Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX static fire flight-proven booster for SES-16/GovSat1 mission
For the second time this week, SpaceX has static fired one of their rockets at their Florida launch location. Static fire operations of the flight-proven booster that will launch the SES-16/GovSat1 mission next week occurred around midday local time on Friday. Static fires, while never routine (as nothing in spaceflight is), are becoming commonplace for…
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KSC, Cape & Brownsville launch pads to shepherd busy launch schedules
As Kennedy Space Center continues its transition to becoming a multi-user spaceport, more details are emerging about its possible future, including a new small vehicle launch complex, a New Armstrong launch pad, and a SpaceX BFR assembly facility. SpaceX, meanwhile, has also been making slow but steady progress at the location of their future South…
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Falcon Heavy hot fire as seen from Kennedy Space Center Press Site
The Falcon Heavy engine test firing at launch pad 39A as seen from the Kennedy Space Center Press Site. The engines fired at 12:30pm EST (1730 GMT) on 24 January 2018. Video: Spaceflight Now.
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Falcon Heavy comes to life as SpaceX conduct Static Fire test
SpaceX achieved a major milestone on Wednesday, firing up the 27 engines at the base of Falcon Heavy in an event that will help solidify the target launch date for the rocket’s maiden voyage – which will send Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster on a journey to heliocentric Mars orbit. Falcon Heavy’s first ever Static Fire…
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SpaceX test-fires Falcon Heavy rocket’s 27 engines amid clouds of steam and thunder
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket is dwarfed by clouds of steam during a static-fire test. (Elon Musk via Twitter) SpaceX test-fired all 27 Merlin rocket engines on its mammoth Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time today, throwing up clouds of smoke and steam and sending out the roll of thunder from Kennedy Space Center’s historic…
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Hold-down firing nudges Falcon Heavy rocket closer to first liftoff
SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket fired up 27 main engines Wednesday on launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending a crackling rumble across the swampy spaceport and moving the heavy-lifter a step closer to its oft-delayed maiden flight as soon as next week. Ramping up to approximately 5 million pounds of…
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SpaceX: Iridium-5 to launch in March; government shutdown creates manifest uncertainty
Iridium Communications Inc. has announced the target launch date for their fifth flight aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to continue deployment of their Iridium NEXT communications constellation. Meanwhile, the U.S. government shutdown is now creating uncertainties for SpaceX with their near-term manifest. Iridium NEXT-5 mission gets a launch…
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Amid Zuma satellite controversy, SpaceX gets a vote of confidence from Air Force
News Brief: The classified satellite known as Zuma was said to have disappeared soon after its Jan. 7 launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, but the commander of the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center is giving SpaceX a qualified thumbs-up. “Based on the data available, our team did not identify any information…
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Video: Falcon Heavy undergoes fueling test at pad 39A
SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket was loaded with propellants Saturday at Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A, as engineers make progress preparing for a hold-down engine firing, and eventually liftoff of the huge commercial launcher. Spaceflight Now members can watch a live video feed of pad 39A as the Falcon Heavy is prepared for a test-firing. Become…
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Video: Falcon Heavy undergoes fueling test at pad 39A
SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket was loaded with propellants Saturday at Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A, as engineers make progress preparing for a hold-down engine firing, and eventually liftoff of the huge commercial launcher. Spaceflight Now members can watch a live video feed of pad 39A as the Falcon Heavy is prepared for a test-firing. Become…