Tag: SpaceX
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Turksat-5B rides second of three Falcon 9 launches in three days
Following a successful Starlink mission from Vandenberg, California, SpaceX has launched a second Falcon 9 mission Saturday, this time from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The second of three missions planned for just three days will carry the Turksat-5B communications satellite to GTO (geostationary transfer orbit). The launch occurred Saturday evening on December 18 at the opening…
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NASA promotes East Coast Starship option at LC-49 following SpaceX interest
The prospect of Starship making its mark on the Space Coast entered another level this week when NASA revealed it would conduct environmental assessments on LC-49 to support Starship launch and landing operations. With SpaceX already confirming they will restart work on a Starship pad inside 39A, the potential of a second site at LC-49…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 completes rare 53 degree inclination launch from Vandenberg
In the company’s third-to-last launch of 2021, SpaceX deployed another group of Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit early on Saturday morning. The Starlink Group 4-4 mission launched 52 Starlink satellites into a 53.22° inclination orbit at 4:41 AM PST (12:41 UTC) Saturday morning. The mission lifted off from SLC-4E (Space Launch Complex 4 East)…
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NASA, SpaceX launch IXPE x-ray observatory atop Falcon 9
NASA and SpaceX have launched the revolutionary Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) space observatory from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Thursday morning atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 1:00 a.m. EST (06:00 UTC). IXPE is a 325 kg, three-telescope polarized x-ray observatory. A joint venture between NASA and the Italian Space…
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Starship to stand on the shoulders of Saturn V and Shuttle at 39A
Elon Musk has confirmed Starship will add another chapter in Launch Complex 39A’s incredible history at the Kennedy Space Center. Although plans have always involved the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), early work on a pad for Starship at 39A has been mothballed since 2019, as SpaceX placed its entire focus on Starbase in Texas. However,…
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Crewed missions, new modules, and orbital debris — the ISS’s busy November
November was an eventful month for the International Space Station (ISS) and its crew members. From spacecraft departures and arrivals, new modules, science experiments, and close calls with orbital spacecraft debris, the Expedition 65 and 66 crews stayed busy aboard the orbiting laboratory. The ISS and its crew kicked off November with the docking of…
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SpaceX enters busy December with Starlink launch from Florida
Kicking off a busy end to the company’s 2021 launch campaign, SpaceX successfully launched a group of Starlink satellites from Florida on Thursday evening. The Group 4-3 mission, carrying 48 Starlink satellites and two rideshare payloads to low Earth orbit, lifted off from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:12 PM EST…
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NASA and CNES to begin SWOT testing as its launch date approaches
With less than one year to launch, France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and NASA are completing the final spacecraft assembly of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft. SWOT is a joint NASA and CNES mission with contributions by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA). The SWOT…
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NASA’s DART asteroid redirect mission launches aboard Falcon 9 from Vandenberg
SpaceX has launched NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirect Test) mission onboard a Falcon 9 rocket. DART is a demonstration mission to determine the effects of an intentional impact on an asteroid. DART’s collision with the asteroid moon Dimorphos is set for October 2022. The launch of the small spacecraft from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force…
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Amid Ship 20 test success, Starbase prepares future Starships
With a significant milestone under its belt, Ship 20 awaits the next steps in preparing for an orbital velocity flight test, likely watching on as Super Heavy Booster 4 undergoes a more ambitious ground test campaign. The continued preparations with Ship 20 and Booster 4 continue amid a traffic jam of vehicles back at the…