Tag: SpaceX
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Near-ideal weather expected for Sunday’s Falcon 9 launch
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket inside SpaceX’s hangar at Cape Canaveral before a previous launch. Credit: SpaceX Forecasters predict mostly clear skies, light winds and comfortable temperatures for Sunday’s launch of a Falcon 9 rocket with a NOAA satellite designed to warn of solar storms that could disrupt navigation and communication technology on…
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NOAA space weather sentinel joined with Falcon 9 rocket
The Deep Space Climate Observatory is pictured inside the Astrotech satellite processing facility in Titusville, Florida. One half of the Falcon 9 rocket’s payload fairing is seen behind the spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett A new space weather observatory to be stationed a million miles from Earth has been enclosed inside the nose cone of a…
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FAA opens way for companies to stake claims to lunar rights
Photo via YouTube/Moon trailer Do we have the right to reserve rights to the moon? Apparently so. At least that’s the message the U.S. government appears to be sending. In an exclusive report by Reuters, “U.S. companies can stake claims to lunar territory through an existing licensing process for space launches.” The Federal Aviation Administration, in a “previously…
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SpaceX conducts Static Fire test ahead of DSCOVR mission
SpaceX has conducted a Static Fire test on its latest Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket Saturday, paving the way for a February 8 launch attempt to loft the DSCOVR spacecraft uphill from Cape Canaveral’s SLC-40. The launch will also mark the second attempt to conduct a propulsive landing of the core stage on to the Autonomous…
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SpaceX nears pad abort test for human-rated Dragon capsule
SpaceX has released this photo of the Dragon spacecraft for the pad abort test. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX is finishing up preparations for a major test of a rocket-powered abort system for the company’s new Dragon crew ferry spacecraft, targeting launch from Cape Canaveral in March after a pair of Falcon 9 missions in February. The…
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SpaceX releases new animation of mighty Falcon Heavy
A new animation of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket set for a debut flight later this year shows how the powerful launcher will blast off from Kennedy Space Center’s famed Apollo-era launch pad 39A, and could eventually fly back to Florida’s Space Coast for refurbishment and reuse. Driven skyward by 27 kerosene-fueled booster engines, the Falcon Heavy…
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SpaceX confirms first Crew Dragon flights will return to ocean landings
File photo of SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule descending under its three main parachutes. Credit: SpaceX The human-rated Crew Dragon spacecraft being developed by SpaceX will return to Earth under parachutes for splashdowns in the ocean, and not execute helicopter-like propulsive touchdowns on land, a SpaceX official confirmed Monday. SpaceX unveiled the Crew Dragon spaceship —…
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Boeing, SpaceX on track for commercial crew flights to station in 2017
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS “SPACE PLACE” & USED WITH PERMISSION File photo of the International Space Station as seen by a space shuttle crew in 2010. Credit: NASA NASA expects to spend some $5 billion underwriting development of commercial spacecraft built by Boeing and SpaceX to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, officials…
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SpaceX preparing for the crewed Dragon abort tests
SpaceX has revealed more details into its upcoming drive to bring the crewed version of its Dragon spacecraft on line, in its bid to return a domestic crew transportation system to the United States. Near term milestones include two abort tests, ahead of launching a crew on the Dragon V2, following what SpaceX estimates will…
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CRS-5: Dextre grabs CATS from the belly of a Dragon
Canada’s multi-tasking robot, Dextre, successfully removed the CATS (Cloud-Aerosol Transport System) payload from the unpressurised trunk of the CRS-5/SpX-5 Dragon on Thursday morning. The payload was handed over to the Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo, marking the first “handover” between the Canadian robot and the JAXA arm. Dextre letting the CATS out of the bag: The latest…