Tag: Orbcomm
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SpaceX selects ORBCOMM-2 mission for Falcon 9’s Return To Flight
SpaceX has selected the ORBCOMM-2 (OG2) mission for Falcon 9’s Return To Flight. While no specific launch date has been selected, the company is aiming for lift off to take place in around six to eight weeks, likely resulting in an early December mission. ORBCOMM-2’s trip to LEO will allow for the Second Stage to…
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First static fire completed on upgraded Falcon 9
SpaceX’s upgraded Falcon 9 booster powered up to full throttle in a brief ignition at the company’s Central Texas test site this week as engineers prepare for the rocket’s return to flight as soon as mid-November with a European communications satellite. The November launch from Cape Canaveral, which will haul up the SES 9 television…
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SpaceX conducts additional Falcon 9 improvements ahead of busy schedule
SpaceX engineers are busily processing the Falcon 9 fleet for a salvo of missions that will mark the company’s return from the CRS-7 failure. The replacement of helium bottle support struts – one of which is suspected to have caused the CRS-7 mishap in June – is being conducted alongside additional changes, as SpaceX prepare…
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Falcon 9 rocket to be grounded longer than expected
File photo of a Falcon 9 launch in February 2015. Credit: NASA/KSC The beginning of November will be the earliest SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket can resume launching after a June 28 failure blamed on a deficient structural support brace inside the the vehicle’s second stage, a SpaceX executive said Monday. The next launch will be…
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Satellite owners among bystanders in Falcon 9 accident
Updated June 30 with SpaceX comment. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral on Sunday. The rocket broke apart at about T+plus 2 minutes, 19 seconds, and SpaceX is focusing its investigation on the second stage. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Scriptunas Images The long queue of satellites waiting on launches aboard SpaceX’s…
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Cargo flight first of many SpaceX launches planned for 2015
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is seen at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad before going vertical. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX will kick off a busy 2015 calendar playing catch-up, with liftoff of a Dragon supply ship for the International Space Station set for Tuesday after a delay from December. At least a dozen — and perhaps…
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 finally launches Orbcomm OG2 mission
SpaceX made a fourth – and successful – attempt to launch its Falcon 9 v1.1 – tasked with orbiting six OG2 satellites for Orbcomm’s second generation constellation – on Monday. The latest attempt – from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral – launched at 11:15 am local time, following a slight delay due…
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SpaceX conducts another Static Fire on next Falcon 9 v1.1
SpaceX has conducted what is hopefully the final major milestone ahead of their ORBCOMM OG2 mission from Cape Canaveral. The Static Fire test, conducted at 3pm local time on Friday, should – pending a review – realign the the Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket with a launch of the satellites in window that opens at 09:21…
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SpaceX completes Falcon 9 v1.1 Static Fire, delays launch
SpaceX has completed a key pre-launch objective with the Static Fire of their Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket at Cape Canaveral’s SLC-40. However, the vehicle’s mission has been delayed from its Sunday launch to a TBD (To Be Decided) target, after the customer noted they wished to conduct additional testing on their six ORBCOMM satellites. Falcon…
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Commercial duo refine upcoming launch dates
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 v1.1 launch of six ORBCOMM OG-2 satellites has seen its launch date tweaked to No Earlier Than (NET) launch date to June 15, pending its Static Fire test on Friday. The slight delay is understood to be related to a re-test requirement on the satellites. Meanwhile, Orbital’s launch of the Antares rocket…