SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says he will provide a public update on the development status of Starship and Super Heavy in an official presentation later this summer, possibly as soon as June 20th. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s South Texas team have been busy at work on both Starhopper and a newer Starship, said by Musk to be […]
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Amid a flurry of new construction at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facilities, technicians have begun to install thruster pods on Starhopper in anticipation of the prototype’s first untethered flights. According to CEO Elon Musk, Starhopper’s “untethered hover tests” will begin with just one Raptor engine installed, potentially allowing hops to restart within the next few weeks. […]
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In the last six or so months, a range of small Chinese rocket startups have begun to make serious progress in the nascent commercial industry, including several inaugural orbital launch attempts, extensive propulsion testing, and more. Rising above the fray are a handful of uniquely notable companies: Landspace, Linkspace, OneSpace, and iSpace (creative, I know). […]
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SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell has revealed that the company’s first dedicated Starlink launch is scheduled for May 15th and will involve “dozens” of satellites. Corroborated by several sources, the actual number of Starlink satellites that will be aboard Falcon 9 is hard to believe given that it is a satellite constellation’s first quasi-operational […]
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SpaceX appears to have selected Falcon 9 B1056 to become the first booster to have all four landing legs retracted and stowed. While relatively minor in the scope full Falcon 9 booster reuse, in-situ leg retraction could save SpaceX days of recovery and preflight work, a big help for truly rapid reusability. A handful of […]
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SpaceX and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have – at long last – officially announced a launch date for the Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM), a ~$1B trio of Earth observation satellites. Delayed from November, February, March, and May, RCM is now scheduled to launch on a flight-proven Falcon 9 booster from California’s Vandenberg Air Force […]
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Following a successful May 4th launch atop Falcon 9, SpaceX’s latest Cargo Dragon spacecraft is just a few hours away from starting its International Space Station (ISS) berthing sequence. Scheduled to begin around 5:30 am EDT (09:30 UTC), SpaceX operations staff will command Dragon to continue a cautious ISS approach. Several hours later, the spacecraft […]
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SpaceX has safely returned Falcon 9 booster B1056 to port and lifted the rocket ashore after successfully supporting Cargo Dragon’s 18th mission to the International Space Station (ISS). B1056’s safe return is by no means a surprise, but it is still a relief after mild issues caused Falcon Heavy center core B1055 to topple over […]
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SpaceX has successfully launched a flight-proven Cargo Dragon spacecraft on its way to the International Space Station (ISS), confirmed just a few minutes after Falcon 9 booster B1056 performed a flawless landing on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). Carrying ~2500 kg (5500 lb) of cargo, Dragon will now spend around 48 […]
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SpaceX has scrubbed a May 3rd launch attempt of Cargo Dragon 15 minutes before CRS-17’s scheduled liftoff, citing electrical issues on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) and a minor ground systems fault. Falcon 9’s propellant will be offloaded and the rocket will be returned to a horizontal position to provide technicians […]
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