Tag: falcon 9

  • SpaceX almost ready to launch NASA asteroid impact spacecraft

    SpaceX almost ready to launch NASA asteroid impact spacecraft

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    Revealed as a side note during live coverage of the space agency’s successful Landsat-9 launch, NASA says that the Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) spacecraft has arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) ahead of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch less than two months from now. Weighing around 690 kg (~1500 lb) at liftoff, NASA…

  • SpaceX rolls Inspiration4 Falcon 9 rocket to the pad for historic launch

    SpaceX rolls Inspiration4 Falcon 9 rocket to the pad for historic launch

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    SpaceX has rolled the Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the historic Inspiration4 private astronaut mission to its NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch facilities. Part of a vistor’s center bus tour of the NASA center, Reddit and YouTube user whiterice98 caught the SpaceX rocket in motion as it was transported from a brand new…

  • SpaceX’s first West Coast Starlink launch orbits 51 new ‘space laser’ satellites

    SpaceX’s first West Coast Starlink launch orbits 51 new ‘space laser’ satellites

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    A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has successfully launched 51 upgraded laser-linked Starlink satellites from its Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) – the first mission of its kind out of the company’s west coast launch facilities. Known as Starlink Group 2-1, the mission debuted the operational design of new V1.5 Starlink satellites with laser interlinks that…

  • SpaceX Falcon 9 booster returns to port on upgraded drone ship

    SpaceX Falcon 9 booster returns to port on upgraded drone ship

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    Upgraded SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall Of Gravitas (ASOG) returned to Port Canaveral on Tuesday, August 31st after a flawless inaugural Falcon 9 booster landing. In a pleasant coincidence, the brand new drone ship was greeted by an even newer member of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet, which had arrived just hours before after bidding farewell…

  • SpaceX Falcon 9 wins second geostationary commsat launch contract of 2021

    SpaceX Falcon 9 wins second geostationary commsat launch contract of 2021

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    SpaceX and Middle Eastern satcom provider Yahsat have announced a contract to launch the company’s next-generation Thuraya 4-NGS satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket in the second half of 2023. Apparently falling between the cracks, SpaceX also reportedly won a contract in July to launch a South Korean Earth observation satellite on a Falcon 9…

  • SpaceX fires up Falcon 9 rocket for first California Starlink launch

    SpaceX fires up Falcon 9 rocket for first California Starlink launch

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    SpaceX says it has successfully static fired the Falcon 9 rocket scheduled to support its first California launch in ten months and first dedicated West Coast Starlink mission ever. Falcon 9 last used SpaceX’s Vandenberg Air/Space Force Base (VAFB) SLC-4 facilities in November 2020 when it successfully launched NASA and the European Space Agency’s Sentinel…

  • SpaceX Falcon 9 booster returns to California port for the first time in years

    SpaceX Falcon 9 booster returns to California port for the first time in years

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    For the first time in almost three years, a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster has returned to a California port after a successful West Coast launch and landing. On September 16th, 2021, less than three days after successfully launching SpaceX’s first West Coast Starlink mission and helping orbit the first batch of 51 upgraded Starlink satellites…

  • SpaceX’s historic private astronaut launch debut gets its own Netflix documentary

    SpaceX’s historic private astronaut launch debut gets its own Netflix documentary

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    Netflix has announced plans for a documentary that will dive deep into SpaceX’s historic Inspiration4 private astronaut launch. Headed by billionaire and Shift4 CEO and founder Jared Isaacman, Inspiration4 was first announced in February 2021 as SpaceX’s first private Crew Dragon mission. More importantly, the mission – if successful – will make history as the…

  • SpaceX’s 20th Falcon 9 launch of 2021 slips to Monday

    SpaceX’s 20th Falcon 9 launch of 2021 slips to Monday

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    SpaceX has announced an unspecified delay for its second dedicated “Transporter” rideshare mission and 20th Falcon 9 launch of the year. Recently scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) 2:56 pm EDT (18:56 UTC) on Friday, June 25th, a one-day delay from an earlier June 24th target, some of Transporter-2’s dozens of customers have reported…

  • SpaceX adds batch of polar Starlink satellites to rideshare launch

    SpaceX adds batch of polar Starlink satellites to rideshare launch

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    Orbit details shared by SpaceX suggest that the company’s second dedicated Smallsat Rideshare launch – known as Transporter-2 – will also carry a second batch of polar Starlink satellites. SpaceX launched the first batch of ten polar Starlink satellites in January 2021 as part of Transporter-1, co-manifesting them alongside a record-breaking 133 other spacecraft for…