Tag: commercial-space
-
Virgin Galactic resumes suborbital spaceflights
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION An on-board camera captured this spectacular view of planet Earth with the Unity spaceplane’s folding wings as the six-person vehicle soared over 50 miles above New Mexico. Credit: Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic launched its suborbital spaceplane “Unity” on its first crewed flight in two years Thursday, carrying two…
-
Rocket Lab launches final TROPICS mission
Just under three weeks after Rocket Lab launched the “Rocket Like a Hurricane” mission placing two time-resolved observations of precipitation structure and storm intensity with a constellation of smallsats (TROPICS) satellites for NASA into low Earth orbit, the company launched its Electron rocket on the “Coming to a Storm Near You” mission on Friday. Launching…
-
Axiom’s second private astronaut mission docks at International Space Station
SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom spacecraft approaches the International Space Station for docking Monday. Credit: Axiom / SpaceX / NASA Four commercial space fliers who launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Axiom’s second private astronaut mission Sunday arrived at the International Space Station on a SpaceX crew capsule Monday to start an eight-day stay full of…
-
Two Americans, two Saudis launch on commercial astronaut mission
Watch a replay of our coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:37 p.m. EDT (2137 UTC) on Sunday, May 21, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Falcon 9 will launch SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom spacecraft with four commercial astronauts on the Ax-2 mission…
-
Axiom’s second crew mission has narrow window for launch
Ax-2 mission commander Peggy Whitson, mission specialist Rayyanah Barnawi, pilot John Shoffner, and mission specialist Ali Alqarni train at the European Astronaut Center in Germany. Credit: Axiom Space / European Space Agency The second fully commercial astronaut flight to the International Space Station will have just two opportunities to launch Sunday and Monday, or else…
-
SpaceX launches 22 new-generation Starlink satellites
Watch a replay of our live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 6-3 mission at 2:19 a.m. EDT (0619 UTC) on May 19 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”SFN Live”] [tabbyending] Another Falcon 9 rocket…
-
Live coverage: SpaceX launches satellites for OneWeb and Iridium
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with 16 satellites for OneWeb’s internet network and five satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay constellation. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”SpaceX Webcast”]…
-
Overnight launch adds 56 more satellites to SpaceX’s Starlink fleet
Watch a replay of our live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 5-9 mission at 1:03 a.m. EDT (0503 UTC) on May 14 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”SFN Live”] [tabbyending] Fifty-six more Starlink internet…
-
SpaceX’s Falcon rocket family reaches 200 straight successful missions
SpaceX’s launch of 51 more Starlink internet satellites Wednesday from California marked the 200th consecutive successful mission for the company’s Falcon rocket family, a record unmatched by any other space launch vehicle. The string of successes dates back to September 2016, when a Falcon 9 rocket exploded on a launch pad during pre-flight testing at…
-
Start of construction paves way for first UK mainland vertical launch
The ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction was attended by a number of officials, including (from left): Richard Lochhead, Minister for Small Business, Innovation & Trade, Scottish Government; Kristian von Bengtson, Chief Development Officer & Interim CEO, Orbex; Dorothy Pritchard, Chair, Melness Crofters’ Estate; Bart Markus, Chairman, Orbex; Ian Annett, Deputy CEO, UK…