Will Robinson-Smith – Page 61

Historic SpaceX Falcon 9 booster topples over and is lost at sea

December 27, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

During its return voyage to Port Canaveral in Florida, a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number B1058, toppled over and broke in half. The booster has made 19 flights including launching NASA astronauts to space for the first time from American soil after the Space Shuttle program ended.

ULA stacks Vulcan rocket for the first time ahead of Jan. 8 debut launch

December 21, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The fully-integrated Vulcan rocket stands 202 feet (61.6 meters) tall. ULA is aiming to launch the rocket and its payload, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander, on Jan. 8, 2024 at 2:18 a.m. EST (0718 UTC).

National Space Council meeting to discuss legislative proposal for new space activities framework

December 20, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The furtherance of international space cooperation is expected to be at the heart of the third meeting of the National Space Council under the Biden-Harris Administration. Building on multilateral agreements, like the Artemis Accords, Harris will focus on what’s deemed the U.S. Novel Space Activities Authorization and Supervision Framework.

Firefly Aerospace launches its 4th Alpha rocket

December 20, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

Firefly Aerospace launched its Alpha rocket Friday after a launch attempt on Wednesday was scrubbed by bad weather. Liftoff with a payload for Lockheed Martin occurred at 9:32 a.m. PST (1932 UTC).

Blue Origin launches New Shepard rocket on return to flight mission

December 19, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

Blue Origin appears to be back in the suborbital business. Under a mostly sunny west Texas sky, the company launched its New Shepard suborbital rocket at roughly 10:43 a.m. CST (1643 UTC).

SpaceX delays first Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capability

December 15, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX was looking to rebound from a week of scuttled launches with a Falcon 9 launch from California but the Starlink 7-9 mission was delayed to Dec. 28 for unspecified reasons.

Rocket Lab successfully completes return-to-flight Electron launch

December 14, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

Rocket Lab launched its first flight of the Electron rocket since a failure on Sept. 19. The 42nd mission for the small-satellite launcher lifted off on Dec. 15 from New Zealand 1705 NZDT (0405 UTC or 11:05 p.m. EST).

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket set for return to flight mission

December 14, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

After more than a year of being sidelined, Blue Origin is preparing for a resurgence of its New Shepard rocket suborbital flights. The launch window for its uncrewed return-to-flight mission dubbed NS-24 opens on Monday at 9:30 a.m. CST (1530 UTC).

Falcon Heavy launch of secretive X-37B military spaceplane on hold

December 11, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

Falcon Heavy is returning to the hangar and the launch of the USSF-52 mission with the X-37B spaceplane is on hold. A ground issue scrubbed an earlier launch attempt and now required work on the vehicle itself.

ULA’s first mission with its Vulcan rocket slides to January launch window

December 10, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The debut of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket is slipping from late December into early January, according to the company’s president and CEO, Tory Bruno. In a social media post on Sunday, Bruno said the planned Dec. 24 launch date was no longer a viable option.