Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX Transporter-12 launches more than 100 satellites
On Tuesday, January 14 at 11:09 AM PST (19:09 UTC) SpaceX launched the Transporter-12 rideshare mission from launch complex SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, deploying more than 100 satellites into orbit. The launch vehicle’s booster returned to land at Vandenberg. Deployment of payloads from the second stage to Sun-synchronous orbits (SSO) at altitudes of…
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Falcon 9 launches two landers to the Moon on the same mission
SpaceX launched not one but two lunar landers to the Moon on the same mission, on the 100th launch from the same pad where the Apollo 11 crew launched to the Moon. A Falcon 9 successfully lifted off during an instantaneous window on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 1:11 AM EST (06:11 UTC) from Launch Complex…
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SpaceX launches 131 spacecraft on Transporter-12 Falcon 9 rideshare mission from California
A Falcon 9 rocket roars away from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 14, 2025, on the Transporter 12 mission. Image: Space X. SpaceX launched 131 payloads Tuesday onboard the company’s 12th smallsat rideshare mission to date. The Transporter-12 mission flew onboard a Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force…
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Launch Roundup: New Glenn and Starship headline a week dominated by SpaceX missions
SpaceX dominated this week’s launch manifest with two Falcon 9 missions and the seventh flight of its Starship rocket. The two Falcon 9 missions will see the launches of a Transporter rideshare mission, and two Moon landers. Blue Origin’s New Glenn achieved orbit on Thursday morning following the scrub of its maiden flight attempt on…
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Rocket Report: China launches refueling demo; DoD’s big appetite for hypersonics
Welcome to Edition 7.26 of the Rocket Report! Let’s pause and reflect on how far the rocket business has come in the last 10 years. On this date in 2015, SpaceX made the first attempt to land a Falcon 9 booster on a drone ship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. Not surprisingly, the rocket crash-landed.…
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A taller, heavier, smarter version of SpaceX’s Starship is almost ready to fly
An upsized version of SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket rolled to the launch pad early Thursday in preparation for liftoff on a test flight next week. The two-mile transfer moved the bullet-shaped spaceship one step closer to launch Monday from SpaceX’s Starbase test site in South Texas. The launch window opens at 5 pm EST (4 pm…
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SpaceX launches, lands first stage booster for record-setting 25th time during Starlink flight
SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 booster, B1067, on the Starlink 12-12 mission on Jan. 10, 2025. This was the first time an orbital class rocket launched for a 25th time and went on to land successfully as well. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update 2:37 p.m. (1937 UTC): SpaceX safely landed the first stage booster on…
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Italy’s plan to buy Starlink data deals a serious blow to European space network
The Italian government is considering the purchase of satellite Internet services from SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, and the potential deal has triggered controversy along political, economic, and spaceflight lines in Europe. The story was initially broken by Bloomberg on Sunday, which reported that Italy is in “advanced talks” with SpaceX to purchase $1.6 billion worth of…
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SpaceX launches first dedicated Starlink mission of 2025
SpaceX launches the Starlink 6-71 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, its first dedicated Starlink flight of 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update Jan. 6, 4:54 p.m. EST (2154 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the 24 Starlink satellites. SpaceX completed its first Starlink mission of the year on the first Monday…
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Launch Roundup: New Glenn scrubs, SpaceX launches national reconnaissance mission
The first full week of 2025 – and the first part of next week – featured a full lineup of launches from the United States and China, though Blue Origin’s New Glenn scrubbed on its first launch attempt and Starlink Flight 7 moved into the middle of next week. The year’s first Starlink launch, which…