Tag: Falcon 9
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SpaceX return-to-flight slips to early January
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett SpaceX’s first mission since a rocket explosion on a Florida launch pad is now scheduled for early January, when a Falcon 9 booster is set to begin a 70-satellite deployment for Iridium’s next-generation voice and…
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Busy December to mark end of year global launch salvo
Up to 15 orbital launches are set to take place during a very busy December, not counting the opening mission of the month that resulted in the loss of the Progress MS-04 cargo ship that was set to dock with the ISS over the weekend. This month is likely to include the highly anticipated return…
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SpaceX sets Dec. 16 for first flight since launch pad explosion
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket rolling to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg. Credit: SpaceX The first 10 satellites in Iridium’s next-generation mobile voice and data network could head into orbit from California as soon as Dec. 16 on SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 flight since a booster exploded on…
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SpaceX prime Falcon 9 rockets for December return
In preparation for a December return to launch operations, SpaceX has delivered one Falcon 9 rocket to its Vandenberg launch site, while another undergoes testing at the company’s McGregor test center in Texas. Pending the conclusion of the Amos-6 failure investigation, SpaceX will be primed to return to action in December. Return To Flight: SpaceX’s…
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SpaceX hopes procedure fix can allow Falcon 9 launches to resume
File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rolling out to its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX Investigators probing the Sept. 1 explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on its launch pad in Florida believe a high-pressure gas tank inside the launcher’s upper stage most likely burst due to…
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SpaceX conducts Falcon 9 test; AMOS-6 investigation narrows
As SpaceX narrows on a second stage COPV (Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel) as the cause of the AMOS-6 static fire pad failure on 1 September, the company is pressing ahead with hot fire operations on a new first stages at its McGregor, Texas, facility. The new booster is set to power what SpaceX hopes will…
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NASA has no plans to buy more Soyuz seats, and it may be too late anyway
File photo of a Soyuz spacecraft docked at the International Space Station. Credit: NASA NASA is sure enough that Boeing and SpaceX can safely launch astronauts to the International Space Station by early 2019 to hold off paying Russia to keep flying U.S. crews to the research complex, and one official says a deadline to…
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SpaceX still expects to resume launches by the end of the year
An aerial reconnaissance plane surveyed damage from Hurricane Matthew along the U.S. East Coast, revealing exterior siding stripped from SpaceX’s payload processing facility at Cape Canaveral. Credit: NOAA Strong winds from Hurricane Matthew stripped exterior panels from SpaceX’s payload processing facility at Cape Canaveral last week, but the damage is not likely to affect the…
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Falcon 9 rocket explosion traced to upper stage helium system
Credit: US Launch Report The investigation into a dramatic Falcon 9 rocket explosion earlier this month at Cape Canaveral has determined a “large breach” in the launcher’s upper stage helium pressurization system led to the destruction of the booster and its $200 million satellite payload, SpaceX said Friday. Officials said returning to flight “safely and…
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Falcon 9 rocket explosion traced to upper stage helium system
Credit: US Launch Report The investigation into a dramatic Falcon 9 rocket explosion earlier this month at Cape Canaveral has determined a “large breach” in the launcher’s upper stage helium pressurization system led to the destruction of the booster and its $200 million satellite payload, SpaceX said Friday. Officials said returning to flight “safely and…