Tag: SpaceX
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Do rockets blast away the ozone layer? It’s no biggie today … but watch the skies
The dark exhaust seen streaming from the Merlin engines on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched last October contains black carbon, which chemists say may play a role in ozone-depleting chemistry. (SpaceX via YouTube) Thanks to Blue Origin, SpaceX and other space ventures, the skies could well be filled with rockets in years to…
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NASA’s IRT publishes report on SpaceX’s CRS-7 failure
On Monday, NASA’s Independent Review Team (IRT) published the first public report on the SpaceX CRS-7 failure. The accident occurred on June 28th, 2015 when a Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage experienced an over-pressurization event during first stage ascent. The incident led to a launch vehicle failure approximately two minutes and nineteen seconds into flight.…
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Musk: Atmospheric tests of interplanetary spaceship could happen next year
Artist’s concept of the BFR spaceship deploying a satellite in orbit. Credit: SpaceX A team of SpaceX engineers is building a prototype of the spaceship Elon Musk hopes will one day carry people and cargo deep into the solar system, and it could begin low-altitude testing next year, kicking off a multi-step test campaign before…
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Satellites for the fifth Iridium NEXT launch arrive at Vandenberg
The latest set of Iridium NEXT satellites have arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in preparation for the Iridium NEXT-5 launch at the end of this month. They will be launched on a Falcon 9 booster that is familiar with the mission requirements, having previously launched the Iridium NEXT-3 mission. Iridium provides global mobile satellite communications…
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Elon Musk Q&A: First Mars spaceship is being built, with flight tests set for 2019
Billionaire Elon Musk (in the black hat) and his brother, Kimbal Musk (in the white hat), join in a rendition of “My Little Buttercup” at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. (SXSW via YouTube) SpaceX is building its first Mars transport vehicle, also known as the BFR, and “making good progress” toward short-hop test flights…
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SpaceX manifest: company aims for five Falcon 9 launches in one month
Having already completed five Falcon family rocket launches this year, SpaceX is aiming to double that number by the end of April, with five Falcon 9 missions planned within a one month period starting at the end of March. The continuation and ramp up of such a rapid launch cadence is part of the company’s…
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Video: Deployment of the Hispasat 30W-6 satellite from the Falcon 9 rocket
The Hispasat 30W-6 satellite, set to begin a 15-year telecommunications mission, deployed from the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket around 33 minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Tuesday. The powerful commercial telecom craft rode SpaceX’s 50th Falcon 9 rocket flight into geostationary transfer orbit following a liftoff from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40…
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Video: Press site view of Falcon 9 launch with Hispasat 30W-6
Credit: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now This video replay from a nearby viewing site shows the Falcon 9 rocket launching early Tuesday from Cape Canaveral with the Hispasat 30W-6 communications satellite. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket took off at 12:33 a.m. EST (0533 GMT) Tuesday from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad and delivered its commercial…
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Photos: Falcon 9 rocket lights up the night with launch for Hispasat
SpaceX’s 50th Falcon 9 rocket flight took off from Florida’s Space Coast shortly after midnight Tuesday with the Hispasat 30W-6 communications satellite, firing into a moonlit night sky with 1.7 million pounds of thrust. Nine Merlin engines steered the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket eastward from Cape Canaveral, and the SpaceX-built launcher’s upper stage delivered…
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Video: SpaceX’s 50th Falcon 9 rocket flight lifts off from Cape Canaveral
Credit: SpaceX A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched shortly after midnight Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with Hispasat 30W-6, a communications satellite heading for a position more than 22,000 miles over the equator to serve markets in Europe, North Africa and the Americas. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket took off at 12:33…