Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX launches 4th batch of Starshield satellites for the NRO on its 100th Falcon 9 rocket of 2024
The Falcon 9 at sunrise Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 as final preparations were made for the NROL-167 mission. Image: SpaceX. SpaceX launch its fourth mission of the year for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) carrying satellites for its so-called “proliferated architecture,” which are believed to be Starshield satellites. The mission, dubbed NROL-167, added an unspecified…
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As it happened: NASA, SpaceX undocked Crew-8 from the International Space Station following weeks of weather-related delays, scheduling conflicts
LIVE: NASA’s @SpaceX #Crew8 mission is ready for the journey home. Watch as the @Space_Station crew closes the hatch of the Dragon spacecraft. https://t.co/hEMXNNLqlZ — NASA (@NASA) October 23, 2024 The three astronauts and cosmonaut of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission finally have a return date to Earth following more than seven months in space. Follow…
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After seeing hundreds of launches, SpaceX’s rocket catch was a new thrill
BOCA CHICA BEACH, Texas—I’ve taken some time to process what happened on the mudflats of South Texas a little more than a week ago and relived the scene in my mind countless times. With each replay, it’s still as astonishing as it was when I saw it on October 13, standing on an elevated platform…
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SpaceX launches Starlink mission following scrub due to poor booster recovery weather
SpaceX launches its 99th Falcon 9 rocket of the year on the Starlink 6-61 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Oct. 23, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update Oct. 21, 4:20 p.m.: SpaceX is pushing back its planned launch to no earlier than Tuesday, Oct. 22. Update Oct. 22, 5:00 p.m.: SpaceX updated…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX launches 400th orbital flight; Blue Origin, China launch missions
Blue Origin tested its second human-rated New Shepard capsule this week, which had been delayed twice since the start of the month. The week has also seen two launches from China while a fourth flight of the Japanese H3 rocket carrying a communications satellite for the Japanese military has now been delayed until next week.…
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SpaceX launches final Gen. 1 OneWeb satellites on 100th orbital flight of 2024
The final two satellites in a batch of 20 OneWeb Gen. 1 satellites are deployed at the tail end of the OneWeb Launch #20 mission. Image: SpaceX SpaceX completed its 100th orbital launch of the year for its Falcon family of rockets late Saturday night in California. It reach this first-time milestone by launching OneWeb’s…
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SpaceX prevails over ULA, wins military launch contracts worth $733 million
The US Space Force’s Space Systems Command announced Friday it has ordered nine launches from SpaceX in the first batch of dozens of missions the military will buy in a new phase of competition for lucrative national security launch contracts. The nine launches are divided into two fixed-price “task orders” that Space Systems Command opened…
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SpaceX launches 20 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches across the sky on the Starlink 8-19 mission, as seen in this streak shot from across the Indian River Lagoon. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update Oct. 17, 4:38 p.m. EDT: SpaceX is moving to their 24-hour backup date for the launch and is targeting liftoff no earlier the Friday, Oct.…
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SpaceX launches 20 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB
A stack of SpaceX Starlink satellites, which included the first six featuring Direct to Cell capabilities. The batch launched on the Starlink 7-9 mission, which lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 2, 2024. Image: SpaceX SpaceX completed a double launch day on Tuesday with a Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base.…
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NASA launches mission to explore the frozen frontier of Jupiter’s moon Europa
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft lifted off Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, kicking off a $5.2 billion robotic mission to explore one of the most promising locations in the Solar System for finding extraterrestrial life. The Falcon Heavy rocket fired its 27 kerosene-fueled engines and vaulted away from…