Tag: SpaceX
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SpaceX marks record 20th flight with Falcon 9 payload fairing half on Starlink mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars above Florida’s Space Coast amid the Starlink 10-2 mission on June 23, 2024. Image: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now SpaceX completed the launch of its first Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in more than two weeks on Saturday. The last time the company attempted to launch…
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Second Starbase Tower rises as SpaceX gears up to Flight Five
Following the successes of Flight Four in early June, SpaceX is preparing Ship 30 and Booster 12 ready for Flight Five ahead of a launch later this summer. All this is taking place while an incredible amount of infrastructure is being created and worked on at Starbase, including the new office building and the beginning…
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SpaceX launches 20 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Station
A stack of SpaceX Starlink satellites, which included the first six featuring Direct to Cell capabilities. The batch launched on the Starlink 7-9 mission, which lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 2, 2024. Image: SpaceX Update 12:09 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launches the Starlink 9-1 mission. SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday…
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SpaceX launches SES’s Astra 1P television satellite following two weather scrubs
Following two weather scrubs in as many days, SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket on the SES Astra 1P mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Adam Bernstein / Spaceflight Now Update 6:53 p.m. EDT: SpaceX deployed the Astra 1P satellite. The third time turned out to be the charm for SpaceX as it…
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Launch Roundup: Electron launches for the 50th time; Falcon 9 returns to normal operations
Concluding a rare week that was void of any launches and riddled with scrubs, the spaceflight industry looks to return to the planned course of action with four launches from all over the world. This week, the 50th launch of Electron has taken flight, and SpaceX and CASC continue to dominate the launch calendar. SpaceX…
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Blue Origin joins SpaceX and ULA in new round of military launch contracts
After years of lobbying, protests, and bidding, Jeff Bezos’s space company is now a military launch contractor. The US Space Force announced Thursday that Blue Origin will compete with United Launch Alliance and SpaceX for at least 30 military launch contracts over the next five years. These launch contracts have a combined value of up…
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Blue Origin joins SpaceX and ULA in new round of military launch contracts
After years of lobbying, protests, and bidding, Jeff Bezos’s space company is now a military launch contractor. The US Space Force announced Thursday that Blue Origin will compete with United Launch Alliance and SpaceX for at least 30 military launch contracts over the next five years. These launch contracts have a combined value of up…
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SpaceX experiences a rare mission scrub of its Falcon 9 rocket at the moment engine ignition
A rare abort of a Falcon 9 launch at the moment of engine ignition. The Starlink 10-2 mission was called off on its third launch attempt in as many days. Image: Spaceflight Now Update 5:40 p.m. EDT: SpaceX aborted the mission as the Falcon 9’s engines began to fire. SpaceX struck out for a third…
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Blue Origin joins SpaceX and ULA on Pentagon list for $5.6B in launch contracts
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on the rise. (Blue Origin Illustration) The Department of Defense has put Kent, Wash.-based Blue Origin in the running for a share of up to $5.6 billion in national security space launch contracts, marking a first for Jeff Bezos’ space venture. The decision means Blue Origin’s…
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Starship Flight 4 milestones effect changes to Flight 5’s Ship
Following the highly successful milestones achieved by Booster 11 and Ship 29 on Flight 4 of SpaceX’s Starship, engineers are already implementing lessons learned from the mission ahead of the next flight, including widescale changes to the Thermal Protection System (TPS). Although Elon Musk thinks the next flight is a month away, the Flight 5…