Tag: SpaceX
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX finishes Starlink v1 flights – China launches methane powered ZQ-2
This week, LandSpace reached orbit on its second test flight of the ZhuQue-2 rocket; SpaceX launched the final v1.0/v1.5 Starlink satellites on Starlink Group 5-15; and India launched the Chandrayaan-3 lunar exploration mission atop their Launch Vehicle Mark 3 rocket. These launches will mark the 102nd through 104th orbital launches of 2023. If the launch…
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SpaceX is stretching the lifetime of its reusable Falcon 9 boosters
The late-night liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket with another batch of Starlink Internet satellites on Sunday set a new record for the most flights by a SpaceX launch vehicle, with a first-stage booster flying for a 16th time. SpaceX now aims to fly its reusable Falcon 9 boosters as many as 20 times, double…
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SpaceX is stretching the lifetime of its reusable Falcon 9 boosters
The late-night liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket with another batch of Starlink Internet satellites on Sunday set a new record for the most flights by a SpaceX launch vehicle, with a first-stage booster flying for a 16th time. SpaceX now aims to fly its reusable Falcon 9 boosters as many as 20 times, double…
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Launch Roundup – Arianespace launches Ariane 5 final flight; SpaceX flies one of last Starlink v1.5 flights
Four launches were successfully conducted for the week of July 2 through July 9. The first one took place on Wednesday, July 5, with a European rocket successfully making its 117th and final flight. Later in the week, SpaceX successfully flew two Falcon 9 flights with Starlink payloads on Friday, July 7 and Sunday, July…
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SpaceX launches ESA’s Euclid Telescope to explore the dark universe
SpaceX launched its 45th mission of the year, carrying the Euclid telescope from the European Space Agency (ESA). Liftoff was Saturday, July 1, at 11:12 AM EDT (15:12 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) in Florida. ESA’s Euclid will observe a large portion of the sky and deep into the past of the universe…
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SpaceX making more than 1,000 changes to next Starship rocket
SpaceX will debut numerous upgrades on the second launch of its full-scale Starship mega-rocket. Those upgrades include a major change in how the rocket’s two stages separate, propulsion system improvements, and a beefed-up launch pad in South Texas that should better withstand the blast from 33 main engines. “There are really a tremendous number of…
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Launch Roundup: Virgin Galactic performs crewed suborbital mission; SpaceX launches Euclid
Four launches are planned for the week of June 24 to July 1. The Russians opened the launches, with a Meteor weather satellite riding a Soyuz rocket on Tuesday, June 27, while Virgin Galactic flew its Galactic 01 crewed suborbital mission Thursday, June 29. Firefly’s Alpha rocket was thought to be making its first operational…
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SpaceX record-breaking first half of 2023 following Starlink launch
SpaceX’s last launch of the first half of 2023 occurred Friday, June 23, carrying 56 Starlink v1.5 satellites. Liftoff was in the second launch window of the day at 11:35 AM EDT (15:35 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission, Starlink Group 5-12, marked the…
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Weirdly, a NASA official says fixed-price contracts do the agency “no good”
Last week NASA official Jim Free appeared before the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board and Space Studies Board in Washington, DC. There are many of these review boards that act as outside observers for NASA’s space policy plans and offer advice from seasoned hands. Free spoke about the agency’s Artemis Program to return humans to…
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SpaceX, Blue Origin, others highlighted in new NASA low-Earth orbit partnerships
On June 15, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced its intention to partner with seven U.S. aerospace companies in order to advance human spaceflight and the commercial low-Earth orbit economy. The agency stated in a press release that these partnerships — done through the second Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities-2 initiative (CCSC-2) along…