Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX’s Starship Set for Fifth Test Flight in Four Weeks
SpaceX is gearing up for the fifth test flight of its ambitious Starship rocket, set to take place in the coming weeks, according to CEO Elon Musk’s recent announcement on Friday via his social media platform, X. “Flight 5 in 4 weeks,” Musk stated, underscoring the imminent schedule for the 400-foot-tall Starship, comprising the Super…
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SpaceX video teases potential Starship booster “catch” on next flight
In a short video released Thursday, possibly to celebrate the US Fourth of July holiday with the biggest rocket’s red glare of them all, SpaceX provided new footage of the most recent test of its Starship launch vehicle. This test, the fourth of the experimental rocket that NASA is counting on to land its astronauts…
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Rocket Report: Firefly delivers for NASA; Polaris Dawn launching this month
Welcome to Edition 7.01 of the Rocket Report! We’re compiling this week’s report a day later than usual due to the Independence Day holiday. Ars is beginning its seventh year publishing this weekly roundup of rocket news, and there’s a lot of it this week despite the holiday here in the United States. Worldwide, there…
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Here’s why SpaceX’s competitors are crying foul over Starship launch plans
United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin are worried about SpaceX’s plans to launch its enormous Starship rocket from Florida. In documents submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration last month, ULA and Blue Origin raised concerns about the impact of Starship launch operations on their own activities on Florida’s Space Coast. Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space…
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Pad B Starts to Rise As Booster 12 Static Fire nears
SpaceX preparations for flight 5 of Starship continue to focus on replacing Ship 30’s heat shield as teams prepare for Booster 12 to roll out for a static fire this upcoming week. Meanwhile, long-term planning centers around Pad B construction at the launch site. Orbital Launch Pad B SpaceX is building Orbital Launch Pad (OLP)…
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SpaceX Successfully Launches 20 Starlink Satellites, Including Direct-to-Cell Capabilities
SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Wednesday morning, carrying 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 equipped with direct-to-cell (DtC) capabilities. The launch, initially delayed by technical issues, lifted off at 4:55 a.m. EDT (0855 UTC) following a two-hour postponement. “The Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink spacecraft, including…
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NASA selects SpaceX to launch a gamma-ray telescope into an unusual orbit
A small research satellite designed to study the violent processes behind the creation and destruction of chemical elements will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2027, NASA announced Tuesday. The Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) mission features a gamma-ray telescope that will scan the sky to study gamma-rays emitted by the explosions of…
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NASA’s Artemis 3 Lunar Landing Faces Potential Delay, GAO Report Indicates
NASA’s ambitious Artemis 3 mission, aimed at achieving a crewed lunar landing in September 2026, faces a substantial risk of delay, according to an analysis from the agency’s own assessment reviewed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The assessment, conducted during a Key Decision Point C confirmation review for the Human Landing System (HLS) Initial…
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NASA Selects SpaceX for 2027 Launch of Gamma-Ray Astronomy Mission
NASA has chosen SpaceX to launch the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) spacecraft, a small gamma-ray astronomy mission, in August 2027, the agency announced on July 2. The contract, valued at approximately $69 million, includes launch services and related activities. “The agency could not release details on the number of companies that bid on the…
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SpaceX launches 100th Direct to Cell Starlink satellite on Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral
The plume from the second stage lights up the pre-dawn sky over the Kennedy Space Center about seven and a half minutes after launch. Image: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now. Update 5:24 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the Starlink 8-9 mission and landed the booster, B1073, on the droneship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ SpaceX launched a batch of…