Live coverage of SpaceX’s preparations for the next Falcon 9 rocket launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will launch the Intelsat 35e telecom satellite to cover the Americas, Europe and trans-Atlantic communications traffic. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
News
SpaceX offering Starship to NASA for lunar landing missions
SpaceX is eligible to propose using its next-generation Starship vehicle to carry NASA robotic science payloads to the lunar surface, the U.S. space agency announced Monday, on missions that could precede future Starship flights with people on-board. SpaceX is one of five companies NASA selected Monday to join a roster of commercial transportation providers to deliver scientific instruments and technology demonstration packages to the moon as soon as 2022.
Atlas 5
Atlas 5 launch postponed by wildfire, Range availability until Sept. 26
Sunday’s flight of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was scrubbed due to a wildfire burning south of the pad. The launch delay allows crews to remain in place to battle the blaze. The lack of Range availability this week means the next launch try won’t come until Sept. 26.
Mission Reports
Live coverage: Japanese cargo freighter launches from Tanegashima
Two weeks after a launch pad fire forced a delay, a Japanese H-2B rocket lifted off Tuesday with an HTV cargo freighter to deliver upgraded batteries, experiments and provisions to the International Space Station. Liftoff from the Tanegashima Space Center occurred at 1605 GMT (12:05 p.m. EDT) Tuesday.