Tag: SpaceX
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MDA Space Joins Starlab Space Venture, Expanding Commercial Space Station Efforts
Canadian company MDA Space has joined the Starlab Space joint venture, enhancing the project’s capabilities for developing a commercial space station. MDA Space will contribute its expertise in space robotics to the partnership, which already includes Voyager Space, Airbus Defence and Space, and Mitsubishi Corp. MDA Space’s involvement in Starlab Space includes taking an equity…
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SpaceX has launched the EarthCARE climate research satellite for ESA and JAXA
The joint European-Japanese EarthCARE satellite has begun its mission to improve our understanding of Earth’s climate Tuesday, with a launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 3:20 PM Pacific Time (22:20 UTC). The Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer…
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SpaceX launches ESA’s EarthCARE on a Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base
The European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellites is deployed from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket following its launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base on May 28, 2024. Image: SpaceX The European Space Agency launched its latest Earth observing satellite, designed to better understand the climate. The Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) has four instruments…
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Launch Roundup: North Korean launch failure, Starliner CFT, EarthCARE
As May transitions into June, a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to study the Earth’s clouds and aerosols as well as a Russian cargo ship to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) were both on this week’s docket of launches. Two Starlink and three Chinese satellite launch missions were also scheduled, as well as the…
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SpaceX completes Tuesday Starlink launch after Memorial Day scrub
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 on the Starlink 6-60 mission on May 28, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 10:54 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launches Starlink mission. SpaceX scrubbed a Memorial Day morning Falcon 9 launch shortly before 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC). The company did not state a…
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SpaceX sets date for next Starship flight, explains what went wrong the last time
SpaceX is targeting June 5 for the next flight of its massive Starship rocket, the company said Friday. The highly anticipated test flight—the fourth in a program to bring Starship to operational readiness and make progress toward its eventual reuse—will seek to demonstrate the ability of the Super Heavy first stage to make a soft…
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SpaceX details learnings from Starship Flight 3, sets June 5 as target launch date for Flight 4
Onboard cameras on the Starship upper stage flown during Flight 3 (Starship IFT-3) show the vehicle surrounded by plasma as it reenters the atmosphere on March 14, 2024. Image: SpaceX SpaceX is preparing to launch its massive Starship rocket on its fourth flight test from its Starbase facilities in southern Texas as soon as June…
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SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites on 5th anniversary of its first dedicated Starlink flight
A Falcon 9 rocket streaks across the sky over Central Florida amid the Starlink 6-63 mission on May 23, 2023. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update 11:15 p.m. EDT: SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX completed its third Falcon 9 launch in less than 48 hours with a mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. As…
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Surviving reentry is the key goal for SpaceX’s fourth Starship test flight
After three test flights, SpaceX has shown that the world’s most powerful rocket can reach space. Now, engineers must demonstrate the company’s next-generation Starship vehicle can get back home. This will be the central objective for the fourth Starship test flight, which could happen as soon as early June, according to Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder…
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SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites as the company reaches 3 million customers globally
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket takes flight supporting the Starlink 6-62 mission on Wednesday, May 23, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now SpaceX continued the expansion of its Starlink internet satellite mega-constellation with the first of two planned Falcon 9 launches from Florida this week as the company boasts hitting more than three million users. First…