Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX Falcon 9 conducts static fire as Falcon Heavy waits in the wings
SpaceX has conducted a Static Fire test on the Falcon 9 set to launch the CRS-12 Dragon to the International Space Station (ISS). A successful test on Thursday paves the way for a launch on Monday, which will include another landing attempt on the LZ-1 landing pad that is already being prepared for the dual booster landing…
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Station-bound instrument to open new chapter in the story of cosmic rays
This mosaic image of Crab Nebula, a six-light-year-wide expanding remnant of a star’s supernova explosion, was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Recent research shows that galactic cosmic rays flowing into our solar system originate in clusters like these. Credit: NASA/ESA/Arizona State University Physicists are gearing up to send a re-engineered science instrument originally designed…
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Eastern Range ready to return with two key launches after stand down
With a busy year already in the books, the Eastern and Western Ranges in the United States are readying for the next salvo of missions from SpaceX and United Launch Alliance following a stand down of launch operations to provide time for maintenance. Specifically for the Eastern Range, the stand down period allowed the Air…
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Musk aims for November debut of Falcon Heavy
Artist’s concept of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket in flight. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX aims to launch the first Falcon Heavy rocket in November, company chief Elon Musk said Thursday, the latest in a series of schedule targets for the heavy-lift launcher’s delayed debut. Musk shared the updated schedule on social media late Thursday, a week after…
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6 little words: Elon Musk targets November for Falcon Heavy rocket’s maiden launch
SpaceX’s billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, says he’s aiming to launch the first test flight of his company’s Falcon Heavy rocket in November from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He issued the latest schedule today in a six-word posting to Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BXEkGKlgJDK The Falcon Heavy has been in the works for years, and would rank…
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TDRS-M given priority over CRS-12 Dragon as launch dates realign
Launch delays are sometimes part of the equation in determining when specific missions launch in relation to each other. Sometimes, those delays occur to missions for the same agency, as is now the case with TDRS-M and CRS-12. With replacement operations to the TDRS-M omni antenna underway, NASA/United Launch Alliance at first requested 10 August…
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Musk sets expectations low for maiden Falcon Heavy launch
Artist’s illustration of the Falcon Heavy’s two side-mounted boosters separating from the rocket’s core stage a few minutes after liftoff. Credit: SpaceX When SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket finally takes off for the first time, a debut now scheduled this fall, there’s a good chance the commercial heavy-lifter will falter short of reaching orbit, company founder…
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Falcon Heavy prepares for debut flight as Musk urges caution on expectations
Developing rockets is difficult – even when those rockets use existing rocket boosters. Such is the case for SpaceX and the development of the Falcon Heavy. Once operational, Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful rocket in the world. While the path to its inaugural mission has been challenging, Elon Musk is urging caution surrounding expectations…
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Elon Musk is bullish on Dragon space rides, but Red Dragon on Mars? Not so much
Artwork shows a Red Dragon capsule firing its thrusters for a Mars landing. (SpaceX Illustration) SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says he expects to see astronauts flying to the International Space Station on his company’s Dragon capsules by mid-2018 – but is downplaying a technology that would have opened the way for robotic “Red Dragon” missions to…
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SpaceX’s broadband internet satellite plan reportedly runs into opposition
A SpaceX satellite coverage scheme described in a patent application envisions two sets of satellites orbiting in different inclinations at different altitudes. (PatentYogi via YouTube) SpaceX’s plan to provide global broadband internet access using thousands of satellites in low-earth orbit has come under fire from competitors, including Boeing and OneWeb, according to Space Intel Report.…