Tag: SLC-40
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Launch Roundup: Second half of 2024 begins with more launches from front runners US & China
Moving into the second half of 2024, the first week of July began with the third launch of the Japanese H3 rocket in the early hours of Monday morning UTC—covered in our previous launch roundup. The week ahead continued with one Starlink mission from SpaceX, pushing the number of Starlink satellites launched to over 6,700.…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon Heavy returns with GOES-U, Firefly Alpha launch attempt
Following a week in which Tropical Storm Alberto brought high seas, wind, and rain-related delays to the launch schedule in Florida, SpaceX managed to get back on track this week with launches from all three of the active Falcon launch pads, including a Falcon Heavy. Toward the end of the week, the Japanese Aerospace and…
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Launch Roundup: Electron launches for the 50th time; Falcon 9 returns to normal operations
Concluding a rare week that was void of any launches and riddled with scrubs, the spaceflight industry looks to return to the planned course of action with four launches from all over the world. This week, the 50th launch of Electron has taken flight, and SpaceX and CASC continue to dominate the launch calendar. SpaceX…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9’s busy launch cadence struggles
Following an extremely eventful week in Spaceflight, this week was expected to be a return to “business as usual”, with two SpaceX Starlink missions, one each from Vandenberg and Florida, and a Falcon 9 launching a customer satellite making up the launch manifest for the week. Unfortunately, the weather led to delays and cancellations, and…
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Launch Roundup: North Korean launch failure, Starliner CFT, EarthCARE
As May transitions into June, a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to study the Earth’s clouds and aerosols as well as a Russian cargo ship to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) were both on this week’s docket of launches. Two Starlink and three Chinese satellite launch missions were also scheduled, as well as the…
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Launch Roundup: 100th launch of the year, Starliner delays, NASA’s PREFIRE-1 mission
There are two launches from China to start this week, the first of which will be the 95th launch attempt of the year worldwide. If all goes to plan, this week should see the 100th launch of 2024, although the schedule is rather fluid at present. SpaceX has already passed 50 launches this year and…
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Launch Roundup: Boeing Starliner delayed and China launches new rocket variant
This week was expected to see the maiden launches of two new spacecraft: Boeing’s crewed Starliner spacecraft and the first Chang Zheng 6C rocket from China. The launch of Starliner’s Crewed Flight Test (CFT) mission will be the first crewed launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station since the Apollo era, as well as the…
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Launch Roundup: Delta IV swan song, Angara test flight from Russia, and three Falcon 9 flights
The second week of April not only has a long-awaited total solar eclipse but also orbital launches from Russia and the United States. Besides the long-awaited NROL-70 Delta IV Heavy finale, there was a test flight of the Russian Angara rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia and a handful of Falcon 9 launches. Delta…
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SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites onboard Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral
A Falcon 9 rocket streaks across the night sky above Florida on the Starlink 6-45 mission on March 30, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update: Falcon 9 launched at 9:30 p.m. EDT (0130 UTC). SpaceX followed the successful launch of a European television satellite with the first of a planned pair of its own Starlink…
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Launch Roundup: Delta IV Heavy swan song, Falcon 9 and Soyuz launches on tap for last week of March
A trio of Falcon 9 Starlink launches, a Falcon 9 non-Starlink launch involving an Eutelsat communications satellite, a Chinese launch, and a Russian Soyuz launch with a Resurs Earth observation satellite were scheduled for this week. However, the launch that will likely get the most attention is the final launch ever of a Delta family…