Tag: Elon Musk
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SpaceX launches first of three missions for Amazon’s Project Kuiper constellation
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying 24 satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet constellation. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update July 16, 2:53 a.m. EDT: The Falcon 9 booster landed on the droneship. Amazon now has the third launch of its Project Kuiper…
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Former head of Boeing’s Starliner program returns to role
Officials from NASA, Boeing, United Launch Alliance and the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron participate in a prelaunch briefing for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dec. 17, 2019. From left are Kathy Lueders, NASA Commercial Crew Program; John Mulholland, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew…
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SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket following Saturday night scrub
SpaceX launches its 5th Falcon 9 rocket of the year on the Starlink 6-37 mission on Jan. 14, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 9:00 p.m. EST: SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket for the Starlink 6-37 mission. The second time will be the charm for SpaceX as it was able to launch its…
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Amazon buys three launches from SpaceX for rival internet constellation
A pair of prototype satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet constellation are encapsulated in a pair of payload fairings for launch aboard a ULA Atlas 5 rocket. Image: ULA Tech giant Amazon is adding a fifth rocket to launch its satellite internet constellation. In a surprise move on Friday afternoon, the company announced it purchased…
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Elon Musk’s success criteria for Starship test flight: “Don’t blow up the launch pad”
SpaceX’s fully fueled Starship and Super Heavy booster during the first launch attempt Monday, April 17. Credit: SpaceX Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, did his best to set low expectations heading into the first test flight of the gargantuan Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket this week. “I would consider anything that does not…
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China releases first pictures from Zhurong rover since Mars landing
China’s Zhurong rover sits atop the Tianwen 1 mission’s landing platform on Mars. Credit: CNSA China’s space agency released the first pictures from the Zhurong Mars rover Wednesday, showing the six-wheel robot ready to drive down a ramp from its landing platform to begin exploring the Red Planet. The 529-pound (240-kilogram) Zhurong rover landed Friday,…
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SpaceX outlines plans for Starship orbital test flight
Artist’s concept of a Super Heavy booster and Starship vehicle stacked together during launch. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX has revealed the flight plan for the first orbital test launch of the company’s huge stainless steel Starship rocket, a 90-minute, around-the-world mission that will originate from South Texas and culminate with a controlled re-entry and splashdown in…
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Upgraded Starship prototype makes first soft landing after test flight
SpaceX launched and landed an upgraded prototype for the company’s next-generation Starship vehicle in South Texas on Wednesday, the company’s first Starship test flight since winning a $2.9 billion NASA contract to use the craft to land astronauts on the Moon. Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO tweeted: “Starship landing nominal!” The 164-foot-tall (50-meter)…
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Musk says methane leak doomed latest Starship test flight
File photo of the Starship SN8 prototype, which flew last year, with three Raptor engines. Credit: Elon Musk/SpaceX SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Monday that a “relatively small” methane leak caused the explosion of the company’s latest Starship test rocket last week on an experimental flight over South Texas. The 164-foot-tall (50-meter) Starship test vehicle,…
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SpaceX’s latest high-altitude Starship test flight ends in another explosion
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 6:15 p.m. EDT (2215 GMT) with FAA statement and debris photos. The Raptor engines at the base of SpaceX’s Starship test rocket ignite for a landing burn at the end of Tuesday’s flight. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight apparently ended with another explosion Tuesday in South Texas, but dense fog…