Commercial Space – Page 6 – Spaceflight Now

Live coverage: India’s LVM3 rocket lifts off with 36 more OneWeb satellites

March 25, 2023 Stephen Clark

An Indian LVM3 rocket lifted off at 11:30 p.m. EDT Saturday (0330 UTC Sunday) with 36 more OneWeb internet satellites. Once the new 36 satellites complete orbit-raising and commissioning, OneWeb will have 618 active satellites in its fleet, enough for global broadband service.

Falcon 9 deploys 56 Starlink satellites on SpaceX’s 20th launch of the year

March 24, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX continued launching satellites for the Starlink internet network Friday, sending a Falcon 9 rocket aloft from Cape Canaveral with 56 more older-generation broadband spacecraft as ground teams troubleshoot problems with a batch of upgraded Starlinks launched last month.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches 56 more Starlink internet satellites

March 24, 2023 Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 rocket Friday, this time to deliver 56 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 11:43 a.m. EDT (1543 UTC). The first stage booster landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX pausing launches of new-generation Starlink satellites

March 23, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s next two missions will revert to launching older versions of the company’s Starlink internet satellites, instead of new second-generation Starlink platforms as originally planned, while ground teams work out unspecified problems with the first batch of upgraded Starlinks launched in February.

Relativity’s 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket reaches space, but falls short of orbit

March 22, 2023 Stephen Clark

Relativity Space, a company with ambitions to develop a fully reusable rocket, launched its first expendable methane-fueled booster from Cape Canaveral Wednesday night, successfully demonstrating the strength of the launcher’s first-of-its-kind 3D-printed structure but failing to reach orbit after a malfunction on the test flight’s second stage.

Good weather expected for Relativity Space’s late-night launch attempt

March 21, 2023 Stephen Clark

Relativity Space will try a third time to launch a 3D-printed rocket from Cape Canaveral Wednesday night, and weather forecasters predict a 95% chance of favorable conditions for the late-night test flight.

Virgin Orbit pauses operations amid financial troubles

March 20, 2023 Stephen Clark

Virgin Orbit announced last week it is pausing operations after sustained financial losses, furloughing most of the company’s approximately 750 employees as officials seek funding to keep the small satellite launch provider afloat.

SpaceX completes launch doubleheader with sunset liftoff from Cape Canaveral

March 17, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets in a span of a little more than four hours Friday, a record-setting day that began with the launch of 52 Starlink internet satellites from California and ended with the sunset liftoff of two SES television broadcast payloads from Florida.

Rocket Lab deploys two Capella radar satellites after launch from Virginia

March 16, 2023 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher delivered two all-weather radar Earth observation satellites into orbit for Capella Space Thursday night after liftoff from Wallops Island, Virginia, successfully completing the company’s second flight from the U.S. spaceport.

SES to complete C-band clearing program with SpaceX dual-satellite launch

March 16, 2023 Stephen Clark

SES, the international communications satellite operator, plans to send two more C-band television broadcasting spacecraft into orbit from Cape Canaveral Friday night atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on a mission that will help clear spectrum for transition to 5G network services.