Tag: Starlink
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Launch Roundup: Vulcan’s maiden flight, SpaceX continues launching Starlink
The week of Jan. 4 to Jan. 10 saw the long-awaited maiden flight of the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket carrying the Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One Lunar Lander to the Moon. Two Chinese rockets have launched: one Kuaizhou 1A, and the Einstein Probe X-ray satellite, launched on Jan 9. from Xichang, China on board a…
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SpaceX launches the first set of Starlink satellites for T-Mobile’s direct-to-cell plan
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sends Starlink satellites to space from a California launch pad. (SpaceX via Twitter/X) The first satellites capable of providing direct-to-cellular service via SpaceX’s Starlink network and T-Mobile’s cellular network have been sent into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Six of the cell-capable satellites were among a batch of 21…
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SpaceX launches two rockets—three hours apart—to close out a record year
It seems like SpaceX did everything this year but launch 100 times. On Thursday night, the launch company sent two more rockets into orbit from Florida. One was a Falcon Heavy, the world’s most powerful rocket in commercial service, carrying the US military’s X-37B spaceplane from a launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at…
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Launch Roundup: scrubs deny SpaceX its 100 Falcon launch goal; look to end the year with a 300th mission milestone
This week nearly saw two secret spaceplanes launched within days of each other. After ground systems concerns and then weather delays, the US Department of Defense’s X-37B vehicle had its OTV-7 launch on the Falcon Heavy USSF-52 mission scrubbed from its initial planned attempt on Dec. 11. Starlink Group 6-34 was also scrubbed that same…
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SpaceX delays first Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capability
A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to support the Starlink 7-9 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission also includes the first six satellites that will be used for the company’s direct-to-cell service. Image: SpaceX Update 9:45 p.m. EST: The launch is now scheduled for December 28 at 9:09 p.m. PST (12:09 a.m. EST,…
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SpaceX standing down from Starlink 6-34 mission Wednesday due to poor Atlantic weather
A Falcon 9 stands ready for launch with 23 Starlink satellites on pad 40. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. Update 4:00 p.m. EST: SpaceX is standing down from a launch attempt Wednesday night due to “unfavorable weather conditions in the Atlantic Ocean.” SpaceX is standing down from a launch attempt of the Starlink 6-34 mission onboard…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX continues toward 100 launch goal
As SpaceX continues toward its goal of launching 100 times in 2023, the company launched two Starlink missions this week — one from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida and the second from SLC-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. Later in the…
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Launch Roundup: Soyuz resupplies the ISS; SpaceX launches more Starlink satellites
This week, SpaceX continued its incredible launch cadence with two more launches of Falcon 9, a Soyuz 2.1a resupplied the International Space Station (ISS), and three missions launched consecutively out of China. The week began with Roscosmos launching the Progress MS-25 resupply capsule on a Soyuz 2.1a up to the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. …
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX on pace to hit 100 launches in 2023, Soyuz to launch Bars-M
Following a busy week for SpaceX with the launch of two Starlink missions and the second launch of Starship, SpaceX is currently on track to meet its 100 launch goal of 2023. The first launch of the week took place on Wednesday, with North Korea successfully placing the Manligyeong 1 satellite into orbit. Later that…
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Launch Roundup: Starship, Falcon 9, and Chang Zheng-2C this week
While the spaceflight world waited for the Starship Integrated Flight Test-2 (IFT-2) launch that happened from Texas this week, three other launches were scheduled, from China as well as both main coasts of the United States. One was a Chang Zheng-2C (CZ-2C) from China, and another is Starlink 6-28 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station…