Broadband – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX test-fires Falcon 9 rocket launch next week with Korean military satellite

July 11, 2020

Hours after calling off a launch of a different rocket from a nearby launch pad, SpaceX’s launch team loaded a Falcon 9 rocket with propellant Saturday and fired its nine main engines on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, setting the stage for a liftoff with a South Korean military satellite as soon as Tuesday amid a busy stretch of missions for the California-based rocket company.

High-throughput communications satellite launched from China

July 9, 2020

A high-power broadband communications satellite designed to provide Internet access to airliner passengers, cruise ships, fishing vessels, and other mobile users successfully launched Thursday aboard a Chinese Long March 3B rocket.

Live coverage: SpaceX calls off Falcon 9 launch attempt Saturday

July 8, 2020

SpaceX called off a planned launch attempt Saturday to deploy the next batch of satellites for the Starlink broadband network. Two commercial Earth-observing satellites for BlackSky are also awaiting a ride into orbit on the Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX’s next batch of Starlink satellites back on the launch pad

July 7, 2020

SpaceX raised a Falcon 9 rocket vertical Tuesday on pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, positioning the launch vehicle for a flight Wednesday carrying 57 more Starlink Internet satellites and two commercial Earth-imaging microsatellites for BlackSky.

UK government commits $500 million in bid to rescue bankrupt OneWeb

July 3, 2020

The UK government and India’s Bharti Global mobile telecom operator announced Friday they placed the winning bid to purchase OneWeb, which filed for bankruptcy in March while in the early stages of deploying a megaconstellation of broadband satellites.

SpaceX postpones Starlink launch

June 26, 2020

SpaceX scrubbed the planned launch from the Kennedy Space Center of a Falcon 9 rocket Friday with the company’s next 57 Starlink Internet satellites and a pair of commercial Earth-imaging surveillance satellites. Officials did not immediately confirm a new target launch date.

SpaceX rideshare provides new path to orbit for BlackSky

June 26, 2020

Despite a growing number of rocket options, the availability of on-time launch services remains a key factor in getting BlackSky’s constellation of Earth-imaging smallsats into orbit. SpaceX’s rideshare launch service will give BlackSky a chance to add two more spacecraft to its fleet on a Falcon 9 rocket with the next batch of Starlink Internet payloads.

Watch the Falcon 9 light its engines for a static test fire (members only)

June 24, 2020

A Falcon 9 rocket ignites its nine Merlin first stage engines on June 24 for a routine static test fire ahead of the planned launch of the tenth batch of Starlink broadband internet satellites.

Live coverage: SpaceX scrubs Starlink launch

June 24, 2020

SpaceX scrubbed the planned launch of its next set of Starlink satellites Friday. A Falcon 9 rocket is awaiting liftoff from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with 57 Starlink Internet satellites and two commercial Earth-imaging microsatellites for BlackSky.

SpaceX gearing up for another launch of Starlink broadband satellites this week

June 23, 2020

For the third time in three weeks, SpaceX is preparing to launch a batch of satellites for the company’s Starlink Internet network from Florida’s Space Coast. Liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket is set for Thursday afternoon from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, weather permitting.