission with a previously-flown rocket has been test-fired at the company’s…
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Landed Falcon 9 booster sails into Los Angeles
For the first time on the West Coast, a recovered Falcon 9 first stage has made it back to port, intact. Following its role with the successful launch of ten Iridium NEXT satellites, the booster completed a bullseye return on to the deck of SpaceX’s drone ship, before arriving in the Port of Los Angeles…
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Falcon 9 booster, first recovered off West Coast, back in port
The first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket launched Saturday has returned to port in Southern California after landing on a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean, ready for refurbishment and potential reuse on a future mission. The 15-story booster and its barge, named “Just Read the Instructions,” were towed into the Port of Los…
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SES 10 telecom satellite in Florida for launch on reused SpaceX rocket
A Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster descends to a propulsive landing on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean on April 8, 2016. The same booster is assigned to fly again next month with the SES 10 communications satellite. Credit: SpaceX A European-built communications satellite has arrived at Cape Canaveral for fueling and final launch…
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Falcon 9 rocket ready for all-important return to service Saturday
The Falcon 9 rocket with 10 Iridium Next communications satellites inside SpaceX’s hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. SpaceX rolled a fully-assembled Falcon 9 booster out of its hangar and lifted it on top of a launch pad Friday for the first time since an explosion grounded the commercial rocket last year, setting the…
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Timeline for Falcon 9 rocket’s launch of 10 Iridium satellites
Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the first 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Saturday at 9:54:39 a.m. PST (12:54:39 p.m. EST; 1754:39 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Data source: SpaceX T-0:00:00: Liftoff After…