October 2023 – Spaceflight Now

FAA concludes SpaceX Starship safety review, continues environmental review

October 31, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX’s highly anticipated second test flight of its Starship super heavy lift rocket is one step closer to liftoff from South Texas. On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced the conclusion of its safety review. The FAA said it is still working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to complete an environmental review.

Falcon 9 adds 23 satellites to Starlink network, pushes total in orbit over 5,000

October 30, 2023 Steven Young

SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 carrying 23 more satellites for its Starlink internet service from Cape Canaveral. Liftoff from pad 40 occurred at 7:20 p.m. EDT (2320 UTC).

Falcon 9 launch scrubbed 30 seconds before liftoff with 23 Starlink satellites

October 29, 2023 Steven Young

SpaceX encountered an issue with the stage separator prior to launching 23 more satellites for its Starlink internet service from Cape Canaveral. The backup launch window on Monday, Oct. 30, begins at 7:20 p.m. EDT (2320 UTC).

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 22 Starlink satellites from California

October 28, 2023 Steven Young

The first of two Falcon 9 missions SpaceX is planning for Sunday carried into orbit the largest batch of second-generation Starlink satellites to be launched from the West Coast.
Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California was at 2 a.m. PDT (0900 UTC).

Intuitive Machines targets launch to the Moon in mid-January

October 27, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The first lunar lander aiming for a touchdown at the Moon’s south pole has a new launch date. Intuitive Machines said Friday it is targeting the launch of its Nova-C lander on the IM-1 mission for no earlier than January 12, 2024.

On-time Artemis landings by SpaceX, Blue Origin possible, but face “great challenges”

October 27, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The head of NASA’s Human Landing System program sat down with Spaceflight Now to discuss the progress of getting humans back to the Moon for the first time since 1972.

Spacewalking cosmonauts find radiator coolant leak

October 25, 2023 William Harwood

Two Russian spacewalkers floated outside the International Space Station Wednesday and isolated a leaking radiator as planned, apparently causing residual coolant still trapped inside to make its way to the leak site and spew out into space.

NASA begins to chart path forward on its Mars Sample Return architecture following independent review

October 24, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

NASA is aiming to make a determination about the path forward for Mars Sample Return by the end of March 2024.

SpaceX Falcon 9 launches 23 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral

October 21, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:17 p.m. EDT (0217 UTC on Oct. 22) carrying 23 Starlink satellites.

SpaceX Falcon 9 launches 21 Starlink satellites from California

October 21, 2023 Spaceflight Now

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with 21 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1:23 a.m. PDT (4:23 a.m. EDT, 0823 UTC). It was the first of two Starlink delivery missions planned for Saturday.