Tag: SpaceX
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A year for gearing up: Aerospace ventures are counting down to big missions in 2024
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket lifts off with two prototype Amazon satellites on Oct. 6. (ULA Photo) If 2022 was packed with headline-grabbing aerospace developments — including the first pictures from the James Webb Telescope and the first launch of NASA’s giant moon rocket — 2023 was what you might call a rebuilding year.…
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Historic SpaceX Falcon 9 booster topples over and is lost at sea
The remains of Falcon 9 booster 1058 arrive at Port Canaveral after the vehicle toppled over and broke apart in bad weather. Image: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now. A piece of America’s space history is now on the ocean’s floor. During its return voyage to Port Canaveral in Central Florida, a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster…
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SpaceX launches Falcon 9 first-stage booster on record-breaking 19th flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches for a record-breaking 19th time, sending 23 Starlink satellites up to low Earth orbit. Image: Pete Carstens Update 1:06 a.m. EST: Liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket confirmed. The booster, B1058, landed on the droneship several minutes after launch. SpaceX sent off a Falcon 9 first-stage booster for a…
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ISS Roundup: 25 year anniversary, spacewalks, cargo arrivals and departures
The final quarter of 2023 saw the International Space Station (ISS) celebrate 25 years in orbit, though there was no letup in the ongoing work as the Expedition 70 crew settled into the tasks and experiments that are carried out onboard the orbital laboratory. Cargo spacecraft arrived at the Station carrying supplies and fresh experiments…
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SpaceX completes static fire test in push toward third Starship launch
Just one month after the second flight of its massive Starship rocket, SpaceX is making progress toward a third attempt. On Wednesday, at 1:37 pm local time in South Texas, the company performed a static fire test of the next Starship—which bears the serial number Ship 28. The test of the rocket’s six engines appeared…
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SpaceX delays first Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capability
A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to support the Starlink 7-9 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission also includes the first six satellites that will be used for the company’s direct-to-cell service. Image: SpaceX Update 9:45 p.m. EST: The launch is now scheduled for December 28 at 9:09 p.m. PST (12:09 a.m. EST,…
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SpaceX Pushes Ahead to Flight 3 with the Rollout of Ship 28
After an exciting and milestone-achieving Flight Test Two, SpaceX is ready to move into Flight Three, with the opening of preflight testing via the rollout of Ship 28 to Suborbital Pad B. This will be the start of what is hoped to be a condensed testing campaign for Ship 28 and Booster 10 ahead of…
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Effects of Falcon Heavy launch delay could ripple to downstream missions
SpaceX and the US Space Force thought they were ready to launch the military’s mysterious X-37B spaceplane this week, but ground teams in Florida need to roll the Falcon Heavy rocket back into its hangar for servicing. This is expected to push back the launch until at least late December, perhaps longer. SpaceX and Space…
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Launch Roundup: Rocket Lab returns to flight; SpaceX launches more Starlink
SpaceX had a lighter week of launches, with Rocket Lab, Russia, and China also launching rockets. Following several delays, SpaceX launched the Starlink Group 6-34 mission. Rocket Lab returned to flight on Friday with “The Moon God Awakens” mission. This comes after a previous mission, dubbed “We Will Never Desert You,” failed to reach orbit…
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The US military’s spaceplane is about to fly again—it needs a bigger rocket
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida—A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is poised for launch as soon as Wednesday night from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the US military’s mysterious X-37B spaceplane is fastened atop the heavy-lifter for a ride into orbit. Although the Space Force is keeping details about the military spaceplane’s flight under wraps, we…