SpaceX – Page 50 – Spaceflight Now

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.

SpaceX clears Falcon Heavy for liftoff after launch pad lightning strike

April 28, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX says engineers completed checks of the Falcon Heavy rocket, its satellite payloads, and ground systems at the Kennedy Space Center after a lightning strike on the launch pad’s tower Thursday night, part of a wave of severe weather that forced officials to delay the launch attempt.

Live coverage: Stormy weather scrubs Falcon Heavy launch

April 27, 2023 Stephen Clark

Stormy weather at the Kennedy Space Center forced SpaceX to scrub the liftoff of a Falcon Heavy rocket Thursday night carrying the ViaSat 3 Americas broadband satellite to a near-geostationary orbit.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches Starlink 3-5 mission from California

April 26, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched the Starlink 3-5 mission from California Thursday morning, following a last-minute abort Wednesday due to concerns about landing of the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 6:40 a.m. PDT (9:40 a.m. EDT; 1340 UTC) with 46 Starlink internet satellites.

Falcon Heavy rocket rolls back to launch pad after engine swap

April 25, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX rolled a Falcon Heavy rocket back to its launch pad in Florida Tuesday night for liftoff Thursday with a high-power Viasat broadband satellite, following an eight-day delay for a launch vehicle engine swap.

SpaceX launches largest rocket ever built, but test flight ends in explosion

April 20, 2023 Stephen Clark

After years of anticipation, SpaceX launched the first test flight of its full-scale Starship rocket Thursday from South Texas, but the mission ended four minutes later as the vehicle veered out of control and self-destructed over the Gulf of Mexico following multiple engine failures.

Live coverage: SpaceX’s Starship rocket explodes on test flight from Texas

April 20, 2023 Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launched the first full-scale Starship and Super Heavy rocket from South Texas at 8:33 a.m. CDT (9:33 a.m. EDT; 1333 UTC Thursday). The nearly 40-story-tall rocket, the largest ever built, lifted off from the Starbase launch complex and flew downrange before veering out of control and exploding about four minutes into the flight.

Video from Starbase: SpaceX prepares for second Starship launch attempt

April 19, 2023 Stephen Clark

Spaceflight Now’s Stephen Clark reports from Starbase in South Texas as SpaceX prepares the largest rocket in history for a second launch attempt after calling off a launch attempt Monday due to a valve problem.

Elon Musk’s success criteria for Starship test flight: “Don’t blow up the launch pad”

April 19, 2023 Stephen Clark

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, did his best to set low expectations heading into the first test flight of the gargantuan Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket this week. “Just don’t blow up the launch pad,” Musk said.