Tag: SpaceX
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Launch Roundup: Delta IV Heavy swan song, Falcon 9 and Soyuz launches on tap for last week of March
A trio of Falcon 9 Starlink launches, a Falcon 9 non-Starlink launch involving an Eutelsat communications satellite, a Chinese launch, and a Russian Soyuz launch with a Resurs Earth observation satellite were scheduled for this week. However, the launch that will likely get the most attention is the final launch ever of a Delta family…
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SpaceX reaches 19 flights with a Falcon 9 booster for a third time with Starlink mission
For a third time, a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster achieves its 19th flight, tying it as a launch leader. Liftoff on the Starlink 6-42 mission came following a weather scrub on Friday, March 22. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 11:45 p.m. ET: SpaceX launched the Starlink 6-42 mission close to the end of…
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Rocket Report: Starship could fly again in May; Ariane 6 coming together
Welcome to Edition 6.36 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX wants to launch the next Starship test flight as soon as early May, the company’s president and chief operating officer said this week. The third Starship test flight last week went well enough that the Federal Aviation Administration—yes, the FAA, the target of many SpaceX fans’…
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Following IFT-3 milestones, SpaceX prepares for fourth Starship flight
SpaceX is preparing to follow up its third flight of Starship – one that achieved another leap forward with the world’s largest rocket in history – with the IFT-4 mission. Potentially as early as May, the fourth flight is expected to pair Booster 11 with Ship 29, with the latter already back at the launch…
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SpaceX’s workhorse launch pad now has the accoutrements for astronauts
Upgrades at SpaceX’s most-used launch pad in Florida got a trial run Thursday with the liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon cargo ship heading for the International Space Station. SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft launched at 4:55 pm EDT (20:55 UTC) Thursday from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force…
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SpaceX’s 30th resupply mission uses new access tower at SLC-40 for the first time
SpaceX has debuted a new capability on their 30th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. For the first time, a Dragon 2 capsule lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was possible thanks to the newly constructed crew…
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Dragon soars from Cape Canaveral’s pad 40 on SpaceX’s 30th cargo mission to the Space Station
A Falcon 9 soars from pad 40 carrying a Cargo Dragon spaceship bound for the International Space Station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. Update: Liftoff occurred on time at 4:55 p.m. EDT and was followed by separation of the Cargo Dragon vehicle a little less than 12 minutes into flight. SpaceX kicked off the next phase…
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SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket on sunset Starlink flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base
File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at pad 4E ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX SpaceX kicked off another busy week following the third test flight of its Starship rocket on Thursday and three Falcon 9 missions. The company notched a Monday launch with 22 Starlink satellites from its pad at…
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SpaceX celebrates major progress on the third flight of Starship
SpaceX’s new-generation Starship rocket, the most powerful and largest launcher ever built, flew halfway around the world following liftoff from South Texas on Thursday, accomplishing a key demonstration of its ability to carry heavyweight payloads into low-Earth orbit. SpaceX’s third towering Starship rocket, standing some 397 feet (121 meters) tall and wider than the fuselage…
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SpaceX has a license to launch Starship—this time it might fly at dawn
The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it has approved a commercial launch license for the third full-scale test flight of SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket. This is the final regulatory hurdle before SpaceX can launch Starship from South Texas. The third flight of the world’s most powerful rocket, following a pair of test launches last year,…