Steven Young – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX grounds its Falcon rocket fleet after upper stage misfire

September 29, 2024 Steven Young

SpaceX’s Falcon rocket fleet was grounded for the third time in three months after a second stage problem occurred Saturday following the successful launch of a Dragon Capsule carrying two crew to the International Space Station. The suspension in flights comes as the company prepares to launch two solar system exploration missions in October with narrow launch windows.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on 80th orbital launch of the year

November 7, 2023 Steven Young

SpaceX completed the Starlink delivery mission from Cape Canaveral Tuesday night, the first of two planned Falcon 9 launches in less than 48 hours. Liftoff from pad 40 occurred at 12:05 a.m. EST (0505 UTC).

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).

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket threads weather needle and launches 22 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral

October 4, 2023 Steven Young

Overcoming 50-50 weather odds, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Thursday morning on its 44th Starlink delivery mission of the year. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 occurred at 1:36 a.m. EDT (0536 UTC), the fourth launch opportunity of the window.

Simple settings tweak should save Psyche asteroid mission from overheating thrusters

October 2, 2023 Steven Young

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, now scheduled for launch on Oct. 12, will dial down the power of its maneuvering system after engineers discovered its thrusters were in danger of overheating during its eight-year expedition to explore a metallic asteroid.