Tag: SpaceX
-
Concern about SpaceX influence at NASA grows with new appointee
Like a lot of the rest of the federal government right now, NASA is reeling during the first turbulent days of the Trump administration. The last two weeks have brought a change in leadership in the form of interim administrator Janet Petro, whose ascension was a surprise. Her first act was to tell agency employees…
-
SpaceX launches final block 1 WorldView Legion satellites for Maxar Technologies
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as seen from Central Florida, making its ascent from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Onboard were two WorldView Legion Satellites that will be operated by Maxar Intelligence, a division of Maxar Technologies. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update 7:32 p.m. EST (0032 UTC): SpaceX confirmed deployment of the fifth…
-
Starlink profit growing rapidly as it faces a moment of promise and peril
Two new independent estimates of revenue from SpaceX’s Starlink Internet service suggest it is rapidly growing, having nearly tripled in just two years. An updated projection from the analysts at Quilty Space estimates that the service produced $7.8 billion in revenue in 2024, with about 60 percent of that coming from consumers who subscribe to…
-
Launch Roundup: Soyuz flies; New Shepard simulates lunar gravity
This week’s launch manifest is quite diverse, featuring the launches of four different rockets worldwide. Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital rocket has simulated the Moon’s gravity from just beyond the Kármán line, and Rocket Lab launched Electron for the first time this year from New Zealand. Russia launched Soyuz for the first time in 2025…
-
SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on foggy Tuesday morning
Blanketed by early morning fog, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket takes off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Starlink 12-3 mission on Feb. 4, 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 5:42 a.m. EST (1042 UTC): SpaceX landed the first stage booster on its droneship. Against a densely foggy backdrop, SpaceX completed its second…
-
It seems the FAA office overseeing SpaceX’s Starship probe still has some bite
The seventh test flight of SpaceX’s gigantic Starship rocket came to a disappointing end a little more than two weeks ago. The in-flight failure of the rocket’s upper stage, or ship, about eight minutes after launch on January 16 rained debris over the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Atlantic Ocean. Amateur videos recorded from…
-
Saturday Starlink launch marks 200th orbital flight from Vandenberg’s pad 4E
File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Starlink 7-14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Image: SpaceX SpaceX launched its latest batch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base Saturday afternoon. The mission was the 111th orbital launch for SpaceX from its pad at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E)…
-
Former head of Boeing’s Starliner program returns to role
Officials from NASA, Boeing, United Launch Alliance and the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron participate in a prelaunch briefing for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dec. 17, 2019. From left are Kathy Lueders, NASA Commercial Crew Program; John Mulholland, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew…
-
Musk: President Trump calls for fast-track return to Earth of the former Starliner astronauts
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station’s Harmony module and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Image: NASA. In a late afternoon post to X, SpaceX founder Elon Musk stirred up some confusion and consternation among the space community. Without any indication…
-
Launch Roundup: New Shepard to simulate lunar gravity, India and Japan launch navigation satellites
This week’s schedule has a mix of orbital and suborbital missions launching from seven different sites around the globe. In addition to launches from the Florida space coast, India and Japan have both launched navigation satellites. Rocket Lab is launching another batch of satellites for its French customer, Kinéis, while SpaceX has launched a next-generation replacement…