B1061 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon roll out to pad 39A

April 18, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft rolled out to pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Friday. Hydraulics raised the 215-foot-tall rocket vertical on the historic launch pad in preparation for liftoff with four astronauts heading for the International Space Station.

SpaceX test-fires rocket for crew launch

April 17, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX test-fired the Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday ahead of launch with the next four astronauts heading to the International Space Station. The static fire test before sunrise Saturday in Florida was a major step toward liftoff Thursday.

Crew Dragon astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center for launch preps

April 16, 2021 Stephen Clark

An all-veteran crew of four astronauts jetted into NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Friday for the final few days of rehearsals, briefings, and relaxation before blasting off Thursday bound for a six-month stint on the International Space Station.

NASA, SpaceX clear crew capsule for launch next week

April 15, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA and SpaceX officials are moving forward with preparations to launch the next commercial Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station next week after a Flight Readiness Review Thursday, pending a final evaluation of a discovery by SpaceX that it has potentially been loading slightly more propellant than expected into its Falcon 9 rockets.

Watch a live view of the Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad

April 15, 2021 Stephen Clark

Bad weather offshore has forced SpaceX and NASA to delay Thursday’s planned launch of the Crew Dragon by a day. Better conditions are expected on Friday for a 5:49 a.m. EDT (0949 GMT) liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour meets Falcon 9 rocket for launch next week

April 14, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX trucked its Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft — refurbished with a new heat shield and structural enhancements — across the Cape Canaveral spaceport this week for attachment to a Falcon 9 rocket ahead of a planned liftoff next Thursday with four astronauts heading to the International Space Station.

Next Crew Dragon launch set for April 22

March 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA and SpaceX have set April 22 as the target launch date for the next Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station. The four-person crew will be the first to ride a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster and a reused Dragon spacecraft, and a NASA official said this week that the launcher and capsule are in “really good shape” as refurbishment wraps up at Cape Canaveral.

Crew-rated SpaceX booster returns to Cape Canaveral with a lean

November 20, 2020 Stephen Clark

The Falcon 9 booster that launched four astronauts toward orbit last weekend arrived back on Florida’s Space Coast Thursday aboard a SpaceX drone ship, sailing into Port Canaveral with a lean but otherwise in seemingly good shape after it apparently slid across the ship’s deck in high winds and rough seas. Assuming post-flight inspections reveal no major issues, SpaceX aims to reuse the booster to launch the next Crew Dragon mission in 2021.

Photos: Four astronauts launch aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

November 20, 2020 Stephen Clark

These images show the liftoff of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft on top of a 215-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying four astronauts on an expedition to the International Space Station.

Astronauts fly with SpaceX in landmark launch for commercial spaceflight

November 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Crew Dragon capsule ferried four astronauts into space Sunday night after a rumbling departure from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, setting off on a 27-hour pursuit of the International Space Station on SpaceX’s first operational crew rotation flight to the orbiting outpost.