Tag: Starlink
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Launch Preview: Falcon Heavy returns, Atlas V and Ariane 6 to launch Amazon Leo satellites
Six launches are expected from Florida, California, and French Guiana this week, with SpaceX scheduled to launch its Falcon Heavy vehicle for the first time since October 2024. Meanwhile, Falcon 9, Atlas V, and Ariane 6 are all expected to launch internet satellites for the Starlink and Amazon Leo constellations, and Falcon 9 will close…
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Launch Preview: GPS, Progress, and Starlink missions to launch during busy week
Seven missions, four countries, and five launch vehicles make the week of April 20 one of the more diverse on the 2026 manifest. GPS III SV10 carries the week’s most technically significant payload in its first-ever GPS laser communications demonstration, while South Korea’s ADD vehicle attempts its first complete four-stage orbital flight. Rocket Lab pulls…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 Achieves 600th Booster Landing Milestone
How did SpaceX achieve its 600th Falcon 9 booster landing? SpaceX successfully completed its 600th Falcon 9 first-stage booster landing during a West Coast Starlink deployment mission on April 18, 2026, cementing its position as the world’s most experienced launch provider in rocket reusability. The milestone landing occurred on the autonomous spearhead drone ship “Of…
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SpaceX makes 600th Falcon booster landing during West Coast Starlink mission
File: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of the Starlink 17-31 mission on March 13, 2026. Image: SpaceX SpaceX completed its 600th Falcon booster landing during a Starlink mission Sunday. The Falcon 9 rocket departed Vandenberg Space Force Base on a south-southwesterly trajectory at…
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Pentagon Drone Tests Hit by Starlink Outage Shows DoD SpaceX Risk
Pentagon Drone Operations Face Critical Risk from SpaceX Dependency A recent Starlink service disruption directly impacted Pentagon drone testing operations, underscoring the Department of Defense’s deepening reliance on SpaceX’s commercial satellite network for critical military communications. The outage affected unmanned aerial vehicle trials that depend on Starlink’s satellite constellation for beyond-line-of-sight command and control links.…
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Taiwan Proposes Shared Satcom Constellation to Counter Starlink
Can Taiwan Build a Coalition to Challenge Starlink’s Dominance? Taiwan’s space agency director has proposed an ambitious multinational satellite constellation to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink network, marking a significant shift in how democratic nations view space-based communications infrastructure. The proposal calls for allied countries to pool resources and share operational costs for a constellation that…
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Amazon and Apple vs. Starlink: Globalstar satellite acquisition comes with a big iPhone bonus
Amazon announced an agreement Tuesday to acquire Globalstar, adding the satellite operator’s fleet, spectrum, and Apple partnership to its growing Amazon Leo network. (Amazon Image) Amazon isn’t just buying Globalstar — it’s inheriting Apple’s satellite roadmap. The Seattle-based company’s agreement to acquire the satellite operator behind Apple’s iPhone Emergency SOS feature promises to give it…
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SpaceX launches 1,000th Starlink satellite of 2026 on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
A streak shot of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as it tears away from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Starlink 10-24 mission on April 14, 2026. Image: John Pisani/Spaceflight Now SpaceX launched its 1,000th Starlink satellite so far in 2026 with an early morning Falcon 9 rocket launch Tuesday…
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Former NASA Executive Bets on Narrow-Beam LEO Broadband Against Starlink
Can narrow-beam technology challenge Starlink’s LEO dominance? A 63-year-old former NASA Branch Chief and Google executive is launching a narrow-beam satellite constellation strategy to compete against established mega-constellations like Starlink in an increasingly contested Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband market. The approach focuses on higher-frequency, precision-targeted beams rather than the wide-coverage architecture deployed by SpaceX’s…
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Launch Preview: Falcon 9 to launch Starlink satellites, New Glenn to launch with flown booster
Six launches are scheduled worldwide this week, with the third launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn, featuring a previously-flown booster, highlighting the week. SpaceX is expected to launch three Starlink missions this week: two from California and one from Florida. Internationally, two Chinese rockets, a Lilian-1 and Chang Zheng 2D, are scheduled to launch unknown…