Tag: SpaceX
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Cape launch sites bustling with activity, New Glenn and Starship preparations underway
While several Cape Canaveral launch sites remain busy with launches from SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin, other facilities at the United States’ premier space launch facility are undergoing important work for a new generation of rockets to debut in the not-too-distant future. Changes that will affect existing vehicles, such as the Falcon 9, are also…
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Here’s how a satellite ended up as a ghostly apparition on Google Earth
Dig deep on Google Earth and you’ll inevitably find a surprise or two. Maybe you’re looking at far-flung islands in the middle of an ocean or checking in on something closer to home. A few years ago, online sleuths found an image of a B-2 stealth bomber in flight over Missouri. The aircraft is smeared…
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Launch Roundup: Alpha postponed, Falcon 9 launches cargo to ISS
This week has seen the worldwide launch cadence slow, with only four launches taking place. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has launched just twice, with a mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office and a Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station. Moreover, a Minotaur rocket has launched another classified reconnaissance payload from Vandenberg, and…
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SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket booster on record-setting 27th time on midnight Starlink flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on the Starlink 6-73 mission. The flight marked the first time an orbital class rocket launchd for a 27th time in its flight history. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 12:34 a.m. EDT: SpaceX landed its first stage booster on the droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions.’ SpaceX notched another…
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SpaceX starts 2025 with Falcon records and Starship problems
SpaceX kicked off 2025 by continuing its record-breaking pace of Falcon 9 launches while also setting new firsts with its Dragon program. The company continued the deployment of its Starlink satellite internet constellation, growing in number of users and availability of its direct-to-cell services. SpaceX’s Starship rocket also suffered two back-to-back failures of a new…
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SpaceX launches Starshield satellites for the NRO on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on April 12, 2025, carrying satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. Image: SpaceX. The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) launched its ninth mission supporting its so-called proliferated architecture satellite constellation using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission, dubbed NROL-192, also marked a big milestone…
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Rocket Report: “No man’s land” in rocket wars; Isaacman lukewarm on SLS
Welcome to Edition 7.39 of the Rocket Report! Not getting your launch fix? Buckle up. We’re on the cusp of a boom in rocket launches as three new megaconstellations have either just begun or will soon begin deploying thousands of satellites to enable broadband connectivity from space. If the megaconstellations come to fruition, this will…
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Fram2 crew discuss first human mission to orbit Earth’s poles
The first four humans to orbit Earth’s poles are sharing their experiences from their historic mission. In a discussion with NSF, the crew of Fram2 provided insight into their groundbreaking mission and what it’s like to view Earth from polar orbit. On March 31, 2025, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from LC-39A at the…
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Here are the reasons SpaceX won nearly all recent military launch contracts
In the last week, the US Space Force awarded SpaceX a $5.9 billion deal to make Elon Musk’s space company the Pentagon’s leading launch provider, and then it assigned the vast majority of this year’s most lucrative launch contracts to SpaceX. On top of these actions, the Space Force reassigned the launch of a GPS…
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SpaceX launches 400th flight-proven Falcon booster with Saturday Starlink mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to begin the Starlink 12-17 mission. This was the 400th launch of a flight-proven booster. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now After being stymied by back-to-back scrubs on consecutive nights, SpaceX managed to launch the Starlink 12-17 mission from NASA’s Kennedy…