Commercial Space – Page 106

SpaceX debuts new model of the Falcon 9 rocket designed for astronauts

May 11, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX debuted a more reusable, higher-thrust model of the Falcon 9 rocket Friday, hauling Bangladesh’s first communications satellite into orbit from Florida’s Space Coast.

Watch a replay of the first Falcon 9 Block 5 launch

May 11, 2018 Spaceflight Now

The first upgraded Falcon 9 rocket, known as the ‘Block 5’, takes flight from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on 11 May 2018.

Falcon 9 launch timeline with Bangabandhu 1

May 11, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Friday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite into orbit around 33 minutes later.

Falcon 9 goes upright after sunrise in time-lapse video

May 11, 2018 Spaceflight Now

The first Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket goes upright at launch pad 39A soon after sunrise on 10 May 2018. The rocket is due to launch the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.

Photos: Falcon 9 Block 5 poised for launch at Kennedy Space Center

May 10, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s first upgraded Falcon 9 “Block 5” rocket was raised vertical at launch pad 39A early Thursday in preparation for liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center, debuting enhancements aimed at making the booster more reusable and more reliable.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches first upgraded Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket

May 10, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched the first of the company’s upgraded generation of Falcon 9 launchers, known as Block 5, from the Kennedy Space Center on Friday at 4:14 p.m. EDT (2014 GMT). The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with Bangladesh’s first communications satellite, and SpaceX recovered the rocket’s first stage on a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean.

Live views of launch pad 39A (members only)

May 9, 2018 Spaceflight Now

Watch live views from the Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A as SpaceX prepares for the first flight of the Block 5 Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket is scheduled to launch the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite no earlier than 10 May.

First launch of enhanced version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 set for Thursday

May 7, 2018 Stephen Clark

The launch of Bangladesh’s first communications satellite on top of a new version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for Thursday, officials said Monday, after a data review following a hold-down engine firing last week.

SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 Block 5 test-fired at pad 39A

May 5, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s launch team loaded liquid propellants into the company’s first upgraded Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket Friday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the countdown rehearsal culminated in a brief ignition of the launcher’s nine Merlin main engines on the launch pad.

Communications satellite launched from China to connect Asia-Pacific

May 4, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Chinese-built communications satellite owned by Hong Kong-based operator launched Thursday aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang space base in southwest China.