Tag: SpaceX
-
Rocket Report: DOJ sues SpaceX; a look inside doomed Spaceport Camden
Welcome to Edition 6.08 of the Rocket Report! The US Department of Justice is taking SpaceX to court over allegations of hiring discrimination, but the government is relying more than ever on SpaceX’s technical prowess. Once again, Elon Musk’s social media posts are part of the story. This week, we also cover the successes and…
-
Rocket Report: DOJ sues SpaceX; a look inside doomed Spaceport Camden
Welcome to Edition 6.08 of the Rocket Report! The US Department of Justice is taking SpaceX to court over allegations of hiring discrimination, but the government is relying more than ever on SpaceX’s technical prowess. Once again, Elon Musk’s social media posts are part of the story. This week, we also cover the successes and…
-
NASA, SpaceX conducts Crew-7 mission to ISS
NASA launched its next astronaut rotation, Crew-7, to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, docking the following day. The four astronauts launched from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket in the Dragon spacecraft C210-3 Endurance. The first attempt stood down from…
-
Valves are a regular concern at SpaceX, just like every other space company
SpaceX is launching a mission about once every four days, and most of those flights are going to space to deploy Internet satellites for the company’s own Starlink broadband network. But this week is different. Aside from two more missions carrying Starlink satellites, SpaceX is preparing to send a four-person crew to the International Space…
-
Booster 9 conducts pre-flight static fire test
SpaceX’s Super Heavy Booster 9 prototype has completed its pre-launch static fire test. This follows roughly two weeks after its first static fire attempt that ended prematurely at only half the expected duration. Work continues in parallel at Starbase to prepare Ship 25 for flight, which could occur in the next week or two, pending…
-
Crew-7 mission to the Space Station given green light for launch by NASA, partners
A SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon Endurance capsule stand ready on pad 39A for the Crew 7 mission. Image: NASA. NASA, SpaceX and its international partners met at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday and gave the go ahead for the launch of the seventh operational Crew Dragon mission to the space station. The three…
-
Launch Roundup: North Korea has failed launch attempt, SpaceX launch back-to-back missions
Following several launch delays last week, the week of Aug. 21 through Aug. 27 is set to see seven launches marking the 129th through 135th orbital launch attempts of 2023. Starting the week off, SpaceX launched the Starlink Group 7-1 mission from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 4 East at the Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB).…
-
Rocket Report: Russian rocket lands like an airplane; SpaceX steamroller rolls
Welcome to Edition 6.07 of the Rocket Report! I spent a few days last week in southern New Mexico, visiting Spaceport America and Virgin Galactic’s facilities there. I felt a renewed sense of optimism about the company’s future among the people there and pride in reaching a more operational cadence of missions. Here’s hoping they…
-
SpaceX launches Starlink mission from Florida, delays west coast mission
Update 5:30 a.m. EDT/0930 UTC): SpaceX has delayed the Starlink Group 7-1 mission to Friday at 12:30 a.m. PDT (3:30 a.m. EDT (0430 UTC). No explanation was given. Update (10:10 p.m. EDT/0210 UTC): SpaceX adjusted the launch time of the Starlink Group 7-1 mission. The new T-0 is now 1:42 a.m. PDT (4:42 a.m. EDT,…
-
Launch Roundup: SpaceX launches Starlink Group 6-10
Following a plethora of launches last week, the week of Aug. 14 through Aug. 20 only had three orbital launches—most of which are Chinese Starlink launches. The week started with the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) launching the HEAD-3A/B/C/D/E satellites atop its Kuaxzhou 1A rocket. After that, SpaceX launched the Starlink Group 6-10…