Tag: Falcon 9
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Musk wants to make Falcon rockets fully reusable
This illustration of a Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage re-entering the atmosphere is part of an animation released in 2011. SpaceX officials have not discussed technical details of how the company would recover upper stages under founder Elon Musk’s latest emphasis on the project. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX chief Elon Musk said last week he is…
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Photos: SpaceX booster lands for second time on drone ship
SpaceX’s reused Falcon 9 first stage booster returned to a landing on an ocean-going platform a few minutes after launching March 30 with the SES 10 communications satellite, then returned to Port Canaveral early Tuesday. Standing more than 150 feet (nearly 50 meters) tall, the booster sailed into port around sunrise Tuesday after riding SpaceX’s…
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Musk previews busy year ahead for SpaceX
Elon Musk speaks with reporters after Thursday’s launch of SES 10. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now There’s a lot on SpaceX’s agenda this year if the company can maintain its pace, including refinements of the Falcon 9 rocket to hasten refurbishment between flights and the debut of the long-delayed Falcon Heavy launch vehicle…
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Photos: SpaceX’s photos from Thursday’s reflight of Falcon 9 booster
Remote sound-triggered cameras around launch pad 39A captured stunning views of Thursday evening’s launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the first reflight of a commercial orbital-class booster. Powered by nine Merlin 1D engines, the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 lifted off at 6:27 p.m. EDT (2227 GMT) Thursday with the SES 10 communications satellite.…
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SpaceX flies rocket for second time in historic test of cost-cutting technology
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Scriptunas Images A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sporting a fresh cleaning and several refurbishments took off Thursday from a seaside launch pad in Florida to send an SES communications satellite into space, then landed on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean to repeat a feat the same booster achieved nearly…
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Falcon 9 launch to landing replay
Video from the SpaceX webcast, featuring the launch of the SES 10 satellite atop a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket, followed by a successful barge landing by the first stage. The Falcon 9 lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:27 p.m. EDT (2227 GMT) on March 30, 2017. Video: SpaceX.
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SpaceX opens new era for spaceflight with successful core stage reuse
For SpaceX and its founder Elon Musk, it was a day 15 years in the making. The accomplishment Thursday evening of launching a flight-proven Falcon 9 core stage and landing it yet again on the ASDS barge, Of Course I Still Love You, is a stunning and beautiful feat of engineering that opens the door…
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Photos: Press site views of SpaceX’s rocket relaunch
These photos of Thursday evening’s successful relaunch of a Falcon 9 rocket booster, which returned to Earth after a maiden mission last year, were taken at the Kennedy Space Center press site about 3.1 miles (5 kilometers) from launch pad 39A. The images show the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket climbing into the sky on…
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Watch replay of Falcon 9 launch as seen from the press site
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, powered by a previously-flown booster, lifts off from launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:27 p.m. EDT (2227 GMT) on March 30, 2017, carrying the SES 10 communications satellite. The launch marked the first time SpaceX has reused the first stage of one of its…
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SpaceX conducts historic Falcon 9 re-flight with SES-10 – Lands booster again
SpaceX took a step into the future Thursday as it reused – for the first time – a recovered first stage of a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket. Thursday’s mission, carrying the SES-10 communications satellite, lifted off from Pad 39A at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at 18:27 local time (22:27 UTC) and once again landed the…