Tag: SpaceX
-
SpaceX Returns To Flight with Iridium NEXT launch – and landing
SpaceX returned its Falcon 9 rocket to flight Saturday with a mission that delivered ten Iridium NEXT communications satellites into low Earth orbit. Liftoff was on time at 09:54 local time (17:54 UTC) from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. SpaceX also successfully landed the first stage booster on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.…
-
SpaceX gets ready to return to flight amid revelations about rocket finances
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is readied to launch 10 Iridium Next satellites into orbit at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (Iridium Photo via Twitter) As SpaceX prepares for its first Falcon 9 rocket launch in five months, a new report about the company’s finances is pointing to the importance of getting back to routine…
-
SpaceX, Air Force assess more landing pads, Dragon processing at LZ-1
As SpaceX continues its efforts to press forward with Return To Flight later this month, a draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment report for Launch Complex 13 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for construction of two additional landing pads to accommodate the simultaneous return of three core stages of a Falcon Heavy rocket has been…
-
Next SpaceX launch slipped to avoid stormy weather, range conflict
The mission patch for the first Falcon 9 launch for the Iridium Next satellite fleet shows the 10 satellites mounted on a special dispenser on the second stage, and the first stage descending to a vertical landing on a barge in the Pacific Ocean offshore California. Credit: SpaceX/Iridium Forecasters predict a rainy, breezy week along…
-
SpaceX delays launch due to weather
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Vandenberg Air Force Base before its launch in January 2016 to put NASA’s Jason-3 satellite into orbit. (SpaceX / NASA Photo) SpaceX has postponed the return to flight for its Falcon 9 rocket until Jan. 14 at the earliest, due to a gloomy weather forecast for the next…
-
Engine hotfire test completed for SpaceX’s first launch since explosion
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now SpaceX’s launch team fueled up a Falcon 9 rocket on a California launch pad Thursday, fired the booster’s nine Merlin engines, and passed a key preflight test for the first time since a Falcon…
-
FAA closes the case on SpaceX’s rocket explosion and OKs Falcon 9 satellite launch
A closeup shows the fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in January 2016. (NASA Photo) SpaceX has the all-clear to return its Falcon 9 rocket to flight next week after a four-month suspension due to a launch-pad explosion. The go-ahead came in the form of a launch license…
-
Boeing and SpaceX win four more NASA orders for space taxis, with one big ‘if’
An artist’s conception shows a straight-on view of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space taxi. (Boeing / NASA Photo) NASA has awarded four more contracts to Boeing and to SpaceX for space taxi trips to and from the International Space Station – dependent on certification that the spacecraft are safe. SpaceX is working on a crew-capable version of its…
-
SpaceX set to return to action with RTF Falcon 9 launch of Iridium spacecraft
SpaceX is set to Return To Flight (RTF) no sooner than January 14, with the Falcon 9 launch of the first Iridium NEXT mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SpaceX’s return follows a stand down related to the September loss of the Falcon 9 that was scheduled to launch the Amos-6 satellite during…
-
SpaceX failure probe complete; flights to resume Sunday from California
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION File photo. Credit: NASA After an exhaustive investigation, SpaceX engineers have identified the most likely cause of the spectacular explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket during a pre-launch test Sept. 1 that destroyed the booster and its $195 million satellite payload, the company announced Monday. SpaceX engineers believe…