Tag: SpaceX
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NASA, SpaceX launch Dragon to the ISS on extended cargo, station boosting mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin SpaceX’s 33rd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-33) mission to the International Space Station. Image: SpaceX A Cargo Dragon spacecraft from SpaceX lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket in the early hours Sunday morning to begin…
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Launch preview: NASA, SpaceX to launch Cargo Dragon on a mission to boost space station orbit
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the launch of SpaceX’s 33rd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-33) mission. Image: SpaceX NASA and SpaceX are preparing to embark on a unique cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Dragon spacecraft set to launch…
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SpaceX launches Space Force’s X-37B spaceplane to demo laser communications, quantum navigation
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaks away from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to begin the USSF-36 mission with the X-37B spaceplane onboard. More than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number 1092, landed with a sonic boom at Landing Zone 2. Image: John Pisani/Spaceflight Now Update Aug. 22,…
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SpaceX has built the machine to build the machine. But what about the machine?
STARBASE, Texas—I first visited SpaceX’s launch site in South Texas a decade ago. Driving down the pocked and barren two-lane road to its sandy terminus, I found only rolling dunes, a large mound of dirt, and a few satellite dishes that talked to Dragon spacecraft as they flew overhead. A few years later, in mid-2019,…
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X-37B launches USSF-36 mission aboard Falcon 9
The U.S. Department of Defense’s reusable X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) has embarked on its eighth overall flight into orbit. Vehicle 1, the first X-37B to fly, launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 11:50 PM EDT (03:50 UTC on Friday, Aug. 22).…
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Launch preview: SpaceX to launch X-37B military spaceplane on Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center
The X-37B on the runway at Vandenberg Space Force Base following its landing there on March 7, 2025. Image: U.S. Space Force. Update Aug. 20, 12:56 p.m. EDT: Added additional information from the 45th Weather Squadron. The U.S. Space Force and SpaceX are preparing to launch the Boeing-built X-37B spaceplane on its eighth mission shortly…
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Starbase Pad 2: Design Advancements from Pad 1
SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, continues to evolve as the company pushes the boundaries of rocket development with its Starship program. Following the operational experience gained from Pad 1, significant design advancements have been implemented for Pad 2, aiming to enhance efficiency, reliability, and safety for future Starship launches. This includes key modifications…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX, Chinese, and Russian missions make up busy week
Two Chinese rockets, a pair of Russian missions, a trio of Falcon 9 launches, a New Shepard, an Electron, and the long-awaited tenth flight of Starship were scheduled to fly this week. In Russia, a Soyuz rocket launched a modernized version of the Vostok capsule that flew crewed missions in the 1960s from Baikonur, while…
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SpaceX flies 24 Starlink satellites on its 100th Falcon 9 rocket launch of 2025
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base to begin the Starlink 17-5 mission on Aug. 18, 2025. Image: SpaceX Update Aug. 18, 2:36 p.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of its 24 Starlink satellites. SpaceX launched its 100th Falcon 9 rocket of the year Monday morning.…
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SpaceX schedules 10th test flight for Starship, details recent setbacks
SpaceX’s Ship 37 performs a static fire test with all six of its Raptor engines as part of prelaunch testing ahead of the Flight 10 mission for the Starship program. Image: SpaceX SpaceX is once again gearing up for a launch of its massive Starship rocket from southern Texas. On Friday, it announced plans for…