Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX nears pad abort test for human-rated Dragon capsule
SpaceX has released this photo of the Dragon spacecraft for the pad abort test. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX is finishing up preparations for a major test of a rocket-powered abort system for the company’s new Dragon crew ferry spacecraft, targeting launch from Cape Canaveral in March after a pair of Falcon 9 missions in February. The…
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SpaceX releases new animation of mighty Falcon Heavy
A new animation of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket set for a debut flight later this year shows how the powerful launcher will blast off from Kennedy Space Center’s famed Apollo-era launch pad 39A, and could eventually fly back to Florida’s Space Coast for refurbishment and reuse. Driven skyward by 27 kerosene-fueled booster engines, the Falcon Heavy…
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SpaceX confirms first Crew Dragon flights will return to ocean landings
File photo of SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule descending under its three main parachutes. Credit: SpaceX The human-rated Crew Dragon spacecraft being developed by SpaceX will return to Earth under parachutes for splashdowns in the ocean, and not execute helicopter-like propulsive touchdowns on land, a SpaceX official confirmed Monday. SpaceX unveiled the Crew Dragon spaceship —…
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Boeing, SpaceX on track for commercial crew flights to station in 2017
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS “SPACE PLACE” & USED WITH PERMISSION File photo of the International Space Station as seen by a space shuttle crew in 2010. Credit: NASA NASA expects to spend some $5 billion underwriting development of commercial spacecraft built by Boeing and SpaceX to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, officials…
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SpaceX preparing for the crewed Dragon abort tests
SpaceX has revealed more details into its upcoming drive to bring the crewed version of its Dragon spacecraft on line, in its bid to return a domestic crew transportation system to the United States. Near term milestones include two abort tests, ahead of launching a crew on the Dragon V2, following what SpaceX estimates will…
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CRS-5: Dextre grabs CATS from the belly of a Dragon
Canada’s multi-tasking robot, Dextre, successfully removed the CATS (Cloud-Aerosol Transport System) payload from the unpressurised trunk of the CRS-5/SpX-5 Dragon on Thursday morning. The payload was handed over to the Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo, marking the first “handover” between the Canadian robot and the JAXA arm. Dextre letting the CATS out of the bag: The latest…
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Next Falcon 9 launch rescheduled for Feb. 8
Credit: NOAA The next liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has been reset for no earlier than Feb. 8, NOAA and NASA officials said Tuesday, apparently to give the launch provider more time to prepare for the mission. The launch with NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory, a repurposed satellite originally built in the late 1990s,…
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Report: Google in talks to invest in SpaceX, boosting Seattle-based satellite initiative
Google CEO Larry Page Google is close to making an investment in Elon Musk’s SpaceX, with the intent of supporting the commercial space company’s new Seattle-based satellite Internet initiative, according to a report by The Information this morning, citing people familiar with the talks. The deal, if it happens, would create a powerful alliance between two companies…
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How Elon Musk plans to get to Mars, via Seattle: What the SpaceX founder said at that private event
If Seattle needs inspiration to think big, it has arrived in the form of Elon Musk. The SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO took the stage at Seattle Center on Friday and delivered his vision for creating an entirely new satellite Internet network that he believes could ultimately lead to the establishment of a city on Mars. It was a private event, and…
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DSCOVR and Recover: SpaceX chase the cigar with next Falcon 9 mission
SpaceX will conduct a second attempt at landing a Falcon 9 v1.1 core stage on to its Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS) next month, during its primary mission of lofting the DSCOVR spacecraft to orbit. With stunning footage of the first attempt – during the CRS-5 mission – showing how close the core stage came to…