Tag: Starship
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Besxar Secures 12 Falcon 9 Flights to Develop Orbital Semiconductor Factory
Besxar, a space manufacturing startup founded by former OpenAI employee Ashley Pilipiszyn, has reached an agreement with SpaceX to prototype an orbital semiconductor factory across 12 Falcon 9 flights. The company aims to manufacture critical precursor materials for advanced semiconductors in the vacuum of space and return them to Earth, targeting a market currently served…
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SpaceX Expands Starbase as Flight 14 Vehicles Complete Testing
SpaceX is expanding assembly, testing and launch infrastructure across Starbase, Texas, as Ship 41 and Booster 21 move through final checkout for Starship Flight 14. Recent aerial imagery shows simultaneous work at Massey’s test site, the Gigabay assembly building and both orbital launch pads, while hardware for Flight 15 and later vehicles is already entering…
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SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites on 103rd Falcon 9 mission of 2026 (Video)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 27 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sept. 6, 2026. It was the 80th Starlink satellite mission of the 2026. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX launched 27 Starlink broadband satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on September 6, 2026,…
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SpaceX Clears Florida Launch Capacity for Starship by Moving Falcon 9 Starlink Missions West
SpaceX has consolidated its remaining Falcon 9 Starlink launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, ending the constellation’s Falcon 9 campaign from Florida as it prepares the Space Coast for Starship-Super Heavy operations. The operational shift removes a large volume of routine Starlink missions from SpaceX’s Florida schedule, freeing launch infrastructure, personnel and range…
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SpaceX FCC Filing Outlines First Full Orbital Attempt for Starship Flight 14
SpaceX has submitted communications applications to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for Starship Flight 14, formally identifying the mission as the program’s first attempt to place the vehicle into a sustained Earth orbit. The paperwork requests authority to operate launch-vehicle communications during a window beginning September 15, 2026, and extending through March 15, 2027. The…
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SpaceX Completes 33-Engine Static Fire of Booster 21 Ahead of Starship Flight 14
SpaceX fired all 33 Raptor engines on Super Heavy Booster 21 during a full-duration static-fire test at Starbase, Texas, on August 28, completing a major propulsion milestone ahead of Starship’s 14th flight test. The roughly 15-second firing took place on the launch mount at Pad 2. Booster 21 remained restrained while its engines, propellant systems,…
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SpaceX Recovers First Intact Starship Upper Stage After Month-Long Indian Ocean Ordeal
SpaceX has achieved a major milestone in the development of its fully reusable Starship system, successfully loading the upper stage from Starship Flight 13 onto a semi-submersible transport vessel in the Indian Ocean more than a month after the spacecraft completed its mission and splashed down at sea. The recovery marks the first time a…
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Decoding the Six Reusable Rockets Successfully Recovered Worldwide
Rocket recovery has evolved from an experimental concept into one of the defining capabilities of modern launch vehicles. By returning and potentially reusing major rocket stages, launch providers aim to reduce costs, shorten turnaround times and support a higher launch cadence. To date, six orbital-class launch vehicles worldwide—Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Starship, New Glenn, Long…
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SpaceX Ends Florida Falcon 9 Starlink Era as Dawn Launch Creates Spectacular ‘Jellyfish’ Visible Over New York
A SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying a new batch of Starlink satellites marked the end of an era on Aug. 25, completing what the company says will be its final dedicated Starlink launch from Florida. The early-morning mission also produced a striking “space jellyfish” effect that was visible hundreds of miles from the launch site, including…
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SpaceX Commits $100 Billion to Build Starbase Louisiana, Expanding Starship Launch Capacity
SpaceX has announced plans to invest approximately $100 billion in the construction of Starbase Louisiana, a massive new Starship launch complex on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast that would become the company’s largest spaceflight operations center and one of the most ambitious commercial space infrastructure projects ever proposed. The development is intended to support thousands of Starship…