SpaceX has cleared its suborbital South Texas launch pad of all personnel, clearing the way for the Starship serial number 15 (SN15) to kick off the first in a series of big tests. Outfitted with “hundreds” of upgrades relative to late full-size predecessors SN8, SN9, SN10, and SN11, there’s a chance that SN15 holds the […]
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Not long after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk re-upped his plan to catch Super Heavy boosters – and possibly Starships, too – out of the air with a tower and giant arms, regulatory documents suggest that those arms might have even more uses. A recent “aeronautical study” completed by the FAA ultimately concluded that SpaceX’s plans […]
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In the latest in a long line of twists, SpaceX has requested permission from the FCC to operate a Starlink internet antenna installed on Starship serial number 15 (SN15). The first in a planned batch of four or more upgraded Starship prototypes, SN15 was rolled a mile down the road from SpaceX’s South Texas factory […]
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The day before SpaceX aced its eighth Starlink launch in three months, President and COO Gwynne Shotwell implied that the company’s constellation of satellites could achieve “full [global] connectivity” just a handful of months from now. Speaking at Satellite 2021’s “LEO Digital Forum” on April 6th, Shotwell revealed that SpaceX hopes to cross that milestone […]
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After SpaceX unexpectedly used a Monday road closure to deliver its first custom-built rocket fuel tank, plans for the next Starship test campaign and launch have begun to solidify. Most importantly, the initial schedule for Starship serial number 15’s (SN15) test campaign appears to be clear. As of Wednesday, April 7th, road closures filed by […]
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During the recently-held Satellite 2021 “LEO Digital Forum” virtual panel, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell revealed that the Starlink terminal’s production costs have dropped by over 50% from its initial manufacturing prices. SpaceX has launched over 1,200 Starlink satellites to orbit so far, and its beta service has been expanded to countries such as the United […]
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SpaceX is scheduled to attempt its tenth orbital launch of 2021 – also Falcon 9’s two-dozenth dedicated Starlink mission – as early as 12:34 pm EDT (UTC-4) on Wednesday, April 7th. Known as Starlink-23 SpaceX’s 23rd dedicated launch of operational Starlink satellites and 24th operational launch overall will also mark the first time a Falcon […]
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SpaceX has begun installing the first of numerous propellant storage tanks at its first orbital South Texas launch facilities – a mostly ordinary and expected step made extraordinary by the fact that those tanks will be built out of Starship parts. Labeled “GSE” for Ground Support Equipment, the first signs of those self-built storage tanks […]
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CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight ended with a midair explosion because a “small” leak started on one of the rocket’s three Raptor engines. As promised, the new information offers some insight into the cause of Starship SN11’s premature demise and the challenges of iteratively developing systems as complex as a […]
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To set the stage for another Dragon launch just a few weeks from now, NASA astronauts are preparing to board a SpaceX Crew Dragon for a brief flight around the International Space Station (ISS). Orbiting roughly 400 km (250 mi) above the Earth’s surface, the ISS and its crew of seven international astronauts have just […]
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