Author: starpathwp-production
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A Cold War mystery: Why did Jimmy Carter save the space shuttle?
With 39th President Jimmy Carter passing away at the age of 100, we are revisiting this story of how he unexpectedly saved the space shuttle. We’d been chatting for the better part of two hours when Chris Kraft’s eyes suddenly brightened. “Hey,” he said, “Here’s a story I’ll bet you never heard.” Kraft, the man…
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Blue Origin’s New Glenn Completes Hotfire Test for First Launch with Blue Ring Pathfinder
New Glenn completed an integrated launch vehicle hot-fire test, the final major milestone on our road to the first flight. NG-1 will carry a Blue Ring Pathfinder as its first manifested payload and will launch from Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, FL. The seven-engine hotfire lasted 24 seconds and marked the first time we…
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Launch Roundup: New Glenn set for maiden flight, Falcon 9 missions end and start the year
Following an exceptionally busy December, this week started the new year with only four scheduled missions, with the possibility of two flights of heavy launch vehicles within the first ten days of January. On the same day as Starship’s seventh flight, Blue Origin’s New Glenn is expected to take its maiden voyage from Florida. This…
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Mitsubishi Electric Partners with Synspective to Develop SAR Constellation for National Security
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that it acquired a stake in Synspective Inc., a Tokyo-based startup company that develops and operates small synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites and provides solutions based on satellite data, on December 16. The companies recently signed a strategic partnership memorandum to build a satellite constellation and sell satellite images for national…
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Maxar Secures $35 Million in New Contracts from Two Asia-Pacific Government Clients
Maxar Intelligence, a provider of secure, precise geospatial insights, announced that it has been awarded a total of $35 million in new tasking contracts from two government customers in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Both contracts are built around a Direct Access Program (DAP) offering and include several “firsts,” including the first purchase of direct access…
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SpaceX launches 4 Astranis satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) to begin the Astranis: From One to Many mission on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. Image: Pete Carstens/MaxQ Productions for Spaceflight Now Update 12:45 p.m. (0545 UTC): SpaceX deployed the four satellites. Following a rare pad abort on Dec. 21, SpaceX launched four satellites…
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ULA has big Vulcan launch plans for 2025
ULA Vulcan Cert-2 mission which saw an anomaly in the nozzle of a SRM during ascent. Image: Jared Locke / Space Explored Vulcan’s second flight was able to reach the designated orbit; however, an anomaly took place on one of the two solid rocket motors during ascent. This has been one of the main delays…
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SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites during final orbital launch of 2024
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars into the clouds during the Starlink 12-6 mission, the final orbital launch around the world in 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Updated Dec. 31 at 1:45 a.m. EST (0645 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the 21 Starlink satellites. SpaceX ended its orbital launch year in the same way it…