Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX’s roadmap for innovating the global launch market
SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell recently outlined how SpaceX’s justifications for suing the United States Air Force (USAF) represent and advance SpaceX’s broader ambitions. Ms. Shotwell’s remarks, which were at a presentation at the Atlantic Council international affairs think tank in Washington, D.C., also outlined SpaceX’s current progress in securing and innovating in the…
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SpaceX’s Reisman ready for the next giant leap with Dragon V2
Dragon V2 Program Lead Dr. Garrett Reisman believes SpaceX’s new crew vehicle is a “giant leap forward” in safety and technology. The new vehicle – unveiled last Thursday – is the leading contender to win the right to launch NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), a viable advance on the current mode of…
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SpaceX lifts the lid on the Dragon V2 crew spacecraft
SpaceX head Elon Musk has unveiled the latest version of his Dragon spacecraft via a highly anticipated event at the SpaceX factory in California. Known as Dragon V2, the spacecraft is the crewed version of the ship that recently returned from its fourth trip to the International Space Station (ISS). This latest Dragon is the…
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SpaceX targets June 11 for Falcon 9 ORBCOMM OG2 mission
SpaceX has realigned its next Falcon 9 v1.1 launch to NET (No Earlier Than) June 11. The rocket, tasked with lofting six ORBCOMM satellites into orbit, was scheduled to launch this month from Cape Canaveral’s SLC-40. However, a helium leak during the latter stages of preparations for her Static Fire test required the rocket to…
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Dream Chaser passes Wind Tunnel tests for CCiCap Milestone
As the US battles to regain its domestic crew launch capability, companies across the nation are making great progress on the vehicles that are in competition to achieve that goal. Monday saw the confirmation Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has passed Milestone 8 in the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) process, a success that relates to Wind Tunnel…
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SpaceX Dragon homecoming successfully concludes CRS-3 mission
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has concluded her mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with a successful return to Earth on Sunday. The EOM (End Of Mission) events began with the successful unberthing and release of the CRS-3/SpX-3 spacecraft from the orbital outpost, ahead of a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at around 3:05pm Eastern.…
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Falcon 9 scrubs Static Fire – SpaceX delay launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 v1.1 – tasked lofting six ORBCOMM OG2 satellites into orbit – scrubbed her second attempt at a Static Fire test on Friday. Thursday’s Static Fire was postponed following problems with umbilical connections between the SLC-40 pad and the rocket. Friday’s issue is unspecified but it has resulted in SpaceX delaying the launch…
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Canada’s Dextre completes payload removals from CRS-3 Dragon
Canada’s SPDM (Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator), or Dextre as it’s commonly known, has completed the removal of payloads from the Trunk of the SpaceX CRS-3 Dragon spacecraft, which recently arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) with an array of supplies and equipment. Two major payloads rode uphill in the unpressurized aft of the Dragon,…
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Russian Progress M-21M re-tests new Kurs-NA system
A Russian Progress went on a short excursion this week, resulting in a redocking to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday. The two day free-flying trip for Progress M-21M was used to re-test the Kurs-NA system that misbehaved when the vehicle first docked to the orbital outpost last November, resulting in Oleg Kotov having to grapple…
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Rockets that return home – SpaceX pushing the boundaries
SpaceX is continuing to advance the technology that is aimed at creating a fully – and rapidly – reusable launch system, with the recent addition of two key milestones towards that goal. While the F9-R Dev-1 rocket enjoyed a debut hop at the McGregor Test Facility in Texas, the first stage of the Falcon 9…