Tag: SpaceX
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Launch Roundup: Sentinel 1C and PROBA 3 among ten planned launches
This week is busy in spaceflight, with 10 orbital launches planned throughout the week. China has, as expected, continued its launch cadence from last week with three more launches this week. SpaceX planned to launch five Falcon 9 missions in five days with the launches of four Starlink missions and one customer payload but has…
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SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from the pad at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) to begin the Starlink 6-65 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 12:29 a.m. EST (0529 UTC): SpaceX landed the first stage booster on its droneship. SpaceX completed the first of its two final Falcon 9 launches of November, using…
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SpaceX launches combination of NRO Starshield and Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 flight
Nine Merlin 1D engines power the Falcon 9 rocket into space on the NROL-126 mission. Image: SpaceX. Update 10:24 a.m. EST (1524 UTC) Nov. 30: Added post-launch statement from the NRO. SpaceX launched a mission early Saturday that blends national security satellites with those supporting its non-governmental Starlink satellite network. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex…
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Rocket Report: A good week for Blue Origin; Italy wants its own launch capability
Welcome to Edition 7.21 of the Rocket Report! We’re publishing the Rocket Report a little early this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. We don’t expect any Thanksgiving rocket launches this year, but still, there’s a lot to cover from the last six days. It seems like we’ve seen the last…
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Starbase continues its rapid pace of advancement after Starship Flight 6
With a successful test of Starship Flight 6, SpaceX has continued building on its many projects around Starbase. Repair work has begun around the launch site, with damage found in different areas of the tower from prior launches. A proposed Gigabay could be coming to the Starbase production site shortly, and Ship 26 has finally…
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NASA awards SpaceX a contract for one of the few things it hasn’t done yet
When you compare SpaceX to the world’s other space enterprises, it’s probably easier to list the things SpaceX hasn’t done instead of reciting all of the company’s achievements. One of these is the launch of nuclear materials. SpaceX has launched a handful of planetary science missions for NASA, but these spacecraft have all used solar…
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Launch Roundup: ZhuQue-2E and Chang Zheng 12 take first flights; SpaceX launches classified mission
This week Landspace debuted the enhanced version of its ZhuQue-2 rocket and the Chang Zheng 12 rocket has also taken its maiden flight. Roscosmos has launched one of two planned Soyuz missions – the highly classified mission from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome has now been delayed until next week. In contrast, four Falcon 9 missions are…
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SpaceX launches Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center
A streak shot of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as it cruised across the night sky on the Starlink 6-76 mission on Nov. 26, 2024. Image: SpaceX Update 12:10 a.m. (0510 UTC): SpaceX landed the first stage booster on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ Shortly before midnight on Tuesday, SpaceX launched its lates batch of…
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SpaceX breaks turnaround record, launching Falcon 9 booster, B1080, twice in less than 2 weeks
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars past the crescent Moon during the Starlink 12-1 mission on Nov. 25, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 6:09 a.m. EST (1109 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the 23 Starlink satellites into their intended orbit. Under the glow waning crescent moon, SpaceX launched its latest Falcon 9 rocket, carrying…
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SpaceX launches 20 Starlink satellites on the 400th Falcon 9 rocket
The 400th Falcon 9 rocket soars to space on November 23, 2024, from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Image: SpaceX Update 12:56 a.m. EST (0556 UTC): SpaceX landed its Falcon 9 first stage booster following liftoff. Against the backdrop of a characteristically foggy night at the Vandenberg Space Force Base, SpaceX launched its 400th Falcon…