Tag: SpaceX
-
This Week In Spaceflight: SpaceX’s Raptor breaks records, NASA announces second Artemis Lander
Reviewing the week in spaceflight and upcoming events, it’s been another busy period, including NASA announcing a second lunar lander for Artemis, SpaceX’s Raptor breaking records, and Stratolaunch drop testing Talon-A. Stratolaunch Drops Talon Stratolaunch has finally conducted a drop test of their Talon-A vehicle. Stratolaunch has been working on developing its reusable hypersonic testbed,…
-
NASA’s Lunar Flashlight CubeSat mission ends before entering orbit around moon
This screenshot from NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System 3D visualization tool shows Lunar Flashlight making its close approach with Earth late on May 16. The CubeSat was expected to pass about 40,000 miles (65,000 kilometers) from our planet’s surface over Brazil’s east coast on May 17.Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s small Lunar Flashlight spacecraft, sent to…
-
NASA looking forward to next Starship test, HLS integration
NASA managers tasked with humanity’s next journey into deep space spoke positively about Starship’s recent test flight, the data gathered, and the resulting design changes that will be incorporated into the next test launch. While launch site repairs continue at Starbase ahead of the continuation of the test campaign that is targeting an orbital success…
-
SpaceX launches Starlink Group 5-9 to low Earth orbit
SpaceX launched another batch of 56 Starlink internet communication satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) on Sunday, May 14, at 01:03 EDT (05:03 UTC). Launching from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida, the Starlink Group 5-9 mission marks SpaceX’s fourth launch in May. Starlink Group 5-9 was…
-
Starlink Group 2-9 mission to mark SpaceX’s 31st launch of 2023
SpaceX launched 51 Starlink internet communication satellites into low Earth orbit on its Starlink Group 2-9 mission. Lifting off on May 10, 2023, at 13:09 PDT (20:09 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, this mission marked 2023’s 68th orbital launch attempt and SpaceX’s 31st (30th…
-
SpaceX rockets past 4,000 Starlink satellites in orbit with another launch
Watch a replay of our live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 5-6 mission at 3:31 a.m. EDT (0731 GMT) on May 4 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”SFN Live”] [tabbyending] SpaceX surpassed more than…
-
Elon Musk pushes for orbital goal following data gathering objectives during Starship debut
Following the maiden launch of the world’s most powerful rocket, SpaceX hopes to conduct a mirror test flight of the Starship rocket this summer. Several requirements need to be satisfied before the flight of Booster 9 — and a to-be-decided Ship partner — ranging from repairing and improving the launch site to modification to the…
-
SpaceX surpasses 4,000 Starlink satellites on-orbit with Starlink Group 5-6 launch
Lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, SpaceX’s 30th launch of 2023 placed 56 Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit. Liftoff of the Starlink Group 5-6 mission took place May 4, 2023, at 03:31 AM EDT (07:31 UTC). This mission marked SpaceX’s 27th Falcon…
-
Viasat seeks replacement for Ariane 6 for launch of third ViaSat 3 satellite
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated May 1 with schedule for launch of ViaSat 3 APAC. A full-scale test model of an Ariane 6 rocket stands on its launch pad in French Guiana last year. Credit:ESA-Manuel Pedoussaut On the eve of launching its first ViaSat 3 internet satellite on a SpaceX rocket, Viasat says it has moved the launch…
-
ViaSat-3 Americas launches on expendable Falcon Heavy
Falcon Heavy’s second launch 2023 set sail on Sunday, with liftoff with the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite as the main payload, plus the much smaller Arcturus and G-Space 1 rideshare satellites. Liftoff was scheduled for Wednesday, April 26, at 8:26 PM EDT (00:26 UTC on Monday) at the start of a 57-minute window. However, SpaceX has…