Tag: Iridium NEXT Mission 1
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Skywatchers: Get your Iridium flare fix now
Updated after successful launch. File photo of an Iridium flare. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now The launch of the first batch of new-generation Iridium communications satellites Saturday marked the beginning of the end for the predictable, spectacular flares of reflected sunlight produced by the old-design craft, a favorite of amateur skywatchers for nearly two decades. Iridium…
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Live coverage: SpaceX resumes launches from California
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with 10 Iridium communications satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. SpaceX’s live video coverage begins at approximately 12:20 p.m. EST (9:20 a.m. PST; 1720…
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Falcon 9 rocket ready for all-important return to service Saturday
The Falcon 9 rocket with 10 Iridium Next communications satellites inside SpaceX’s hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. SpaceX rolled a fully-assembled Falcon 9 booster out of its hangar and lifted it on top of a launch pad Friday for the first time since an explosion grounded the commercial rocket last year, setting the…
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Timeline for Falcon 9 rocket’s launch of 10 Iridium satellites
Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the first 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Saturday at 9:54:39 a.m. PST (12:54:39 p.m. EST; 1754:39 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Data source: SpaceX T-0:00:00: Liftoff After…
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Next SpaceX launch slipped to avoid stormy weather, range conflict
The mission patch for the first Falcon 9 launch for the Iridium Next satellite fleet shows the 10 satellites mounted on a special dispenser on the second stage, and the first stage descending to a vertical landing on a barge in the Pacific Ocean offshore California. Credit: SpaceX/Iridium Forecasters predict a rainy, breezy week along…
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Engine hotfire test completed for SpaceX’s first launch since explosion
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now SpaceX’s launch team fueled up a Falcon 9 rocket on a California launch pad Thursday, fired the booster’s nine Merlin engines, and passed a key preflight test for the first time since a Falcon…
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FAA signs off on SpaceX mishap investigation
Credit: US Launch Report The Federal Aviation Administration has granted a launch license for SpaceX’s deployment of 10 Iridium communications satellites next week after reviewing the company’s inquiry into a Falcon 9 rocket explosion in September, an agency spokesperson said Friday. The FAA has regulatory oversight authority over commercial space activities in the United States,…
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SpaceX failure probe complete; flights to resume Sunday from California
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION File photo. Credit: NASA After an exhaustive investigation, SpaceX engineers have identified the most likely cause of the spectacular explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket during a pre-launch test Sept. 1 that destroyed the booster and its $195 million satellite payload, the company announced Monday. SpaceX engineers believe…
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Iridium satellites closed up for launch on Falcon 9 rocket
The first 10 Iridium Next satellites were encapsulated inside the payload fairing of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket earlier this week. Credit: Iridium The first 10 satellites for Iridium’s next-generation mobile voice and data relay network have been fueled, joined with their deployment module and encapsulated inside the clamshell-like nose cone of a SpaceX 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…