Tag: Falcon 9
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SpaceX launches seventh Iridium mission and recovers booster
SpaceX successfully launched the seventh of eight planned missions for Iridium Communications from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base at 04:39 Pacific Time (11:39 UTC). The launch which took place in foggy conditions and high wind shear over the booster recovery zone, yet the first stage still managed to successfully land on the drone ship. A…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket puts 10 Iridium satellites in orbit, then lands in rough seas
A webcam shows the deployment of an Iridium NEXT telecommunications satellites from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage, with Earth in the background. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sent 10 more Iridium NEXT telecommunications satellites into space today from a fogged-in California pad, then executed a rough-and-tumble booster landing. Today’s mission also featured an…
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Photos: Falcon 9 ready for launch from California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket loaded with 10 Iridium Next communications satellite is awaiting a predawn launch Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The Falcon 9 launcher, flying in SpaceX’s latest “Block 5” configuration, is set to lift off at 4:39:30 a.m. PDT (7:39:30 a.m. EDT; 1139:30 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 4-East at…
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Video: Falcon 9 lifts off in a veil of fog
Video credit: SpaceX A thick marine layer blanketing Vandenberg Air Force Base in California restricted views of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifting off early Wednesday, but cameras fixed to the launcher provided spectacular imagery of the predawn departure with 10 Iridium satellites on-board. The Falcon 9 took off from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg…
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SpaceX’s second launch in three days lofts 10 more Iridium satellites
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket fires into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX Firing through a veil of fog blanketing California’s Central Coast, a Falcon 9 launcher climbed into orbit Wednesday with 10 more satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay constellation, pushing the upgraded network closer to completion as SpaceX accomplished another…
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Launch timeline for Iridium’s seventh launch with SpaceX
Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the another set of 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Wednesday at 4:39 a.m. PDT (7:39 a.m. EDT; 1139 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base in…
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SpaceX’s fairing-catching boat heads to sea, this time with a bigger net
SpaceX’s fairing recovery boat, Mr. Steven, will debut a bigger net during Wednesday’s launch f a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX After several near-misses in tries to catch payload shrouds jettisoned from Falcon 9 rockets climbing into space, a high-speed boat tasked with retrieving the fairings for SpaceX to…
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Video: Falcon 9 lifts off with Telstar 19 VANTAGE
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket climbed away from Cape Canaveral early Sunday, and its first stage booster returned to a drone ship parked in the Atlantic Ocean after sending a heavyweight commercial communications satellite toward orbit for Telesat. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket lifted off at 1:50 a.m. EDT (0550 GMT) Sunday from Cape Canaveral’s Complex…
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SpaceX delivers for Telesat with successful early morning launch
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated July 23 with orbital parameters. A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at 1:50 a.m. EDT (0550 GMT) Sunday from Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX An upgraded model of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket fired into orbit early Sunday from Florida’s Space Coast, hoisting a record-setting 7.8-ton (nearly 7.1-metric ton) communications satellite for Telesat toward…
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Record-setting commercial satellite awaits blastoff from Cape Canaveral
The Telstar 19 VANTAGE communications satellite is tested at SSL’s compact antenna test range. Credit: SSL A huge U.S.-built, Canadian-owned communications satellite weighing 15,600 pounds, the heaviest spacecraft of its kind ever launched, is mounted to a Falcon 9 rocket for liftoff early Sunday from Cape Canaveral on a heavy-lifting mission that previously would have…