Tag: SpaceX
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Photos: Last look at Sunday’s launch by SpaceX
Sunday’s liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket marked the 16th flight of SpaceX’s workhorse launcher, and its third mission of the year. The rocket carried two communications satellites into orbit for Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite. Here is another set of launch photos from SpaceX. Photo credit: SpaceX Photo credit: SpaceX Photo credit: SpaceX Photo…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 launches debut dual satellite mission
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket made its sixteenth launch Sunday, carrying a pair of commercial communications satellites in the company’s first dual launch to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The Falcon departed at the first attempt from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 at the start of a 44-minute window that opened at 22:50 local time (03:50…
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Falcon 9 launch timeline with Eutelsat 115 West B and ABS 3A
Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent into space from Cape Canaveral with the Eutelsat 115 West B and ABS 3A communications satellites. Launch is set for 10:50 p.m. EST on March 1 (0350 GMT on March 2) from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. The satellites will be deployed in a…
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Legless Falcon 9 conducts Static Fire test ahead of Sunday launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 v1.1 has conducted a Static Fire – or Hot Fire – test at Cape Canaveral’s SLC-40 ahead of Sunday’s mission to loft the ABS-3A and Eutelsat 115 West B satellites into orbit. This mission won’t involve a propulsive landing on the company’s ASDS, although it will still provide another milestone for SpaceX –…
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Falcon Heavy rocket hangar rises at launch pad 39A
SpaceX’s new hangar goes up at launch pad 39A. Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now SpaceX began erecting a new hangar at a former space shuttle launch pad in Florida last week, moving the historic facility closer to launching astronauts again. Positioned at the south perimeter of launch pad 39A, the hangar sits on the gravel crawlerway…
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SES satellites could be first to launch from Texas spaceport
Story updated Feb. 26. File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on Feb. 11. Credit: SpaceX Two communications satellites owned by SES are booked to fly into orbit — possibly from South Texas — on a pair of Falcon 9 rockets in 2017, giving SpaceX two payloads that could be assigned…
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SES signs up for launch with more powerful Falcon 9 engines
A Falcon 9 rocket launches Feb. 11 with NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory. Credit: NASA/Tony Gray A communications payload owned by the Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES will ride the first launch of an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket in mid-2015, SES officials said Friday. The decision comes after a review of the risks of launching the…
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Falcon Heavy into production as Pad 39A HIF rises out of the ground
SpaceX’s new rocket system, the Falcon Heavy, is continuing preparations for her 2015 debut, with work taking place around the country. Modifications to Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) are now making visible progress, in tandem with the opening hardware fabrication and testing at SpaceX assets – hardware that is being born with SpaceX’s…
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SpaceX leases property for landing pads at Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg
Artist’s concept of a Falcon rocket stage on final descent to a vertical propulsive landing as envisioned by SpaceX. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX plans to set up landing pads on abandoned launch sites at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base in a step toward the company’s vision for eventual recovery and reuse of rocket boosters.…
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Arianespace edges out SpaceX to launch Korean satellites
An Ariane 5 rocket lifts off on Dec. 6, 2014, with two commercial satellites. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG Two South Korean Earth-watching satellites will ride Ariane 5 rockets into orbit in 2018 and 2019 after Arianespace beat SpaceX in a competition to launch the spacecraft, Korean and Arianespace officials announced Friday.…