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All-new Falcon 9 rocket tested in Florida as SpaceX preps for back-to-back launches
An all-new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired its engines Friday night on launch pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, the opening act in a busy weekend of SpaceX launch preps leading up to a pair of blastoffs Sunday and Tuesday from California’s Central Coast and Florida’s Space Coast, respectively.
NASA announces target date for first SpaceX Crew Dragon flight
SpaceX is targeting Jan. 7 for launch of its first Crew Dragon commercial ferry ship on an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station, NASA announced Wednesday, a major milestone in the agency's drive to end its sole reliance on Russian Soyuz crew ships for carrying astronauts to orbit.
Safety panel says much work left to do before commercial crew ships fly
NASA safety advisors on Thursday lauded hardware milestones on Boeing and SpaceX commercial crew capsules, but said multiple technical issues, including problems with parachutes, must be resolved before the human-rated ships are ready to carry astronauts, adding that both companies continue to pursue schedules that appear to be unachievable.
No commercial crew test flights expected this year
NASA has released new target dates for test flights of commercial crew capsules in development by SpaceX and Boeing, with unpiloted demo missions by SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spaceships now scheduled for January and March, followed by crewed orbital missions in mid-2019.
Station crew faces busy schedule as commercial crew schedule ramps up
An impromptu repair job Thursday appears to have stopped a leak in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked to the International Space Station, and the crew was back on its normal schedule Friday carrying out research and making preparations for the arrival of a Japanese cargo ship next month.
SpaceX’s astronaut walkway installed on Florida launch pad
The walkway astronauts will use to board SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule before missions to the International Space Station was added to historic launch pad 39A on Monday.
Watch a time-lapse of the Crew Dragon access arm installation (members only)
The access arm that will be used by astronauts boarding SpaceX's Crew Dragon space capsule was installed on the gantry at launch complex 39A on August 20, 2018.
Crew walkway arrives at launch pad 39A in Florida
The access arm astronauts will transit when boarding SpaceX's Crew Dragon commercial capsule has arrived at launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA signs off on SpaceX’s “load-and-go” procedure for crew launches
The NASA manager overseeing development of Boeing and SpaceX's commercial crew ferry ships says the space agency has approved SpaceX's proposal to strap in astronauts atop Falcon 9 rockets, then fuel the launchers in the final hour of the countdown as the company does for its uncrewed missions.
SpaceX cargo capsule comes back to Earth from space station
A commercial Dragon cargo craft launched June 29 departed the International Space Station and returned to Earth on Friday with nearly two tons of cargo and research samples.