Will Robinson-Smith – Page 20

U.S. Space Force awards $13.7 billion in new national security launch contracts to Blue Origin, SpaceX and ULA

April 5, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The 54 national security missions will be awarded over the course of five years spanning FY25-FY29. The U.S. Space Force said missions are anticipated to fly from FY27-FY32.

SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites on Saturday night Falcon 9 flight

April 5, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 6-72 mission was the 26th launch of Starlink satellites in 2025. Liftoff of from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 11:07 p.m. EDT (0307 UTC).

Amazon targets April 9 for launch of 1st production satellites for its Project Kuiper internet mega-constellation

April 3, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission will send the first full batch of 27 operational satellites into low Earth orbit. United Launch Alliance will launch its Atlas 5 551 rocket from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on April 9 during a three-hour window that opens at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 UTC).

SpaceX launches Thursday night for Falcon 9 launch with 27 Starlink satellites

April 1, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

This will be the 12th launch of the year from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened on Thursday, April 3, at 6:02 p.m. PDT (9:02 p.m. EDT, 0102 UTC).

Fram2 astronauts begin historic polar orbit spaceflight following a launch from the Kennedy Space Center

March 31, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The launch will be the first human spaceflight mission to a polar orbit. Liftoff is set for Monday, March 31, at 9:46 p.m. EDT (0146 UTC).

Meet the Fram2 crew: A cryptocurrency entrepreneur, a cinematographer, a robotics engineer and an Arctic explorer

March 31, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The roughly 3.5 to 5-day mission will be the first human spaceflight over the arctic and antarctic poles. Launch happened on the evening of Monday, March 31, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

SpaceX launches 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral

March 29, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The flight will be the largest number of Starlink V2 Mini satellites on a single Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff happened on Monday, March 31, at 3:52 p.m. EDT (1952 UTC).

Fram2 astronauts arrive in Florida ahead of polar spaceflight

March 28, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The four astronauts will spend three to five days in a free-flier Dragon mission that will see them orbit over the north and south poles. The crew arrived in Florida on Monday for their final week of quarantine before launch.

NASA switches Starliner crew to SpaceX Dragon as testing continues on troubled Boeing capsule

March 28, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

Zena Cardman, the original commander of the Crew-9 mission, will get to fly to space as the commander of Crew-11. Launch is set for no earlier than July 2025.

U.S. Space Force certifies ULA’s Vulcan rocket to begin launching national security missions

March 27, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The conclusion of certification closes out a process that began in September 2016 and saw the government closely track the development of Vulcan alongside United Launch Alliance. Its first National Security Space Launch mission is targeting liftoff over the summer.