Tag: SpaceX
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NASA, SpaceX launch Crew-10 to begin flight to the International Space Station
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A to begin the Crew-10 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update March 14, 8:30 p.m. EDT: Dragon Endurance is making its way to the space station. Second time was the charm for NASA and SpaceX as they successfully launch the Crew-10 mission to the International…
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What’s behind the recent string of failures and delays at SpaceX?
It has been an uncharacteristically messy start to the year for the world’s leading spaceflight company, SpaceX. Let’s start with the company’s most recent delay. The latest launch date for a NASA mission to survey the sky and better understand the early evolution of the Universe comes Monday night. The launch window for this SPHEREx…
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NASA, SpaceX launch SPHEREx and PUNCH missions following spacecraft-driven scrub
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base to begin NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions on March 11, 2025. Image: SpaceX Update March 12, 1:52 a.m. ET: NASA confirms acquisition of signal. NASA launched its first ride share flight in support of the Science Mission Directorate with two missions flying on…
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SpaceX details Falcon 9 anomaly that temporarily grounded the rocket fleet
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket first stage booster, tail number B1086, lands on the droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ amid the Starlink 12-20 mission on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Shortly after touchdown, a fire broke out in the engine section and caused the loss of the booster. Image: SpaceX via livestream SpaceX is preparing for the…
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SpaceX launches Starlink 12-21 mission following back-to-back scrubs
A streak shot of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as it soared away from Florida’s Space Coast. The launch of the Starlink 12-21 mission was captured next to a riverboat about 47 miles away in St. Cloud, Florida. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update March 12, 11 p.m. ET: B1069 landed on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and Firefly set to launch amid busy launch manifest
This week, a busy launch manifest saw SpaceX launch the Crew-10 and two Starlink missions from Florida and the delayed SPHEREx/PUNCH and Transporter 13 missions from California. Outside of the United States, Rocket Lab flew an Electron from New Zealand. A Chang Zhang 8 rocket launched from a new commercial pad in China which also…
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NASA, SpaceX launch SPHEREx observatory and PUNCH heliophysics mission from California
SpaceX and NASA successfully launched the agency’s newest space telescope and solar research mission Tuesday evening. A Falcon 9 lifted off from California with the SPHEREx near-infrared observatory, with the PUNCH heliophysics mission flying as a rideshare. During its mission, SPHEREx will complete surveys of the entire sky in optical and near-infrared light, observing over…
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U.S. Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane lands following 434-day orbital mission
The X-37B on the runway at Vandenberg Space Force Base following its landing there on March 7, 2025. Image: U.S. Space Force. Announced with the thunder of a sonic boom, the secretive U.S. military X-37B spaceplane made its return from orbit early Friday at 2:22am EST (0722 UTC). The uncrewed spacecraft touched down on a…
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The Starship program hits another speed bump with second consecutive failure
SpaceX’s Starship launcher spun out of control minutes after liftoff Thursday, showering fiery debris over the Bahamas and dealing another setback to Elon Musk’s rocket program after a failure under similar circumstances less than two months ago. Starship and its Super Heavy booster, loaded with millions of pounds of methane and liquid oxygen propellants, lumbered…
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Starship upper stage lost in second mishap in a row
The Starship upper stage suffered multiple premature engine shutdowns, as indicated in telemetry shown at bottom right. Flight control was lost and the spacecraft broke apart in a spectacular shower of debris. It was the Starship program’s second upper stage failure in a row. Image: SpaceX SpaceX launched its huge Starship rocket on the program’s…