Tag: KSC
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SpaceX stays busy with Starlink Group 4-6 launch
At 9:02 PM EST on January 18 (02:02 UTC on January 19), SpaceX launched another batch of 49 Starlink satellites to orbit aboard a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This launch time was an approximately 2-hour delay from the original target of 7:04 PM EST (00:02…
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SpaceX conducts first orbital launch of 2022 with Starlink Group 4-5
SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites to the fourth shell of the constellation for the first global orbital launch attempt of the year. Lifting off from historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), the Starlink Group 4-5 mission lifted 49 Starlink v1.5 satellites southeastward from Kennedy into a 210 x 339 km low Earth orbit with…
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NASA promotes East Coast Starship option at LC-49 following SpaceX interest
The prospect of Starship making its mark on the Space Coast entered another level this week when NASA revealed it would conduct environmental assessments on LC-49 to support Starship launch and landing operations. With SpaceX already confirming they will restart work on a Starship pad inside 39A, the potential of a second site at LC-49…
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NASA, SpaceX launch IXPE x-ray observatory atop Falcon 9
NASA and SpaceX have launched the revolutionary Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) space observatory from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Thursday morning atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 1:00 a.m. EST (06:00 UTC). IXPE is a 325 kg, three-telescope polarized x-ray observatory. A joint venture between NASA and the Italian Space…
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SpaceX launches mostly-rookie Crew-3 mission to ISS
SpaceX and NASA have successfully launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on the Crew-3 mission. The crew took flight onboard a Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon Endurance from Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A Wednesday evening, November 10, at 9:03 PM EST (02:03 UTC on November 11). At the station, the four will spend…
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SpaceX and NASA beginning final preparations for Crew-3 mission
With the launch just weeks away, SpaceX, NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA) are making final preparations for the third operational Crew Dragon mission. Crew-3 will be the third long-duration mission flown by SpaceX as part of the Commercial Crew Program. The four Crew-3 astronauts will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a…
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EGS, Jacobs completing first round of Artemis 1 pre-launch integrated tests prior to Orion stacking
NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime launch support contractor Jacobs are working to complete the first round of Artemis 1 pre-launch testing before the end of September. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the lunar orbit mission is stacked on Mobile Launcher-1 (ML-1) in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building…
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SpaceX launches Inspiration4, first all-private orbital mission
SpaceX has successfully launched the first-ever all-private orbital mission, Inspiration4. The first-of-its-kind flight saw four private astronauts take flight on a Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon ahead of a three-day stay in Low Earth Orbit. The flight is part of a large fundraiser for St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital, a pediatric cancer hospital. Liftoff, from…
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From Apollo to multi-user, the changing yet similar nature of Launch Complex 39
As the Artemis 1 SLS vehicle prepares to take its place on LC-39B later this year for its first round of pad testing ahead of its debut mission, the Space Launch System (SLS) and Artemis program represent yet another major alteration to the LC-39 area of the Kennedy Space Center, originally designed to meet President…
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NASA EGS, Jacobs power up Artemis 1 vehicle to begin system checkouts in the VAB
After stacking the stages of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for NASA’s Artemis 1 mission in June and July, EGS and TOSC powered up the Core Stage for the first time in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on August 6. The initial power up was a…