Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX sets reuse records in 2020, looks ahead to even more ambitous 2021
In their most active year to date, SpaceX reached several reuse milestones, further pursuing their goal of rapid reuse. SpaceX flew boosters on fifth, sixth, and seventh flights for the first time this year and significantly decreased the turnaround time of boosters, with the quickest turnaround of just under 51 days. Not only is this…
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Year in Review: Mars missions, Lunar Samples, Crew launched from the US, and Starlink
Despite a worldwide pandemic which affected agencies around the world, 2020 featured many significant achievements in spaceflight. In total, 114 orbital launches were attempted, including deep space missions like Solar Orbiter, three missions to Mars, and the Chinese Chang’e 5 lunar sample return mission. Also this year, the United States regained domestic crew launch capability…
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Year in Aerospace: The comeback begins for Boeing and for American spaceflight
An American Airlines 737 MAX 8 jet takes off on a test flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Tulsa, Okla., on Dec. 2. (American Airlines Photo) Boeing’s rebuilding year drew to a close today with a milestone capping a momentous year in aerospace: the first U.S. passenger flight for a 737 MAX jet since the worldwide…
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Starship SN9’s time to shine – test series targets a New Year’s resolution
Starship SN9 is currently tracking an early New Years’ launch, providing the upcoming test series clears the path for what will be a similar flight to SN8, albeit aiming for a “softer” landing. With the vehicle on the launch mount, the first test will involve cryoproofing as early this week, ahead of a three engine…
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Preparing for “Earth to Earth” space travel and a competition with supersonic airliners
Commercial spaceflight companies are preparing to enter a new market: suborbital flights from one place to another on Earth. Aiming for fast transportation for passengers and cargo, these systems are being developed by a combination of established companies, such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, and new ones like Astra. Technical and business challenges lie ahead…
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Starship SN9 rolled to launch site – Super Heavy construction ramps up
SpaceX Boca Chica is now transitioning towards the next launch campaign, with Starship SN9 rolled out to the launch site on Tuesday. There remains a slim chance SN9 will be ready to launch before the end of the year, repeating the flight profile that almost saw SN8 return in one piece. SN9’s campaign comes ahead…
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SpaceX completes 2020 manifest with covert flight for NRO
Rounding off a record-breaking and historic launch manifest for 2020, SpaceX conducted its second dedicated launch for the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on Saturday – following a scrub on Thursday – with a flight-proven Falcon 9 carrying out the NROL-108 mission. Liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) occurred at…
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SXM-7: SpaceX launches 25th Falcon 9 launch of the year
Two days after a last-second scrub, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with the SiriusXM-7 (SXM-7) high power broadcasting satellite. The Falcon 9 lofted SXM-7 to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). The SXM-7 mission will continue to break records SpaceX set in 2018. With 21 launches in 2018, SpaceX broke that record with the Sentinel-6A…
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Full video of Starship’s seven-minute high-altitude test flight
This video replay shot from South Padre Island shows SpaceX’s Starship SN8 prototype rocket taking off from Boca Chica, Texas, climbing high into the atmosphere, then gliding back to a fiery crash landing after an otherwise successful test flight. The nearly seven-minute experimental flight Wednesday began with liftoff at 4:45 p.m. CST (5:45 p.m. EST;…
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Spectators watch the final fiery moments of the Starship test flight
Spectators on South Padre Island watch the Starship prototype end its test flight in a fiery crash landing on Dec. 9, 2020. Videos like this are made possible by the support of Spaceflight Now members. Support our coverage by becoming a member today. Video: Isis Valencia/Spaceflight Now.