Tag: Launch
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Musk aims for November debut of Falcon Heavy
Artist’s concept of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket in flight. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX aims to launch the first Falcon Heavy rocket in November, company chief Elon Musk said Thursday, the latest in a series of schedule targets for the heavy-lift launcher’s delayed debut. Musk shared the updated schedule on social media late Thursday, a week after…
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Three spacefliers join International Space Station’s crew after a quick six-hour trip
Three fresh crew members arrived at the International Space Station today aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft today, just six hours after their launch from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA’s Randy Bresnik, Russia’s Sergey Ryazanskiy and Italy’s Paolo Nespoli bring the station’s crew back to its full strength of six for Expedition 52/53. NASA’s Peggy…
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Musk sets expectations low for maiden Falcon Heavy launch
Artist’s illustration of the Falcon Heavy’s two side-mounted boosters separating from the rocket’s core stage a few minutes after liftoff. Credit: SpaceX When SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket finally takes off for the first time, a debut now scheduled this fall, there’s a good chance the commercial heavy-lifter will falter short of reaching orbit, company founder…
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Chinese TV broadcasting satellite reaches operational orbit after off-target launch
Chinasat 9A pictured with members of the satellite’s manufacturing and test team. Credit: China Academy of Space Technology The Chinasat 9A communications satellite has arrived at its operational perch more than 22,000 miles over the equator after a Long March rocket deployed the craft in a lower-than-planned orbit last month due to a roll control…
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Launch of China’s heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket declared a failure
China’s second Long March 5 rocket lifted off at 1123 GMT (7:23 a.m. EDT; 7:23 p.m. Beijing time) Sunday. Credit: Xinhua China’s second Long March 5 rocket fell short of orbit Sunday after lifting off from a spaceport in the southern Chinese province of Hainan, clouding the country’s plans to send a robotic sample return…
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Second launch of China’s Long March 5 heavy-lift rocket set for Sunday
The Long March 5 rocket begins its rollout to a launch pad at the Wenchang space center Monday, June 26. Credit: Xinhua China’s Long March 5 rocket is counting down to liftoff Sunday from the country’s tropical island space center with a high-power, electrically-propelled communications satellite. The heavy-lifter is scheduled to blast off from the…
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Live coverage: SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket set for launch Sunday
Live coverage of SpaceX’s preparations for the next Falcon 9 rocket launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will launch the Intelsat 35e telecom satellite to cover the Americas, Europe and trans-Atlantic communications traffic. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us…
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Photos: Falcon 9’s blastoff with BulgariaSat 1
Check out imagery from Friday’s liftoff of a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket booster with the BulgariaSat 1 communications satellite from Florida’s Space Coast. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket took off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 3:10 p.m. EDT (1910 GMT) Friday after a one-hour delay. The first stage of the Falcon 9…
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Video: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg, lands in Pacific
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Sunday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and carried 10 Iridium communications satellites toward a perch in low Earth orbit, then the launcher’s first stage nailed a landing on a platform positioned in the Pacific Ocean. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket took off at 1:25:14 p.m. PDT (4:25:14 p.m.…
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Timeline for Falcon 9’s second launch of Iridium satellites
Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the second set of 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Saturday at 1:25:14 p.m. PDT (4:25:14 p.m. EDT; 2025:14 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Data source: SpaceX T-0:00:00:…