Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX conducts hotfire test for another middle-of-the-night launch
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Aug. 3 with confirmation the Merah Putih mission will use a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster. Credit: Ken Kremer / kenkremer.com / spaceupclose.com Gearing up for the third Falcon 9 launch in less than two-and-a-half weeks, SpaceX fired up a rocket booster at Cape Canaveral on Thursday ahead of an early morning launch…
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NASA confirms new timetable for space taxi flights; SpaceX to fly crew next April
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship docking with the International Space Station, plus a cargo-carrying version of the Dragon in the foreground. (SpaceX Illustration via NASA) NASA today laid out a newly stretched-out schedule for flying astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. soil, with SpaceX’s first such flight set for no earlier…
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SAOCOM 1A ships to Vandenberg as Falcon 9 prepares for the first west coast RTLS
SAOCOM 1A – the Argentinian Earth observation satellite – has shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base ahead of launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. The mission will be the first on the west coast to see a Falcon 9 first stage perform an RTLS (Return to Launch Site) recovery. SAOCOM: SAOCOM (Satélite Argentino de Observación…
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SpaceX launches seventh Iridium mission and recovers booster
SpaceX successfully launched the seventh of eight planned missions for Iridium Communications from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base at 04:39 Pacific Time (11:39 UTC). The launch which took place in foggy conditions and high wind shear over the booster recovery zone, yet the first stage still managed to successfully land on the drone ship. A…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket puts 10 Iridium satellites in orbit, then lands in rough seas
A webcam shows the deployment of an Iridium NEXT telecommunications satellites from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage, with Earth in the background. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sent 10 more Iridium NEXT telecommunications satellites into space today from a fogged-in California pad, then executed a rough-and-tumble booster landing. Today’s mission also featured an…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Telstar 19V satellite and lands on drone ship
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from its Florida launch pad, sending the Telstar 19V satellite into space. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket executed a textbook launch to put the heavy-duty Telstar 19 Vantage telecommunications satellite into orbit tonight and bring back the first-stage booster for an at-sea landing. The successful mission kicked…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 sets new record with Telstar 19V launch from SLC-40
SpaceX conducted their thirteenth launch of the year Sunday, with a Falcon 9 rocket deploying the Telstar 19V communications satellite for Canada’s Telesat. The first of a pair of Falcon 9 launches slated to occur just three days apart, Sunday’s mission began with liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at the opening of…
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Video: SpaceX rocket lights engines in pre-flight test
Video credit: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now Passing a major pre-flight milestone ahead of a launch and landing planned early Sunday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ignited its main engines Wednesday for a hold-down firing at Cape Canaveral. The static fire test occurred at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) on Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad, with…
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SpaceX to attempt five recoveries in less than two weeks as fleet activity ramps up
Begining July 22nd, SpaceX is currently scheduled to perform three Falcon 9 droneship recoveries, a fairing recovery, and a Dragon recovery in less than two weeks. A total of five recoveries in short succession paves the way for an unprecedented amount of activity from SpaceX’s fleet of recovery vessels. The fleet operates out of the…
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Falcon 9 rocket test-fired for weekend launch
A plume of exhaust rises from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad after ignition of the Falcon 9 rocket’s main engines during a static fire test Wednesday. Credit: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now Nine Merlin engines on the first stage of SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket briefly fired up on a Cape Canaveral launch pad Wednesday, and…