SpaceX set for 14th Starlink mission of 2020 after sailing past annual launch record

SpaceX has static fired a record-breaking Falcon 9 booster and says it’s ready to launch its 14th Starlink mission this year just a day and a half after sailing past the company’s previous annual launch record. Set in 2018, SpaceX’s previous annual launch record stood at 21 missions – 20 Falcon 9s and one Falcon […]

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SpaceX aces rare Falcon 9 land landing, first California launch in a year and a half

A Falcon 9 rocket has aced a rare ‘land’ landing as part of SpaceX’s first California launch in almost a year and a half and what a company manager deemed “the start of many exciting things to come”. Carrying the ~1200 kg (~2600 lb) Sentinel 6A oceanography and Earth observation satellite, a brand new Falcon […]

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SpaceX lining up two Falcon 9 launches and landings in ten hours

SpaceX appears to be on track to attempt two separate Falcon 9 launches and landings within the same ten-hour, also marking the company’s 14th Starlink mission this year and first West Coast launch in a year and a half. After overcoming a range of minor issues, replacing two Falcon 9 booster engines, effectively reactivating a […]

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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket nails first operational NASA astronaut launch

Right on schedule, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has successfully lifted off on the company’s operational NASA astronaut launch debut, sending four crew members on their way to the International Space Station (ISS) in a historic moment for commercial spaceflight. Days prior, NASA and SpaceX completed a multi-day “flight readiness review (FRR),” the results of […]

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SpaceX delays Falcon 9 static fire to replace component, Crew-1 launch date still solid

SpaceX has decided to delay Falcon 9’s imminent static fire test to replace a component on the rocket’s expendable upper stage, a 24-hour slip that isn’t expected to impact the operational astronaut launch debut’s date. Previously expected around 7:49 pm EST on Tuesday, November 10th, SpaceX decided to push Falcon 9 B1061’s first static fire […]

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SpaceX GPS satellite launch, landing opens door for first US military Falcon 9 reuse

SpaceX has successfully launched its third GPS III navigation satellite and simultaneously confirmed that the now once-flown Falcon 9 booster responsible will soon support the US military’s first operational launch on a flight-proven commercial rocket. Known as GPS III Space Vehicle 04 (SV04), the ~3700 kg (~8150 lb) navigation satellite will join three other upgraded […]

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SpaceX Falcon 9 launch up next after ULA spy satellite mission hits snag

On Wednesday, November 3, a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 531 rocket was set to launch the NROL-101 mission – a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) of the United States government – from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. At neighboring Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) […]

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SpaceX’s first West Coast rocket launch in 17 months back on track

SpaceX’s first West Coast rocket launch in almost a year and a half is back on track after an October 2nd Falcon 9 launch abort triggered several different delays. Deemed Sentinel-6A Michael Freilich after the late US oceanographer and former NASA Earth Sciences director, Falcon 9 will launch the ~1500 kg (~3300 lb) spacecraft into […]

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SpaceX fires up Falcon 9 rocket after booster engine swap

SpaceX confirms it has successfully fired up a Falcon 9 rocket after swapping two of its first stage (booster) engines, putting the company’s third US military GPS satellite launch back on track after about a month of delays. Known as GPS III Space Vehicle 04 (SV04), SpaceX was initially scheduled to launch the upgraded civil […]

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SpaceX operational astronaut launch debut back on track after “nail polish” delay

In a new NASA briefing, SpaceX vice president of build and flight reliability Hans Koenigsmann was able to explain in far more detail why a recent last-second Falcon 9 launch abort happened and how it wound up delaying the company’s first operational astronaut launch. Now scheduled to lift off no earlier than (NET) 7:49 pm […]

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