Tag: Starship
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Preparing pads for SpaceX’s future Starship cadence
As SpaceX ramps up production and testing of its Starship vehicles and engines, significant advancements are unfolding across key launch infrastructure, ranging from the readiness of Pad 2 at Starbase and 39A at KSC to the demolition of parts of Pad 1 ahead of its alignment with SpaceX’s standardized launch site for the future. From…
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SpaceX Marks 500th Reused-Rocket Orbital Mission With Launch of EU Ocean-Mapping Satellite
SpaceX launched a European ocean-monitoring satellite from California early Monday, completing the company’s 500th orbital mission using a flight-proven rocket booster. The Sentinel-6B spacecraft lifted off atop a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 12:21 a.m. EST (0521 GMT). “Sentinel-6B rising, extending nearly four decades of the precise sea-level record from space,” NASA…
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SpaceX progress on Starship Pad realignment for the future
SpaceX has intensified demolition efforts at Starbase’s Pad 1, in tandem with making significant steps toward constructing an advanced launch infrastructure for its Starship program at Starbase and the Kennedy Space Center. Eventually, all three pads are expected to be near mirrors of each other, hosting the next generation Starship launches. Over at Starbase’s Pad…
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Trump Re-Nominates Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator After Earlier Withdrawal
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is re-nominating private astronaut and entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, five months after Isaacman’s initial nomination was withdrawn following a dispute between Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. The decision restores the billionaire e-commerce executive as Trump’s pick to head the U.S. space agency at a…
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Vast completes Haven-1 structural testing, launches pathfinder mission
With NASA set to decommission the International Space Station (ISS) in 2030, Vast is racing to launch the first commercial space station, which it hopes will ultimately replace the ISS. The company has now completed an important milestone in the production of its first space station. Vast is a space station company founded in 2021…
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Starship Block 3 and HLS: The path to get back to the Moon
Amid numerous questions about whether SpaceX can have the Human Landing System (HLS) variant of Starship ready in time for Artemis 3, the company released a significant amount of information on its progress with HLS and Starship in relation to the Artemis Program. Starship Human Landing System (HLS) SpaceX recently released an update regarding Starship…
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SpaceX ramps up Starship preparations at Florida’s Roberts Road
SpaceX is making significant strides in developing its Starship infrastructure at the Roberts Road facilities. NSF aerial photography has revealed rapid progress on key components, including the LC-39A launch mount, chopstick arms for a new launch tower, and the expansive Gigabay manufacturing facility. Starship is set to debut from the Space Coast in 2026, initially…
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Former NASA Administrators urge space agency to rethink plans for Artemis Moon lander
Mike French (left) hosted a fireside chat with former NASA administrators Jim Bridenstine (center) and Charles Bolden (right) at the 2025 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. Image: American Astronautical Society via livestream Two former NASA Administrators called on the space agency to rethink its plans to land astronauts on the Moon using…
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Starbase Pad 1 demolition begins for Next-Gen upgrades
SpaceX has kicked off a significant demolition and upgrade phase at its Starbase facility, targeting Pad 1 to align it with the advanced capabilities of Pad 2. The work, which began shortly after the successful Flight 11 mission, involves dismantling key components of the launch infrastructure to accommodate Version 3 Starships and Super Heavy boosters.…
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Starbase Pad 1 ends an era, enters preparations for the next phase
After 11 Flights and many tests, the booster test stand turned launch mount has reached the end of its life. Pad 1 propelled the Starship program through the early years and now moves towards the new phase of operations. Start of Construction and First Testing Construction on Pad 1 began around July 2020, when crews…