Tag: Reusability
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NRO reveals plans for previously-undisclosed SpaceX launch this month
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credit: SpaceX The National Reconnaissance Office has confirmed it will launch a payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral later this month, a mission on SpaceX’s schedule that was not publicly disclosed until recently. A…
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After second hop, SpaceX preps for next phase of Starship testing
After another Starship hop test last week, SpaceX is set to build the first prototype for the next-gen rocket’s huge first stage booster. Meanwhile, testing will commence soon on the Raptor engine model needed for orbital Starship missions. Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, said Aug. 31 the first test vehicle for the Starship’s “Super…
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China tests experimental reusable spacecraft shrouded in mystery
File photo of a previous Long March 2F launch. Credit: Xinhua A mysterious space vehicle described by Chinese state media as an experimental reusable spacecraft completed a two-day flight in low Earth orbit Sunday. The spacecraft took off on top of a Long March 2F rocket Friday from the Jiuquan launch base in the Gobi…
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SpaceX clears big hurdle on next-gen Starship rocket program
Credit: Video frame from live stream by @SpacePadreIsle. A prototype rocket for a massive reusable vehicle SpaceX is designing to fly people to the moon and Mars took off from a launching stand in South Texas on Tuesday, flew to a height of roughly 500 feet, then made a controlled descent to a nearby landing…
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SpaceX sets new mark in rocket reuse 10 years after first Falcon 9 launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at 9:25 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0125 GMT Thursday) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with 60 more Starlink Internet satellites. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Falcon 9 rocket’s debut flight, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9…
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Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket launches with more Starlink satellites
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The mission will launch SpaceX’s eighth batch of Starlink broadband satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter [tabby title=”SpaceX webcast”] [tabby title=”SpaceX mission audio”] [tabbyending]
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Timeline for Falcon 9 launch with Starlink satellites
Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is scheduled to lift off Wednesday at 9:25 p.m. EDT (0125 GMT Thursday) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Falcon 9 will head northeast from Cape Canaveral…
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SpaceX targets Wednesday night for next Starlink launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands on pad 40 last month for the company’s next Starlink launch. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now Days after launching astronauts for the first time, SpaceX is set to resume a speedy cadence of satellite launches Wednesday night with liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s next batch of…
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SpaceX Starship test vehicle explodes moments after test-firing
A full-size prototype of SpaceX’s Starship violently exploded in South Texas moments after a test-firing of its Raptor engine Friday, dealing a setback to the company’s next-generation reusable rocket program. A prototype of SpaceX’s Starship violently exploded in South Texas moments after a test-firing of its Raptor engine Friday, dealing a setback to the company’s…
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SpaceX readies rocket for final Falcon 9 launch before crew flight
SpaceX test-fires a Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. Credit: William Harwood/CBS News SpaceX fired up a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Wednesday in a pre-flight test for a Starlink satellite launch Sunday, moving closer to the company’s final mission before sending two NASA astronauts into orbit for the…