Tag: SpaceX
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Dream Chaser misses out on CCtCAP – Dragon and CST-100 win through
Just weeks ago, it was widely believed both SpaceX’s Dragon V2 and SNC’s Dream Chaser spacecraft were likely to progress into the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) phase of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. On Tuesday, NASA announced Boeing’s CST-100 was the winner of billions of dollars alongside the SpaceX spacecraft. CCtCAP: The three main Commercial Crew…
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Soyuz TMA-12M returns ISS trio to Earth – Dragon up next
Expedition 40 commander Steven Swanson, along with cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev, have returned to Earth in their Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft on Wednesday. The trio undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 7:01pm Eastern, ahead of a landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan at 10:23pm. Meanwhile, the launch of the next SpaceX Dragon…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 launches ASIASAT-6 mission
SpaceX has conducted its second mission for China’s Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Sunday, with a Falcon 9 launching the AsiaSat-6 satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Liftoff occurred at 01:00 local time (05:00 UTC) from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, ten minutes into a 104 minute window. SpaceX Launch: Sunday’s launch came a month…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 realigns for weekend launch of ASIASAT-6
SpaceX appears to have completed an evaluation into potential commonality between a failure on a test vehicle and its Falcon 9 fleet, following its now-approved request to the Eastern Range for Sunday morning launch of the ASIASAT-6 mission. The launch, to be conducted by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket, was delayed just ahead of fueling…
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Battle of the Heavyweight Rockets – SLS could face Exploration Class rival
With the recent announcement the Space Launch System (SLS) has become challenged by her schedule, the NASA rocket may soon find herself in a battle with a commercial “alternative”. SpaceX’s super powerful Exploration Class rocket is targeting crewed missions to Mars up to 10 years ahead of SLS – although both vehicles continue to avoid being…
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Dragon V2 will initially rely on parachute landings
SpaceX’s Commercial Crew contender, the Dragon V2, will initially return to terra firma under parachutes, assisted by a SuperDraco soft touchdown firing, according to Dragon V2 Program Lead Dr. Garrett Reisman. Eventually, the impressive spacecraft will employ pinpoint propulsive landings, once the technology has been matured via the DragonFly test program. Dragon V2: SpaceX’s crew version of…
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SpaceX makes late call to delay ASIASAT-6 launch
SpaceX has delayed the launch of its latest Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket – tasked with lofting the ASIASAT-6 satellite into orbit – for one to two weeks. The call was made by CEO Elon Musk shortly after the rocket had been erected at her Space Launch Complex -40 (SLC-40) pad, with the rationale based on…
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CCtCap: NASA won’t abandon Commercial Crew loser
As NASA closes in on the next major milestone of its Commercial Crew Program (CCP), the Agency has noted its desire to continue the “sharing of knowledge” with any partner that loses out on continued NASA funding. The first NASA crew to ride on a US commercial vehicle is expected to occur in December, 2017 –…
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CRS-4: SpaceX Dragon set for another ISS spacewalk save
SpaceX’s next Dragon spacecraft has been recruited to deliver a replacement set of batteries to the International Space Station (ISS), after an issue during ground testing caused NASA to postpone a set of upcoming EVAs. The utilization of September’s CRS-4/SpX-4 mission is not the first time a Dragon has come to the aid of the…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 launches ASIASAT-8 satellite
Making their fourth orbital launch of the year, the SpaceX team have conducted another Falcon 9 mission on Tuesday, deploying China’s AsiaSat-8 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The launch took place from Cape Canaveral, with a T-0 of 08:00 UTC – following a hold during the initial attempt at the opening of the window. Falcon…