Tag: SpaceX
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Crew Dragon Endurance delivers Crew-3 to International Space Station
Crew Dragon Endurance docked to the International Space Station (ISS) at 6:32 PM EST (23:32 UTC) following 22 hours of free flight after launching from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, delivering the Crew-3 contingent to the station. The astronauts of Crew-3 consist of Raja Chari (Commander), Thomas Marshburn (Pilot), and Kayla Barron (Mission Specialist 2) from…
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SpaceX conducts Saturday Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral
SpaceX has resumed Starlink launches from the East coast on Saturday, as the company delivered 53 second-generation satellites aboard to orbit. Following Friday’s weather-related scrub, the launch took place on Saturday, at 7:19 AM EST, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Named Starlink 4-1, this is the…
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SpaceX launches mostly-rookie Crew-3 mission to ISS
SpaceX and NASA have successfully launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on the Crew-3 mission. The crew took flight onboard a Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon Endurance from Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A Wednesday evening, November 10, at 9:03 PM EST (02:03 UTC on November 11). At the station, the four will spend…
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What to expect from the next round of Starship testing
SpaceX is preparing for the third static firing of the Raptors on board Ship 20 later this week. This is underlined by a series of road closures and a Notices to Mariners (NOTMAR) in place. This test series might be the first of the Starship program to involve up to six engines, including three Raptor…
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Crew-2 returns to Earth after six-month stay on the ISS
NASA and SpaceX teams has completed the safe return of the Crew-2 mission from the International Space Station (ISS) with four astronauts on board. Crew Dragon Endeavour undocked from the ISS at 2:05 p.m. EST (19:05 UTC) Monday, with a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean at 10:33 p.m. EST. Crew-2’s mission began with a launch…
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Blue Origin loses lunar lander lawsuit; NASA says SpaceX work will resume ASAP
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Starship rocket ship on the moon. (SpaceX Illustration) A federal judge today rejected Blue Origin’s challenge to a $2.9 billion contract that NASA awarded to SpaceX for building the lunar lander destined to carry astronauts to the moon. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space venture had argued that NASA gave overly…
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Major elements of Starship Orbital Launch Pad in place as launch readiness draws nearer
With the maiden orbital flight of Starship approaching, Orbital Launch Pad A in Starbase, Texas, is being built up to launch readiness. Over a year of construction has brought the complex’s various elements to the verge of launching the most powerful rocket in history. Assembly Timeline SpaceX started construction of the orbital launch pad on June…
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SpaceX given green light to launch Crew-3 mission to ISS, Crew-2’s return date set
Having completed the Flight Readiness Review for the United States Crew Vehicle 3 (USCV-3) mission, NASA, ESA, JAXA, and SpaceX teams have given the green light for Crew-3 to launch on October 31 at 02:21 EDT (06:21 UTC) and for Crew-2 to return to Earth no earlier than November 4. Crew-3 will mark SpaceX’s fifth…
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Ship 20 completes milestone RVac Static Fire – Musk cites ambitious path to launch
Ship 20 completed another milestone with Static Fire testing on Thursday evening. Following a preburner test earlier in the week, the RVac engine fired up for the first time on a Starship. Then, it fired up again, this time accompanied by a sea-level Raptor ignition, later in the evening. Meanwhile, another milestone was achieved at…
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Ship 20 prepares for Static Fire – New Raptor 2 factory rises
The new Raptor factory is now rising out of the ground at SpaceX’s Rocket Development and Test Facility in McGregor, Texas. Tasked with supplying Raptor 2 engines to the Starship Program, SpaceX is laying the foundations for its rapidly reusable rocket. With the Launch Tower in the process of gaining its “Mechazilla” stacking and catching…