Tag: SpaceX
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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Splashes Down in Pacific After Five-Month ISS Mission
NASA said its SpaceX Crew-11 mission safely returned to Earth early Thursday, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego and concluding a more than five-month stay aboard the International Space Station. The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui,…
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NRO, SpaceX launch reconnaissance satellites from Vandenberg
A long exposure shot showing the ascent of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East and the return of the booster, 1100, to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base during the NROL-105 mission on Jan. 16, 2026. Image: SpaceX Update Jan. 17, 12 a.m. EST (0500 UTC): SpaceX landed its…
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SpaceX breaks pad turnaround record at Cape Canaveral with midday Starlink launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin the Starlink 6-98 mission on Jan. 14, 2026. The flight, which lifted off at 1:08 p.m. EST (1808 UTC) marked the fastest turnaround of SLC-40 to date with liftoff occurring just 45 hours after…
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Crew-11 lands after medical situation forces early return
The Crew-11 mission has left the International Space Station and have arrived back on Earth. Crew Dragon Endeavour and its crew of four — comprised of two NASA astronauts, one Japanese astronaut, and one Russian cosmonaut — splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:40 AM PST (08:40 UTC) on Thursday, Jan. 15. Crew-11 launched to…
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NASA, SpaceX conduct ‘medical evacuation’ Crew-11 return to Earth
SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft drifts away from the International Space Station on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, as NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission winds down. Image: NASA via livestream Update Jan. 14, 6:30 p.m. EST (2330 UTC): NASA, SpaceX confirm safe undocking of the Dragon Endeavour. The SpaceX Crew-11 mission is coming to a close with the…
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U.S. Space Force switches rockets for upcoming GPS satellite launch
The GPS III Space Vehicle 09, the ninth GPS III spacecraft, is pictured traveling by road from Lockheed Martin facilities in Denver, CO, to Florida’s Space Coast. Image: Lockheed Martin The next Global Positioning System satellite is switching from a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket to a SpaceX Falcon 9, a spokesperson for the U.S.…
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U.S. FCC Approves Expansion of SpaceX’s Second-Generation Starlink Network
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved SpaceX’s request to deploy an additional 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites, a move that expands regulatory clearance for the company’s low-Earth-orbit broadband network as it seeks to enhance global internet coverage. The decision brings the total number of authorized Gen2 Starlink satellites to 15,000, roughly half of the…
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ISS gains new commander as Crew-11 prepares midweek departure
Four SpaceX Crew-11 members gather together for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module on Jan. 9, 2026. Clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)…
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SpaceX Wins $739 Million in U.S. Military Launch Contracts for Missile Tracking Missions
SpaceX has secured $739 million in new U.S. military launch contracts to support missile warning and tracking missions, reinforcing the company’s role in America’s national security space architecture. The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) said on Friday that the contracts were awarded under National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 task…
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Launch Preview: Launches from China, U.S., and Norway scheduled for upcoming week
Eight orbital launch attempts are scheduled for this week, with SpaceX and Chinese launches comprising a majority of the launch manifest. SpaceX is scheduled to launch two batches of Starlink satellites into the constellation’s Group 6 shell, as well as a batch of reconnaissance satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. Four rockets will launch from…