Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites on Wednesday sunrise Falcon 9 flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Starlink 10-22 mission on Sept. 3, 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein / Spaceflight Now Update Sept. 3, 9 a.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of its Starlink satellites. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket soared from Florida’s Space Coast…
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SpaceX’s Tuesday night Starlink features rare debut of a Falcon booster
SpaceX launches the Starlink 17-8 mission using a new Falcon 9 rocket booster. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. Image: SpaceX Update Sept. 1 a.m. EDT: SpaceX confirms deployment of its Starlink satellites. SpaceX completed its first Falcon 9 launch of the month,…
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SpaceX McGregor looks to the future, from Raptor 3 to potential HLS testing
SpaceX’s engine development and testing site in McGregor—the world’s most active rocket engine test facility—continues to be a hive of activity. Recent updates reveal intensified Raptor engine trials and the construction of a large-scale rig, the latter having ignited speculation about its potential ties to Starship’s Human Landing System (HLS) for NASA’s Artemis program. Since…
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Starship’s heat shield appears to have performed quite well in test
One of the more curious aspects of the 10th flight of SpaceX’s Starship rocket on Tuesday was the striking orange discoloration of the second stage. This could be observed on video taken from a buoy near the landing site as the vehicle made a soft landing in the Indian Ocean. This color—so different from the…
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SpaceX’s Sunday morning Falcon 9 launch sends 1,900th Starlink to orbit in 2025
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars past the American flag at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center as it began the Starlink 10-14 mission on Aug. 31, 2025. Image: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now Update Aug. 31, 10 a.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of the 28 Starlink satellites. SpaceX capped off the month of August with a…
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NASA, NOAA prep spacecraft trio to study the Sun and its impacts
A group of technicians works to complete final inspections and checkouts of NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft inside a cleanroom at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. Image: John Pisani / Spaceflight Now Technicians inside a pair of clean rooms at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Florida, are busily readying a trio…
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SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites into polar orbit
File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in the vertical position at sunset at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Image: SpaceX Update Aug. 30, 1:15 a.m. EDT: SpaceX landed the booster on the drone ship. SpaceX launched 24 Starlink broadband satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base Friday evening on…
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With recent Falcon 9 milestones, SpaceX vindicates its “dumb” approach to reuse
As SpaceX’s Starship vehicle gathered all of the attention this week, the company’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket continued to hit some impressive milestones. Both occurred during relatively anonymous launches of the company’s Starlink satellites but are nonetheless notable because they underscore the value of first-stage reuse, which SpaceX has pioneered over the last decade. The…
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SpaceX launches record-breaking 30th flight of a Falcon 9 booster
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flies from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on the Starlink 10-11 mission. This launch featured the Falcon 9 booster, tail number B1067, making its 30th trip to space and back. Image: John Pisani/Spaceflight Now Update Aug. 28, 5:20 a.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of the 28 satellites.…
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SpaceX completes 400th Falcon booster landing on a drone ship
SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster completes a landing on the droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ during the Starlink 10-56 mission on Aug. 27, 2025. The recovery was the 400th landing of an orbital class rocket. Image: SpaceX A Falcon 9 rocket placed another 28 Starlink satellites into orbit shortly after sunrise on Wednesday and…