Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX holds up on SES-9 satellite launch (and rocket landing) just before liftoff
A SpaceX Falcon 9 sits on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (Credit: SpaceX) For the second day in a row, SpaceX scrubbed the launch of the SES-9 telecommunications satellite as well as the Falcon 9 rocket landing attempt that was due to follow. The abort came with just 1 minute and…
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Commercial Falcon 9 launch delayed to Thursday
Credit: SpaceX SpaceX called off the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday to make sure the booster’s supply of super-chilled cryogenic liquid oxygen is cold enough to support the delivery of the 5.8-ton SES 9 commercial communications satellite to an orbit nearly 25,000 miles above Earth. The launch company said…
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Live coverage: SpaceX finally launches Falcon 9 rocket
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral with the SES 9 communications satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. SpaceX’s live video coverage begins at 6:25 p.m. EST (2325 GMT).
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SES eager to fly satellite aboard used Falcon 9 rocket
The first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket stands on its landing pad at Cape Canaveral after a successful touchdown following a Dec. 21 launch with 11 Orbcomm communications satellites. Credit: SpaceX In one of the strongest public endorsements of SpaceX’s initiative to put a reusable launcher on the commercial market, a top official from…
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Flight timeline for Falcon 9’s launch of SES 9
Updated after scrubs. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Friday evening, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the SES 9 television broadcast satellite into orbit 31 minutes later. The 229-foot-tall rocket is poised for launch from Complex 40 at 6:35 p.m. EST (2335 GMT) Friday at…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 conducts Static Fire ahead of SES-9 launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has conducted her Static Fire test on Monday, a dress rehearsal milestone ahead of Wednesday’s launch of the SES-9 satellite. The test took place at SLC-40, at the same time as work begins at LC-39A to remove the Shuttle-era Rotating Service Structure (RSS) from the site of future SpaceX launches. SES-9: The…
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ViaSat trades in Falcon Heavy launch for Ariane 5
Artist’s concept of a Falcon Heavy rocket at launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: SpaceX Delays in the debut of SpaceX’s huge Falcon Heavy rocket have prompted ViaSat to move the launch of a high-speed Internet communications satellite from the new privately-developed booster to an Ariane 5 flight in early…
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SpaceX prepares for SES-9 mission and Dragon’s return
Two SpaceX missions have received preliminary planning dates for their upcoming launches out of Cape Canaveral. The Falcon 9 launch with the SES-9 satellite is now aiming for a February 24 liftoff from SLC-40, while the Dragon spacecraft is set to return to action NET (No Earlier Than) April 1 for her CRS-8 mission to…
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U.S. debates Atlas V RD-180 engine ban, ULA’s non-bid for military launch
The U.S. Congress is debating the reinstatement of a purchasing ban on Russian RD-180 engines – the heart of the Atlas V core stage. Congress lifted that ban in December 2015. However, some Congressional members are questioning that decision as well as ULA’s decision to not bid for the 2018 competitive U.S. military GPS III-3 satellite…
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SpaceX’s Elon Musk wants to go into space by 2021 and start Mars missions by 2025
Elon Musk flashes a smile during the StartmeupHK Festival in Hong Kong. (Credit: InvestHK via YouTube) SpaceX founder Elon Musk says he has his heart set on going into space himself, perhaps in the next four or five years, and organize the first flights to Mars by 2025. Musk’s travel timetable came out this week…