Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX launches Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base supporting the Starlink 7-13 mission. Image: SpaceX Update 8:00 p.m. EST: SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket and recovered the first stage booster on a droneship. SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from the West Coast following multiple weather-related scrubs earlier in the…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9’s 300th Flight and SpaceX to launch lunar lander
On the week of the sixth anniversary of the first flight of Falcon Heavy, SpaceX launched four separate Falcon 9 missions. Meanwhile, Roscosmos resupplied the International Space Station (ISS) with Progress MS-26 launching on Soyuz. Early Thursday morning, Falcon 9 launched from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) taking NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud,…
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SpaceX successfully launches NASA’s PACE mission on polar orbit flight
The Falcon 9 with NASA’s PACE mission atop stands ready for launch at pad 40. Image: SpaceX. Update 2:30 a.m. EST: SpaceX and NASA confirm a successful launch. SpaceX launched its second NASA mission of the year on Thursday morning. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Earth-observing spacecraft PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) lifted…
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Falcon 9 launches PACE science satellite for NASA
After a record-setting month featuring 10 launches, SpaceX is gearing up for a busy February. One of the launches this month is the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) ocean science satellite, which flew aboard a Falcon 9 in a rare polar corridor launch from Florida. PACE launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at the…
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NASA’s PACE mission aims to vastly increase understanding of the oceans, atmosphere
NASA’s PACE spacecraft inside a clean room at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, FL. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now From the oceans to the atmosphere, there’s still quite a bit we don’t understand about our planet. NASA’s latest Earth-observing spacecraft hopes to greatly expand our knowledge of the globe in just a few years. The PACE…
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Rocket Report: SpaceX at the service of a rival; Endeavour goes vertical
Welcome to Edition 6.29 of the Rocket Report! Right now, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is the only US launch vehicle offering crew or cargo service to the International Space Station. The previous version of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket retired last year, forcing that company to sign a contract with SpaceX to launch its Cygnus supply…
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Launch Roundup: NASA’s PACE mission, Chinese art satellites, and more Starlink missions
February started with two Chinese launches. On Feb. 2, a Long March 2C rocket launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China at 23:37 UTC, carrying 11 satellites for a Geely Constellation. A Chinese multistage solid rocket, Jielong-3, launched from a barge in coastal waters off Yangjiang in the South China Sea a few…
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Polaris Dawn astronauts discuss training for historic commercial spacewalk
Polaris Dawn Commander Jared Isaacman (left) and Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet alongside a SpaceX render of the spacewalk that will be performed during their mission. Photoillustration: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Amid a flurry of astronaut missions scheduled for 2024, a commercial flight is aiming to mark a historic first: a non-governmental spacewalk. This is just one…
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SpaceX launches Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft on its way to the Space Station
SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft onboard. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now SpaceX completed its second mission bound for the International Space Station this month. But unlike all previous missions targeting the orbiting outpost, this flight didn’t feature a Dragon spacecraft. At 12:07 p.m. EST (1707 UTC) SpaceX launched a…
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Second Falcon 9 of the night carries Starlink satellites from West Coast
A Falcon 9 liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California carrying 22 Starlink satellites. Image: SpaceX. SpaceX launched its second Falcon 9 launch of the night with the Starlink 7-12 mission soaring skyward from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) on Sunday, Jan. 28, at 9:57 p.m. PST (12:57 a.m. EST, 0557 UTC). It…