SpaceX’s next Starship test launch could lift off as early as Nov. 17, pending regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies. The potential launch from SpaceX‘s Starbase test site at Boca Chica Beach near Brownsville, Texas will mark the company’s second test flight of an orbital class Starship and Super Heavy booster — the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. SpaceX launched its first Starship test flight in April, but it exploded shortly after liftoff. “Starship preparing to launch as early as November 17, pending final…
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SpaceX launches 90 payloads into orbit on ‘rideshare’ mission
SpaceX launched its Transporter-9 mission on Saturday (Nov. 11), a ‘rideshare’ flight that lofted 90 payloads into orbit. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 1:49 p.m. EST (1849 GMT; 10:49 a.m. local California time), kicking off the Transporter-9 mission. Related: 8 ways that SpaceX has transformed spaceflight A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage touches down at Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. (Image credit: SpaceX (via X)) The Falcon 9’s first stage came…
Read MoreInternational Space Station dodges orbital debris hours before SpaceX cargo ship’s arrival: report
The International Space Station moved out of the way of space debris yet again this year, hours before a new cargo ship is supposed to arrive. A Russian Progress cargo spacecraft attached to the International Space Station (ISS) fired its engines Friday (Nov. 10) in a space debris avoidance maneuver, Russian federal space agency Roscosmos officials wrote on Telegram; translation was provided automatically by Google. (Space.com reached out to NASA officials and is awaiting the agency’s confirmation of the maneuver, as well as the nature of the debris.) The five-minute…
Read MoreSpaceX to launch 23 satellites tonight on 2nd half of Starlink doubleheader
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch 23 Starlink internet satellites tonight (Oct. 29), on the second of two planned missions for the day. A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station tonight at 7:45 p.m. EDT (2345 GMT). If the Falcon 9 can’t get off the ground on time, seven backup opportunities are available, from 8:17 p.m. EDT to 10:47 p.m. EDT (0017 to 0247 GMT on Oct. 30), according to a SpaceX mission description. You can watch the…
Read MoreSpaceX to launch 23 Starlink satellites tonight on 2nd leg of spaceflight doubleheader
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 23 Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Florida tonight (Oct. 21) on the company’s second mission of the day. The Falcon 9 is scheduled to lift off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station tonight at 10:17 p.m. EDT (0217 GMT on Oct. 22). If SpaceX cannot hit that target, there are five backup opportunities available, from 11:07 p.m. EDT to 2:15 a.m. EDT (0307 to 0515 GMT), according to a company mission description. SpaceX will webcast the launch via its account on…
Read MoreSpaceX to launch 22 Starlink satellites tonight in 1st of back-to-back missions
SpaceX is set to launch 22 more of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida tonight (Oct. 8) on the first leg of a spaceflight doubleheader for the company. The Starlink spacecraft are scheduled to lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station tonight at 9:06 p.m. EDT (0106 GMT on Oct. 9). Four backup opportunities are available as well, from 9:57 p.m. EDT until 12:29 a.m. EDT (0157 to 0429 GMT on Oct. 9). You can watch the action live via SpaceX’s account on X…
Read MoreSpaceX to launch 22 Starlink satellites to orbit from Florida this evening
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is poised to launch from Florida’s Space Coast this evening (Sept. 29), carrying 22 Starlink satellites to orbit. The Falcon 9 is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 6:39 p.m. EDT (2239 GMT). You can watch it live via SpaceX‘s account on X (formerly Twitter); coverage will start about five minutes before liftoff. Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9’s first stage will…
Read MoreNASA delays launch of Psyche asteroid mission by 1 week, to Oct. 12
We’ll have to wait another week to see NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission take flight. Psyche had been scheduled to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Oct. 5. But that’s no longer the plan; the mission team has pushed the liftoff back to Oct. 12. “The change allows the NASA team to complete verifications of the parameters used to control the Psyche spacecraft’s nitrogen cold gas thrusters,” NASA officials wrote in an update on Thursday evening (Sept. 28). “The parameters were…
Read MoreSpaceX flight-proven rocket hardware to go on display at Smithsonian
A SpaceX rocket engine that was used in the launch of an Israeli company’s first attempt at landing on the moon has now, itself, landed in the Smithsonian. It is one of the first examples of SpaceX hardware to represent the U.S. commercial spaceflight company in the national collection. The Merlin engine and a grid fin were donated by SpaceX to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. “Two new artifacts from SpaceX‘s Falcon rocket have joined our collection,” the National Air and Space Museum posted to its…
Read MoreSpaceX to launch 21 Starlink satellites from California early on Sept. 25
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch from California early Monday morning (Sept. 25), carrying 21 Starlink satellites to orbit. The Falcon 9 is scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Florida Monday at 3:23 a.m. EDT (0723 GMT; 12:23 a.m. local California time). You can watch it live via SpaceX‘s account on X (formerly Twitter); coverage will start about five minutes before liftoff. Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9’s…
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