SpaceX’s South Texas Starship Mk1 prototype is on the verge of kicking off a critical period of ground tests, ranging from tank pressurization and propellant loading to the rocket’s first triple-Raptor engine static fire. The campaign could begin soon – perhaps as soon as later today, in fact. Over the last two weeks, SpaceX’s South […]
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On November 15th, Falcon 9 booster B1048 returned to port aboard a SpaceX drone ship, the first such return in almost half a year. With that arrival, SpaceX also completed a critical Falcon 9 Block 5 reusability milestone, paving the way for B1048 to continue setting records. On November 11th, Falcon 9 B1048 made history […]
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A detailed government audit has revealed that NASA went out of its way to overpay Boeing for its Commercial Crew Program (CCP) astronaut launch services, making a mockery of its fixed-price contract with the company and blatantly snubbing SpaceX throughout the process. Over the last several years, the NASA inspector general has published a number […]
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SpaceX’s next commercial Falcon 9 mission is a step closer to the launch pad after a Boeing-built satellite departed its California factory and began the journey to Cape Canaveral, Florida. Known as Kacific-1 or JCSat-18 the massive spacecraft is scheduled to launch no earlier than mid-December and is current set to be SpaceX’s second to […]
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On November 13th, SpaceX revealed that a planned static fire test of a Crew Dragon’s powerful abort thrusters was completed without issue, a strong sign that the company has successfully redesigned the spacecraft to prevent a catastrophic April 2019 explosion from reoccurring. Pending a far more extensive analysis, Wednesday’s static fire should leave SpaceX on […]
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Originally scheduled for early November, SpaceX now plans to static fire a Crew Dragon capsule’s SuperDraco abort thrusters no earlier than Wednesday, November 13th. Success would pave the way for SpaceX to launch the spacecraft’s in-flight abort (IFA) before the end of 2019. In April 2019, a bad design choice finally reared its head, triggering […]
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Just hours ago, SpaceX successfully launched its second batch of 60 Starlink satellites, featuring a variety of upgrades as part of the move from v0.9 to v1.0 spacecraft. During SpaceX’s launch webcast, the hosts revealed a number of intriguing new details about those upgrades, shedding a bit more light on what exactly has changed. SpaceX […]
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For the first time ever, SpaceX has successfully launched and landed the same Falcon 9 booster on four separate orbital-class missions, pushing the rocket’s Block 5 upgrade one step closer to realizing its ambitious design goals. After an unprecedented lull of more than three months between launches, SpaceX has successfully returned to flight with its […]
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SpaceX is set for Falcon 9’s first orbital launch in more than three months. Known as Starlink-1, the mission will launch the company’s heaviest satellite payload ever and feature an impressive array of Falcon 9 booster and fairing reusability milestones. Flatsat stack Prior to Falcon 9 going vertical on the launch pad, SpaceX technicians had […]
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In anticipation of SpaceX’s imminent Starlink-1 launch, drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) departed Port Canaveral on November 7th and is now on its way out into the Atlantic Ocean for Falcon 9’s first booster landing attempt in months. In a possible first, the drone ship and its tugboat companion were spotted […]
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