Tag: SpaceX
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Fiery farewell for Progress as ISS prepares for new arrivals
The International Space Station (ISS) crew are busy preparing for new Visiting Vehicles, as one departed this week. The Russian Progress MS-03/64P resupply provided a stunning farewell as it conducted a destructive re-entry, while the Station prepares to welcome SpaceX Dragons in the near and long term. ISS: Progress MS-03 arrived in July of last…
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GAO reportedly faults SpaceX’s rocket engines and predicts delay in crew flights
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Iridium telecommunication satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Jan. 14. (SpaceX Photo) Investigators are raising concerns about persistent cracking in the turbine blades in SpaceX’s rocket engines, and adding to doubts about the schedule for flying NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. The concerns are contained in…
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Dragon pulls rank as LC-39A readiness realigns SpaceX manifest
SpaceX has officially announced a mission swap, resulting in the Falcon 9 launch of the CRS-10 Dragon to the International Space Station (ISS) becoming the first mission to set sail from the historic 39A pad at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). That honor was to have gone to the Echostar 23 mission before Dragon’s priority effectively…
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SpaceX adds a big new lab to its satellite development operation in Seattle area
SpaceX has leased Building 117 at Redmond Ridge Corporate Center, which has 40,625 square feet of space. (Sierra Construction) SpaceX has taken on a 40,625-square-foot facility in Redmond, Wash., that will become a research and development lab for its ambitious satellite operation. The warehouse-style space in the Redmond Ridge Corporate Center, owned by M&T Partners,…
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Landed Falcon 9 booster sails into Los Angeles
For the first time on the West Coast, a recovered Falcon 9 first stage has made it back to port, intact. Following its role with the successful launch of ten Iridium NEXT satellites, the booster completed a bullseye return on to the deck of SpaceX’s drone ship, before arriving in the Port of Los Angeles…
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SES 10 telecom satellite in Florida for launch on reused SpaceX rocket
A Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster descends to a propulsive landing on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean on April 8, 2016. The same booster is assigned to fly again next month with the SES 10 communications satellite. Credit: SpaceX A European-built communications satellite has arrived at Cape Canaveral for fueling and final launch…
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Fresh views of Saturday’s Falcon 9 rocket launch
Check out more imagery of Saturday’s liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, including pictures from remote cameras at the launch pad and new video released by the U.S. Air Force. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket soared into orbit from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, heading off with 10 Iridium voice and…
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Photos: Falcon 9 returns to flight with weekend launch from California
Launching for the first time in four-and-a-half months, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Saturday morning with 10 satellites for Iridium’s space-based message relay network. Towering 229 feet (70 meters) tall and measuring 12 feet (3.7 meters) in diameter, the two-stage rocket fired into the sky on…
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Skywatchers: Get your Iridium flare fix now
Updated after successful launch. File photo of an Iridium flare. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now The launch of the first batch of new-generation Iridium communications satellites Saturday marked the beginning of the end for the predictable, spectacular flares of reflected sunlight produced by the old-design craft, a favorite of amateur skywatchers for nearly two decades. Iridium…
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SpaceX returns to flight with Iridium satellite launch – and rocket landing!
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base. (SpaceX Photo) SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off for the first time in five months to put 10 advanced Iridium Next telecommunication sateliites in orbit – and demonstrate that the company’s innovative launch-and-landing system was back in stride. Cheers went up from a crowd of…