Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX CRS-3 Dragon completes Easter arrival at the ISS
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft was captured by the International Space Station (ISS) and successfully berthed, following her Easter Sunday arrival. After only a slight hiccup with her quad thrusters, the spacecraft has enjoyed a smooth passage towards the orbital outpost, ahead of a complex set of requirements that culminated in her capture and berthing. Dragon Arrival:…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launches CRS-3 Dragon
SpaceX successfully launched the latest Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday. Following repairs to a a helium valve in the stage separation pneumatic system – which was responsible for Monday’s scrub, the Falcon 9 v1.1 was readied for its next attempt, with the launch of the CRS-3 Dragon from…
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SpaceX, NASA realign launch and EVA scenarios
SpaceX managers have confirmed a second attempt to launch their Falcon 9 v1.1 with the CRS-3 Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) will take place on Friday, with Saturday as a back-up opportunity. Meanwhile, Station managers have created an EVA schedule to work around when Dragon finally sets sail. Currently, EVA-26 – which…
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Spacewalk set to fix external MDM failure on ISS
The International Space Station (ISS) suffered a failure of an external computer known as a Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (MDM) on Friday night (11 April), which will require a spacewalk on April 22 to replace in order to restore vital redundancy to the station. Despite the challenges, SpaceX’s Dragon CRS-3 mission – which could have been impacted by…
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Range Realigns – SpaceX CRS-3 mission targets April 14
Thanks in part to the successful launch – at the first attempt – of the Atlas V with the DMSP-5D3 F-19 satellite on Thursday, teams have re-planned the next two launches from Cape Canaveral. The next Atlas V – with the NROL-67 satellite – is targeting April 10, while SpaceX’s Falcon 9 v1.1 launch with the…
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Eastern Range Radar issue delays upcoming Cape launches
A fire that impacted a radar asset on Florida’s Eastern Range has resulted in the postponement of two launches from Cape Canaveral. United Launch Alliance’s upcoming Atlas V mission has already been pushed back to at least April 10, while SpaceX later confirmed its Falcon 9 mission – that was set to loft the CRS-3…
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SpaceX’s CRS-3 Dragon contamination concern cleared
A sewing machine, used to stitch the cloth shields that are used to protect payloads in Dragon’s trunk, is understood to have been a potential cause of the oil contamination that played a part in a postponement to the CRS-3/SpX-3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). However, on Friday, SpaceX noted they had cleared…
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SpaceX delays Dragon’s CRS-3 mission by two weeks
SpaceX made a late postponement to the CRS-3/SpX-3 mission to the International Space Station on Thursday, citing “open items” that require additional time to remedy. The launch – which was originally set for March 16 – will have to wait until the end of the month at the earliest, as Dragon sets her sights on…
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Falcon 9 v1.1 conducts Static Fire ahead of CRS-3 mission
SpaceX have fired up their Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle during a Static Fire (Hot Fire) test on Saturday, allowing for a health check and countdown dress rehearsal ahead of their next flight of their Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). The CRS-3/SpX-3 Dragon is tracking a launch – her first on the…
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SpaceX advances drive for Mars rocket via Raptor power
SpaceX Co-Founder and Vice President of Propulsion Development Tom Mueller has revealed the company is deep into the development of the first “full flow methane-liquid oxygen” rocket engine. Known as the Raptor, nine of these immensely powerful engines – on one or three cores – will be utilized to send SpaceX’s Super Heavy Lift Launch…