Tag: SpaceX
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Falcon 9 upgrade receives blessing from U.S. Air Force
SpaceX’s upgraded Falcon 9 rocket has flown one time, hauling 11 Orbcomm communications satellites into low Earth orbit in this Dec. 21 liftoff from Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX The U.S. Air Force on Monday certified the latest version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, featuring higher-thrust engines, enlarged fuel tanks and a super-chilled propellant mixture, for…
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SpaceX shows how its Dragon 2 spaceship hovers
A SpaceX Dragon craft fires its thrusters during a propulsive hover test in Texas. (Credit: SpaceX) A newly released video shows SpaceX’s Dragon 2 capsule pulling off a valuable trick: firing its thrusters to hover above a landing pad. The Nov. 24 test was part of Project DragonFly, the California-based company’s effort to develop a Dragon that can…
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Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson ribs space billionaires amid Blue Origin buzz
Richard Branson says he’s in a friendly rivalry with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. (Credit: Virgin Galactic) Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture may have done another flight test, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX is making waves with its rocket progress – but don’t forget about Richard Branson. “Our spaceship comes back and lands on wheels. Theirs…
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Dragon crew capsule’s propulsive landing system tested
SpaceX released a video Thursday showing a propulsive hover test of a prototype of the company’s Dragon crew capsule conducted two months ago, a milestone in the development of the spaceship’s jetpacks that will eventually guide the craft to helicopter-like landings. The five-second firing of the Dragon’s eight SuperDraco rocket thrusters occurred Nov. 24 at…
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SpaceX rocket wreckage back on shore after near-miss at landing
Debris from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket booster returned to shore in Southern California late Monday after it tipped over on touchdown on a landing platform in the Pacific Ocean following liftoff with a ocean study satellite. SpaceX intended to recover the 14-story booster on the company’s landing barge — named “Just Read the Instructions” —…
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SpaceX narrowly misses booster landing at sea
Falcon lands on droneship, but the lockout collet doesn’t latch on one the four legs, causing it to tip over post landing. Root cause may have been ice buildup due to condensation from heavy fog at liftoff. A video posted by Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Jan 17, 2016 at 7:07pm PST One of four landing…
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SpaceX rocket launches satellite, but tips over during sea landing attempt
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rises into the fog from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, sending the Jason 3 sea-watching satellite into space. (Credit: NASA) Less than a month after SpaceX’s first successful rocket landing, billionaire Elon Musk’s company tried to do it again today – but this time, one of the rocket’s landing legs…
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Final SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 successfully launches Jason-3
SpaceX launched an international ocean research mission Sunday via its Falcon 9 rocket, the final F9 to fly in the v1.1 configuration. Flying from Vandenberg Air Force Base, the rocket lifted off with the Jason-3 spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 4E at 10:42 local time (18:42 UTC). The attempt to land the first stage on…
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Final SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 successfully launches Jason-3
SpaceX launched an international ocean research mission Sunday via its Falcon 9 rocket, the final F9 to fly in the v1.1 configuration. Flying from Vandenberg Air Force Base, the rocket lifted off with the Jason-3 spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 4E at 10:42 local time (18:42 UTC). The attempt to land the first stage on…
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SpaceX fire up returned Falcon 9 first stage at SLC-40
SpaceX achieved another milestone on Friday when it conducted a Static Fire test on the Falcon 9 first stage that recently launched and returned during its role with the OG-2 satellite mission. While the successful return of the first stage was a huge technical achievement, the goal of reusing returned stages was put to the…