Tag: SpaceX
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NASA’s PACE mission aims to vastly increase understanding of the oceans, atmosphere
NASA’s PACE spacecraft inside a clean room at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, FL. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now From the oceans to the atmosphere, there’s still quite a bit we don’t understand about our planet. NASA’s latest Earth-observing spacecraft hopes to greatly expand our knowledge of the globe in just a few years. The PACE…
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Rocket Report: SpaceX at the service of a rival; Endeavour goes vertical
Welcome to Edition 6.29 of the Rocket Report! Right now, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is the only US launch vehicle offering crew or cargo service to the International Space Station. The previous version of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket retired last year, forcing that company to sign a contract with SpaceX to launch its Cygnus supply…
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Launch Roundup: NASA’s PACE mission, Chinese art satellites, and more Starlink missions
February started with two Chinese launches. On Feb. 2, a Long March 2C rocket launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China at 23:37 UTC, carrying 11 satellites for a Geely Constellation. A Chinese multistage solid rocket, Jielong-3, launched from a barge in coastal waters off Yangjiang in the South China Sea a few…
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Polaris Dawn astronauts discuss training for historic commercial spacewalk
Polaris Dawn Commander Jared Isaacman (left) and Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet alongside a SpaceX render of the spacewalk that will be performed during their mission. Photoillustration: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Amid a flurry of astronaut missions scheduled for 2024, a commercial flight is aiming to mark a historic first: a non-governmental spacewalk. This is just one…
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SpaceX launches Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft on its way to the Space Station
SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft onboard. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now SpaceX completed its second mission bound for the International Space Station this month. But unlike all previous missions targeting the orbiting outpost, this flight didn’t feature a Dragon spacecraft. At 12:07 p.m. EST (1707 UTC) SpaceX launched a…
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Second Falcon 9 of the night carries Starlink satellites from West Coast
A Falcon 9 liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California carrying 22 Starlink satellites. Image: SpaceX. SpaceX launched its second Falcon 9 launch of the night with the Starlink 7-12 mission soaring skyward from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) on Sunday, Jan. 28, at 9:57 p.m. PST (12:57 a.m. EST, 0557 UTC). It…
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SpaceX launches first of planned back-to-back Falcon 9 Starlink missions
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center carrying 23 Starlink satellites into space. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. Update 8:40 p.m.: The first Falcon 9 of the night lifted off at 8:10 p.m. EST from Kennedy Space Center. SpaceX is preparing for a busy week to close out the month of January. Two…
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Wet dress rehearsal on the horizon for Starship’s third flight
SpaceX is deep into preparations for the next Starship flight, focusing on the Orbital Launch Pad (OLP). Booster 10 and Ship 28 are set to return to the launch site in the coming week or two, ahead of a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) that will set the stage for the third launch of the world’s…
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Launch Roundup: Northrop Grumman prepare the first Cygnus to fly on Falcon 9
Recent challenges with weather concerns and the movement of key flights such as USSF-52 and Axiom-3 have impacted Falcon 9 launch dates, not least Starlink Group 7-11 which scrubbed three times and finally launched on Tuesday, albeit with problems on the launch livestream. SpaceX had two drone ships and the two fairing recovery ships in…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 flies from California on 5th try with Starlink satellites
A Falcon 9 rocket launches 22 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2024. Image: SpaceX. SpaceX launched a batch of Starlink internet satellites from California on Tuesday after four earlier tries were scrubbed. Liftoff of the Starlink 7-11 mission occurred at 4:35 p.m. PST (7:35 p.m. EST, 0035 UTC). SpaceX’s…