Tag: KSC
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Euclid studies Milky Way center, supports future Roman observations
The European Space Agency (ESA) recently released a new picture of the center of the Milky Way galaxy, an area known as the galactic bulge. Containing over 60 million stars, the picture, taken by ESA’s Euclid space telescope, represents the largest and most detailed photo of this region to date. Euclid observed the area outside…
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Starship Barge identified ahead of Starbase to KSC transports
SpaceX is gearing up for a new chapter in its ambitious Starship program, with the company confirming the successful trial run of a specialized transport barge for moving massive Starship vehicles from its Starbase facility in Texas to launch sites on Florida’s Space Coast. NSF’s Julia Bergeron identified the Marmac 31 vessel, leading to confirmation…
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Launch Roundup: Soyuz launches ISS crew; Vega C and Falcon 9 launch customer missions
This week has seen seven launches from five different rockets from across the world. SpaceX launched two missions on its workhorse Falcon 9, while a Russian Soyuz launched three new crew members towards the International Space Station from Kazakhstan. A Russian military payload launched atop an Angara 1.2 from northern Russia, and South Korea launched…
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Launch Roundup: Shenzhou-22 flies un-crewed to Tiangong, SpaceX launch four Falcon 9 missions
In another busy week of launches, SpaceX launched four Falcon 9 missions — four are Starlink missions; a fifth, the Transporter 15 rideshare mission, was expected but has now been pushed back to next week. Internationally, China has launched three rockets from Jiuquan and Xichang, including an uncrewed mission to the Tiangong space station. The…
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Dream Chaser proceeding, hits milestones despite uncertain future
Dream Chaser, the vehicle that has been likened to a miniature version of NASA’s space shuttle, continues to reach major milestones despite its uncertain future. Sierra Nevada, the company behind the currently uncrewed space plane, is planning for a launch to low Earth orbit in Q4 of 2026. In response to questions from NASASpaceflight.com, Sierra…
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SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke, and others make major progress on Cape launch facilities
The two spaceport launch facilities in the Cape Canaveral area — NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the U.S. Space Force’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) — are on the verge of even bigger changes than have been seen in the last few years. In a recent flyover of the Cape, NSF obtained new…
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Launch Roundup: Cygnus XL and Progress fly cargo missions to ISS
Two cargo resupply missions have launched to the International Space Station this week. A Russian Soyuz launched the Progress MS-32 spacecraft Thursday, to be followed on Sunday by a Falcon 9 carrying Northrop Grumman’s new Cygnus XL vehicle. In addition to Cygnus XL, Falcon 9 launched one Starlink mission and two customer missions. Russia and…
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East Coast steps up a gear for Starship’s arrival
As SpaceX continues to ramp up its Starship program, recent developments at Florida’s spaceports highlight the company’s push to expand operations beyond its Starbase facility in Texas. Although Starship’s pad at 39A is well-known, SpaceX is now starting to spotlight Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37), including the release of an animation depicting dual launch towers…
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X-37B launches USSF-36 mission aboard Falcon 9
The U.S. Department of Defense’s reusable X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) has embarked on its eighth overall flight into orbit. Vehicle 1, the first X-37B to fly, launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 11:50 PM EDT (03:50 UTC on Friday, Aug. 22).…
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East Coast sees major progress for future operations at the Cape
Amid recent Falcon 9 and Vulcan launches, a considerable amount of important construction work in the Cape Canaveral area has made major progress in the last few weeks. The structures under construction at the Cape will feature prominently in future spaceflight operations. NSF conducted a flyover this week near the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and…