Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX’s Starhopper test rocket takes one giant leap, marking new step toward Mars
SpaceX’s Starhopper fires its methane-fueled Raptor engine during a test hop. (Elon Musk via Twitter) A prototype rocket that looks more like a water tower took a 500-foot-high hop today in Texas, blazing a methane-fueled trail for a spaceship that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk plans to send to the moon and Mars within a few…
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U.S. military spaceplane breaks its own longevity record in orbit
Artist’s concept of the X-37B spaceplane in orbit. Credit: Boeing A robotic U.S. military spaceplane surpassed 719 days in orbit Monday, setting a new record for the longest flight of the Air Force’s winged X-37B orbiting experiment platform nearly two years after launching from Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Air Force officials have…
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Astranis reserves a ride with SpaceX for satellite that’ll boost broadband in Alaska
Artwork shows Astranis’ high-throughput telecommunications microsatellite in orbit. (Astranis Illustration) A California-based startup called Astranis Space Technologies has signed a deal with SpaceX for the launch of its first geostationary satellite, which is due to widen Alaska’s access to broadband internet service in 2021. The deal calls for SpaceX to launch Astranis’ microsatellite as a…
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SpaceX aborts Starhopper test flight, could try again Tuesday
Credit: SpaceX SpaceX aborted an attempted flight Monday of the company’s Starhopper test rocket, a prototype for the company’s next-generation Starship vehicle. The hop test was to fly to a height of around 500 feet (150 meters) over SpaceX’s launch site at Boca Chica, Texas. SpaceX said teams could mount another attempt for the Starhopper…
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ispace alters Moon mission timelines for greater response to customer needs
The Japanese company ispace, inc, has announced new, strategic partnerships and plans to alter its mission schedule for the HAKUTO-R program, designed to provide responsive commercial lunar exploration services to various customers. As part of this plan, ispace is scrapping its lunar demonstration mission next year in favor of a direct moon landing in 2021…
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Blue Origin protests launch contract rules as it competes with SpaceX, ULA, Northrop Grumman
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s future New Glenn rocket, which is currently due to have its first flight in 2021. (Blue Origin Illustration) Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is protesting the rules of the game for awarding future national security launch contracts, while continuing to play against SpaceX, United Launch Alliance…
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A rush of rockets: SpaceX Falcon 9 puts Israel’s Amos-17 telecom satellite in orbit
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from its Florida launch pad. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched a Boeing-built, Israeli telecommunications satellite called Amos-17 into geosynchronous transfer orbit today, adding to what’s shaping up as a largesse of liftoffs. The launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida came at 7:23 p.m.…
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AMOS-17 launch, Eastern Range debuts rapid launch support
With all parties in agreement, the 45th Space Wing of the US Air Force and the Eastern Range in Florida are debuting their upgraded, rapid launch turnaround support, granting SpaceX approval to launch the AMOS-17 telecommunications satellite just 35 hours before United Launch Alliance lofts the AEHF-5 satellite on an Atlas V rocket from a…
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Good news, bad news for Spaceflight: Satellite rideshare market is heating up
An artist’s conception shows a future SpaceX rocket deploying a satellite carrier in orbit. (SpaceX Illustration) Seattle-based Spaceflight has made a name for itself by putting together bunches of small satellites for launch on someone else’s rockets, but now the owners of some of those rockets are aiming to take the business for themselves. The…
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SpaceX present to future: From retesting boosters to planning a Starship pad
SpaceX is busy on all fronts, from its bread and butter commercial satellite launches to planning its ultimate future of deep space transportation and multi-planetary colonization. A second static fire test was ordered – and completed for Falcon 9 B1047.3 ahead of next week’s AMOS-17 launch, while a key environmental report shed new details on…