Falcon Heavy – Spaceflight Now

October 4, 2023

Breaking News

[ October 2, 2023 ] Simple settings tweak should save Psyche asteroid mission from overheating thrusters Falcon Heavy
[ September 28, 2023 ] Launch of NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission slips a week due to spacecraft issue Falcon Heavy
[ September 27, 2023 ] Soyuz lands safely in Kazakhstan to end record-breaking mission; Rubio: “It’s good to be home” News
[ September 27, 2023 ] Live coverage: Space station crew return to Earth after 371-day mission News
[ September 27, 2023 ] Rapid response Victus Nox launch success open new possibilities for Space Force, commercial space industry News

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.

Launch of NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission slips a week due to spacecraft issue

September 28, 2023 Spaceflight Now

The launch of NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission is being delayed a week due to allow “verifications” of parameters used by the spacecraft’s thrusters, the space agency confirmed Thursday. Liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is now scheduled for no earlier than Oct. 12.

Falcon Heavy launches heaviest commercial communications satellite yet

July 29, 2023 Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launched the world’s heaviest commercial communications satellite atop a Falcon Heavy rocket on Friday. The triple-core rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A with the Jupiter 3/EchoStar 24 satellite at 11:04 p.m. EDT (0304 UTC Saturday).

SpaceX Falcon Heavy lifts off with heaviest commercial communications satellite ever

July 28, 2023 Spaceflight Now

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy lifted off Friday with the world’s heaviest commercial communications satellite. Liftoff from Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A with the Jupiter 3/EchoStar 24 satellite occurred at 11:04 p.m. EDT (0304 UTC Saturday).

SpaceX standing down from record-breaking double-launch attempt

July 27, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX could break the record for the shortest time between Cape Canaveral launches Thursday night if it can launch a Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy in quick succession. But achieving that assumes the weather cooperates and any technical issues with the Falcon Heavy can be resolved.

Falcon Heavy launch of largest commercial communications satellite scrubbed

July 26, 2023 Spaceflight Now

The launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy with the Jupiter 3/EchoStar 24 satellite, the heaviest commercial communications satellite ever, was scrubbed Wednesday with one minute, five seconds left on the countdown clock.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy hits bullseye with ascent to near-geosynchronous orbit

May 1, 2023 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket thundered into the sky over Florida’s Space Coast Sunday night and deployed a sophisticated internet satellite for Viasat into a circular orbit more than 20,000 miles over the equator, delivering for a competitor to SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center

April 30, 2023 Stephen Clark

On the mission’s third launch attempt, SpaceX sent a Falcon Heavy rocket aloft at 8:26 p.m. EDT Sunday (0026 UTC Monday) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The nearly five-hour mission to a near-geosynchronous orbit carried the first satellite for the ViaSat 3 space-based internet network, along with two smaller rideshare payloads.

Viasat seeks replacement for Ariane 6 for launch of third ViaSat 3 satellite

April 30, 2023 Stephen Clark

On the eve of launching its first ViaSat 3 internet satellite on a SpaceX rocket, Viasat says it has moved the launch of an identical spacecraft off of Europe’s long-delayed Ariane 6 rocket, and is considering bids from other rocket companies.

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket with two O3b internet satellites

April 28, 2023 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with a pair of O3b internet satellites for SES Friday evening from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but a last-minute abort for a Falcon Heavy mission later in the night prevented the company from pulling off a launch doubleheader.