Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX given green light to launch Crew-3 mission to ISS, Crew-2’s return date set
Having completed the Flight Readiness Review for the United States Crew Vehicle 3 (USCV-3) mission, NASA, ESA, JAXA, and SpaceX teams have given the green light for Crew-3 to launch on October 31 at 02:21 EDT (06:21 UTC) and for Crew-2 to return to Earth no earlier than November 4. Crew-3 will mark SpaceX’s fifth…
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Ship 20 completes milestone RVac Static Fire – Musk cites ambitious path to launch
Ship 20 completed another milestone with Static Fire testing on Thursday evening. Following a preburner test earlier in the week, the RVac engine fired up for the first time on a Starship. Then, it fired up again, this time accompanied by a sea-level Raptor ignition, later in the evening. Meanwhile, another milestone was achieved at…
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Ship 20 prepares for Static Fire – New Raptor 2 factory rises
The new Raptor factory is now rising out of the ground at SpaceX’s Rocket Development and Test Facility in McGregor, Texas. Tasked with supplying Raptor 2 engines to the Starship Program, SpaceX is laying the foundations for its rapidly reusable rocket. With the Launch Tower in the process of gaining its “Mechazilla” stacking and catching…
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DART in transit to Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of November 2021 launch
After completing months of tests and assembly, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is in transit to Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California ahead of its launch. DART is a first-of-its-kind NASA mission to demonstrate an asteroid deflection via a kinetic impact. The probe will launch on a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket from Space…
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SpaceX and NASA beginning final preparations for Crew-3 mission
With the launch just weeks away, SpaceX, NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA) are making final preparations for the third operational Crew Dragon mission. Crew-3 will be the third long-duration mission flown by SpaceX as part of the Commercial Crew Program. The four Crew-3 astronauts will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a…
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CRS-23 Dragon returns home following ISS supply run
Following a launch in late August and a month-long stay in orbit, SpaceX and NASA welcomed the return of the CRS-23 (Commercial Resupply Services 23) mission from the International Space Station (ISS). Cargo Dragon undocked from the station on Thursday, September 30, at 13:12 UTC, with a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean occurring on schedule…
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Elon Musk chats about Starship and space telescopes … and Jeff Bezos’ rocket envy
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk chats with journalist Kara Swisher at the Code Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Asa Mathat for Vox Media) In the latest chapter of a long-running space spat, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took aim at his billionaire rival Jeff Bezos today with a barrage of double entendres that were delivered…
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Ship 20 begins path to Static Fire test milestone
Despite the lack of hops over recent months, SpaceX Starbase continues to be a hive of activity with preparations ongoing for both the upcoming orbital test flight of Booster 4 and Ship 20 and the future acceleration of launch cadence with follow-on vehicles. Most of the recent focus has been directed at the Orbital Launch…
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Space Force awards $87.5M to Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, SpaceX and ULA for testing
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on the rise. (Blue Origin Illustration) The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command today announced awards totaling $87.5 million to support prototype commercial projects relating to next-generation rocket testing and enhancements to make upper stages more resilient. The awards were made under the aegis of the…
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Funko reaches new heights: Company’s ‘Big Bang’ Pop! figure was part of crew on SpaceX mission
Funko, the Everett, Wash.-based maker of Pop! figurines and other collectibles, has expanded its market reach. To space. The company tweeted an image Thursday showing one of its popular toys floating high above Earth, thanks to the fact that it was packed along for the ride aboard the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission by Everett native Chris Sembroski.…