Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX returns two boosters, fires up a third for Static Fire test
In what is another glimpse into what could become SpaceX’s regular launch cadence, another Falcon 9 is deep into preparations for launch. Aiming to be the third Falcon 9 to launch in nine days, SpaceX conducted a Static Fire test Thursday on the rocket set to loft the Intelsat 35e spacecraft into space on July…
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Commercial Crew providers making “significant progress” toward first flights
As the mid-way point of 2017 arrives, both of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program service providers are making significant progress toward the first uncrewed test flights of their Dragon and Starliner capsules. At their second quarter 2017 meeting, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel noted this progress while also discussing outstanding concerns regarding the program and vehicles…
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SpaceX closes out a rocket doubleheader with Iridium launch and booster landing
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasts its way into orbit. (SpaceX via YouTube) Two days after launching a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida and landing it again, SpaceX accomplished the same feat in California, bringing 10 satellites to low Earth orbit for Iridium’s next-generation communications network. Liftoff came at 1:25 p.m. PT from Vandenberg Air Force Base…
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Photos: Iridium satellites prepped for Falcon 9 flight
The second set of Iridium’s next-generation satellites to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket were prepared for liftoff inside a climate-controlled clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base over the last few weeks. The 10 Iridium satellites were trucked from their factory near Phoenix two-at-a-time to Vandenberg in May and early June, then bolted…
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Video: Rocketcam replay of Iridium satellite deployment
Watch a replay of one of Iridium’s 10 communications satellites launched Sunday deploys from a dispenser mounted on the forward end of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage. All 10 voice and data relay satellites separated from the launcher about one hour after liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Email the author. Follow Stephen…
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SpaceX Doubleheader Part 2 – Falcon 9 conducts Iridium NEXT-2 launch
Just over two days after its successful launch of BulgariaSat-1, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket conducted another launch on Sunday, carrying ten Iridium-NeXT communications satellites into orbit. Falcon lifted off from a foggy Vandenberg Air Force Base at 13:25 local time (20:25 UTC) and again saw the first stage land on the drone ship. SpaceX Launch:…
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SpaceX leads off its rocket doubleheader with Falcon 9 re-launch and re-landing
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from its Florida launch pad, sending the BulgariaSat-1 satellite into space. (SpaceX via YouTube) For the second time ever, SpaceX has sent a telecommunications satellite into orbit on a previously flown Falcon 9 rocket – but today’s launch of BulgariaSat-1 is notable for other reasons as well. The first-stage booster…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 success with second flight involving BulgariaSat-1 mission
SpaceX launched Bulgaria’s first communications satellite on Friday – the first of two Falcon 9 launches in the space of two days – via the company’s second flight-proven rocket – which also landed a second time. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center was at 15:10 Eastern Daylight Time (19:10 UTC). SpaceX…
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SpaceX tests Vandenberg Falcon 9 amid schedule realignment
SpaceX has static fired a Falcon 9 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base ahead of a mission to launch the next set of Iridium NEXT satellites. The test sets the stage for the potential of two launches within two days for SpaceX, as it realigns the launch date for the Falcon 9 that has already…
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Elon Musk promises an update on his plan to settle Mars – including how he’ll fund it
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Interplanetary Transport System lifting off with a refueling tanker sitting beside it. (Credit: SpaceX) SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s vision to send a million people to Mars is now in print, but the billionaire visionary says he’s already working on an update. The newly published print version, appearing on the New…