Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX Targets Pecan Island for Third US Launch Site
The confirmation follows months of speculation about SpaceX expanding its domestic launch infrastructure beyond its current locations. The company operates Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, and launches from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The Pecan Island location covers approximately 18 miles of coastline in south Louisiana. As of August 2, 2026, the plan has been confirmed…
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Experts warn current Starship heat shield tech is a “dead end” for rapid reuse
SpaceX successfully launched its Starship vehicle on Friday and appeared to demonstrate important and credible steps toward fulfilling the massive rocket’s immense promise. As soon as the vehicle’s next flight, Starship could go orbital, begin delivering satellites into space, and potentially return to the launch site to be ‘caught’ by the tower. All of this…
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SpaceX eyes tower catch for next Starship after auspicious end to 13th flight
SpaceX was more than lucky Friday, sending its 13th full-scale Starship test flight halfway around the world from South Texas to an on-target, intact splashdown in a remote section of the Indian Ocean. Starship has made precise splashdowns before. This time, however, the ship gently tipped over and came to rest floating in a remote…
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SpaceX Declines Falcon 9 Bookings Beyond 2028 to Steer Customers Toward Starship
The decision represents one of the most aggressive product-transition bets in aerospace history. Falcon 9 is the world’s most-flown orbital rocket and a proven revenue engine. Declining paying customers on a working vehicle in favor of one still in its test-flight phase is a move without real precedent at this scale. Starship’s most recent test,…
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This is the world’s most advanced robotic servicing satellite—that we know about
A spacecraft fitted with two flexible robotic arms is on the way to geosynchronous orbit after launching earlier this week on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, kicking off a planned decade-long mission to open new frontiers in satellite servicing. The Mission Robotic Vehicle, owned and built by Northrop Grumman, rocketed into orbit from Cape Canaveral…
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Rocket Report: Lightning strikes in China; Starship launch on deck
Welcome to Edition 9.04 of the Rocket Report! We’ve had to wait an extra week for SpaceX to get its 13th Starship test flight off the ground. A last-second abort on July 16 led engineers to roll the booster back to its hangar in South Texas to swap out engines. Starship is now back on…
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SpaceX Targets July 23 for Second Flight of Moon-Bound Starship V3
The 90-minute launch window opens at 6:45 p.m. EDT from Starbase, Texas. During the July 16 attempt, four of the Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor 3 engines failed to ignite as the countdown reached zero, triggering an automatic abort seconds before liftoff. Flight 13 will repeat most of the objectives of Flight 12 while adding…
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Space Force NSSL Ceiling Hits $30B After Lane 1 Triple
Is $30 Billion Enough for the Space Force’s Launch Appetite? The US Space Force tripled the ceiling on its National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 contract to $17 billion on Friday, July 18, 2026 — pushing the combined maximum value of NSSL Phase 3 past $30 billion when added to the Lane 2…
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Starship Flight 13 Aborts at Engine Startup, SpaceX to Swap Two Raptors
The launch team at Starbase, Texas, north of the US-Mexico border, aimed to lift off at 5:45 pm local time. The countdown had proceeded smoothly through the day, including the loading of more than 11.5 million pounds of liquid methane and liquid oxygen into the two-stage rocket, which stands more than 400 feet tall. The…
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SpaceX Stock Slips Below Its $135 IPO Price for the First Time
The slide follows what had been a euphoric start to trading. SpaceX went public on June 12 in an offering that raised nearly $86 billion, at a price of $135 per share chosen by CEO Elon Musk and the company. Its stock initially climbed above $200 in the days after listing, briefly giving it a…