Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 return to flight mission
A Falcon 9 rocket streaks across the skies above Florida’s Space Coast during the Starlink 8-10 mission. This was SpaceX’s return to flight mission, following a failed booster landing on Wednesday. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update 4:04 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the mission and landed its first stage booster on its droneship, ‘Just Read the…
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SpaceX set a launch turnaround record with back-to-back, coast-to-coast Falcon 9 launches
File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX Update 5:06 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the mission and landed B1081 on the droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ Following its second return to flight mission in as many months with a Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX proceeded to set a…
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Sparks are flying day and night as SpaceX preps Starship pad to catch a rocket
Pretty much every day for the last couple of weeks, workers wielding welding guns and torches have climbed onto SpaceX’s Starship launch pad in South Texas to make last-minute upgrades ahead of the next test flight of the world’s largest rocket. Livestreams of the launch site provided by LabPadre and NASASpaceflight.com have shown sparks raining…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 booster collapses in a fireball on the droneship, ending a streak of 267 successful landings
SpaceX lost its flight leader booster, tail number B1062, during its landing attempt on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ This was the booster’s 23rd flight. Image: SpaceX Update 5:20 a.m. EDT: SpaceX is scrubbing the Starlink 9-5 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base to allow more time to review the data from the B1062…
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FAA grounds SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket following landing mishap
A streak shot of the Starlink 8-6 mission showing the Falcon 9 rocket flying away from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Aug. 28, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration for the second time in less than two months,…
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For the first time in more than three years, SpaceX misses a booster landing
Early on Wednesday morning, at 3:48 am ET local time, a Falcon 9 rocket booster making its 23rd launch took off from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission successfully delivered 21 Starlink satellites, including 13 of the larger vehicles with direct-to-cell capabilities, before attempting a landing on the A Shortfall of Gravitas.…
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One of the most adventurous human spaceflights since Apollo may launch tonight
SpaceX is set to launch the 14th crewed flight on its Dragon spacecraft early on Tuesday morning—and it’s an intriguing one. This Polaris Dawn mission, helmed and funded by an entrepreneur and billionaire named Jared Isaacman, is scheduled to lift off at 3:38 am ET (07:38 UTC) on Tuesday from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy…
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Polaris Dawn on hold; SpaceX booster fails on landing
Another busy week of spaceflight activities contained a landing failure of a Falcon 9 booster for the first time in over three years. Looking forward, Falcon 9 could launch up to three times this week, including three Starlink flights. Polaris Dawn’s launch date has been delayed due to an unacceptable weather forecast at the time…
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NASA not comfortable with Starliner thrusters, so crew will fly home on Dragon
Following weeks of speculation, NASA finally made it official on Saturday: Two astronauts who flew to the International Space Station on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June will not return home on that vehicle. Instead, the agency has asked SpaceX to use its Crew Dragon spacecraft to fly astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to…
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SpaceX completes static fire test of its Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for the Polaris Dawn astronaut mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ignites its Merlin engines during a static fire test at dawn on Aug. 25, 2024. The test followed a dry dress rehearsal of the mission’s flight day. Image: Spaceflight Now The SpaceX and Polaris Dawn teams checked a couple of important boxes before they are ready to launch the historic…