Tag: SpaceX
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A bitter pill: Amazon calls on rival SpaceX to launch Internet satellites
Amazon announced Friday that it has purchased three Falcon 9 rocket launches from SpaceX beginning in mid-2025 to help deploy the retail giant’s network of Kuiper Internet satellites. In a statement, Amazon said the SpaceX launches will provide “additional capacity” to “supplement existing launch contracts to support Project Kuiper’s satellite deployment schedule.” SpaceX has its own…
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Team of rivals: Amazon makes a deal with SpaceX for three Kuiper satellite launches
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches a set of Starlink satellites on Nov. 27. Amazon has struck a deal to use Falcon 9 rockets for some of its Project Kuiper satellites as well. (SpaceX Photo) Amazon’s Project Kuiper may be a competitor for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband network, but business is business: Amazon says it has…
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Amazon buys three launches from SpaceX for rival internet constellation
A pair of prototype satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet constellation are encapsulated in a pair of payload fairings for launch aboard a ULA Atlas 5 rocket. Image: ULA Tech giant Amazon is adding a fifth rocket to launch its satellite internet constellation. In a surprise move on Friday afternoon, the company announced it purchased…
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SpaceX launches ride share mission with South Korean spy satellite, first Irish satellite
A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Korea 425 mission from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Image: SpaceX Kicking off the month of December for SpaceX was a Falcon 9 ride share mission with a payload of 25 spacecraft on board. The launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base was headlined by the…
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Rocket Report: A mysterious explosion in China; Firefly tests new engine
Welcome to Edition 6.21 of the Rocket Report! Someone is always watching, and it’s more difficult than ever to hide bad news. This is one of my mantras as a reporter who will always come down on the side of transparency. We’ve seen space companies and government agencies in the United States try to downplay…
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With another record broken, the world’s spaceports are busier than ever
Led by SpaceX and China, the world’s launch providers have put more rockets and payloads into orbit so far in 2023 than in any prior year, continuing an upward trend in launch activity over the last five years. On Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration reported that it screened more than 2.9 million airline passengers making…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 23 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral
A Falcon 9 heads on a south-easterly trajectory from Cape Canaveral on Nov. 28, 2023, carrying a batch of Starlink satellites into orbit. Image: Pete Carstens. The next batch of Starlink satellites for SpaceX’s space-based internet service soared into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket Monday night from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff occurred…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX on pace to hit 100 launches in 2023, Soyuz to launch Bars-M
Following a busy week for SpaceX with the launch of two Starlink missions and the second launch of Starship, SpaceX is currently on track to meet its 100 launch goal of 2023. The first launch of the week took place on Wednesday, with North Korea successfully placing the Manligyeong 1 satellite into orbit. Later that…
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Starship brought the thunder as it climbed into space for the first time
BOCA CHICA BEACH, Texas—SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket reached space for the first time Saturday, flying straight and true for more than eight minutes before exploding nearly 100 miles over the Gulf of Mexico downrange from the company’s South Texas launch base. With this test flight, SpaceX made important steps forward with Starship, the largest rocket ever…
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Five things to watch for when Starship takes off Saturday morning
SpaceX fans turned out at Starbase, the company’s sprawling test facility in South Texas, on the eve of the second full-scale test flight of the Starship rocket. Stephen Clark/Ars Technica SpaceX fans turned out at Starbase, the company’s sprawling test facility in South Texas, on the eve of the second full-scale test flight of…