Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX launches military satellites tuned to track hypersonic missiles
Two prototype satellites for the Missile Defense Agency and four missile-tracking satellites for the US Space Force rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Wednesday from Florida’s Space Coast. These satellites are part of a new generation of spacecraft designed to track hypersonic missiles launched by China or Russia and perhaps emerging missile threats…
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SpaceX’s 300th Falcon 9 rocket launches Starlink satellites from California
The Starlink 7-14 mission lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Feb. 15, 2024. Image: SpaceX. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket flew its 300th mission on Thursday Feb. 16, lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1:34 p.m. PST (4:34 p.m. EST, 2134 UTC) carrying another batch of satellites for…
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SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket with national security satellites from Cape Canaveral
A Falcon 9 rocket supporting the USSF-124 mission for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Space Development Agency (SDA) launches from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now SpaceX launched its eighth Falcon 9 rocket on a National Security Space Launch (NSSL) mission on Wednesday evening. The launch, named United…
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SpaceX, Intuitive Machines launches robotic lander to the Moon
Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, named ‘Odysseus,’ displayed prior to encapsulation inside a pair of SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairings. Image: SpaceX Update 2:10 p.m. EST: The Nova-C lander successfully separated from the spacecraft and teams were able to acquire signal with the lander. A launch pad billed as the Apollo program’s “Moonport” once again honored…
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Starship Flight 3 Fully Stacked for WDR testing
SpaceX is making good progress on Flight 3 readiness with a full stack on the pad and road closures coming up for a possible Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) for Booster 10 and Ship 28. SpaceX continues to work on future flight vehicles, on the path towards achieving operational status with Starship. Flight 3 Full Stack…
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NASA launches a billion-dollar Earth science mission Trump tried to cancel
NASA’s latest mission dedicated to observing Earth’s oceans and atmosphere from space rocketed into orbit from Florida early Thursday on a SpaceX launch vehicle. This mission will study phytoplankton, microscopic plants fundamental to the marine food chain, and tiny particles called aerosols that play a key role in cloud formation. These two constituents in the…
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SpaceX launches Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base supporting the Starlink 7-13 mission. Image: SpaceX Update 8:00 p.m. EST: SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket and recovered the first stage booster on a droneship. SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from the West Coast following multiple weather-related scrubs earlier in the…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9’s 300th Flight and SpaceX to launch lunar lander
On the week of the sixth anniversary of the first flight of Falcon Heavy, SpaceX launched four separate Falcon 9 missions. Meanwhile, Roscosmos resupplied the International Space Station (ISS) with Progress MS-26 launching on Soyuz. Early Thursday morning, Falcon 9 launched from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) taking NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud,…
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SpaceX successfully launches NASA’s PACE mission on polar orbit flight
The Falcon 9 with NASA’s PACE mission atop stands ready for launch at pad 40. Image: SpaceX. Update 2:30 a.m. EST: SpaceX and NASA confirm a successful launch. SpaceX launched its second NASA mission of the year on Thursday morning. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Earth-observing spacecraft PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) lifted…
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Falcon 9 launches PACE science satellite for NASA
After a record-setting month featuring 10 launches, SpaceX is gearing up for a busy February. One of the launches this month is the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) ocean science satellite, which flew aboard a Falcon 9 in a rare polar corridor launch from Florida. PACE launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at the…