Complex 40 – Page 17 – Spaceflight Now

Video: Falcon 9 fires up engines for static fire test (members only)

July 19, 2019 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired its nine first stage engines for a brief hold-down firing Friday at Cape Canaveral, passing a key milestone before launch July 24 with a Dragon space station resupply ship.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 ignited for test-firing ahead of launch next week

July 19, 2019 Stephen Clark

After several delays earlier this week, SpaceX conducted a hold-down test-firing of a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Friday evening in a key test before launch next week on a resupply mission to the International Space Station.

SpaceX’s first 60 Starlink broadband satellites deployed in orbit

May 24, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX successfully delivered the first 60 members of the company’s Starlink broadband satellite fleet to orbit Thursday night after a launch from Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX postpones Starlink launch to update satellite software

May 17, 2019 Stephen Clark

For the second consecutive day, SpaceX called off a Falcon 9 launch attempt at Cape Canaveral on Thursday evening, this time to complete a software update on the first 60 satellites for the company’s Starlink network to provide high-speed Internet service from orbit.

SpaceX releases new details on Starlink satellite design

May 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

The 60 satellites SpaceX is set to launch Wednesday night, beginning the build-out of a broadband network of orbiting spacecraft that could eventually number thousands, are based on a new flat-panel design, with krypton-fueled plasma thrusters, high-power antennas, and a capability to autonomously steer away from other objects in space.

Falcon 9 launch timeline for the Starlink 1 mission

May 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket

May 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 10:30 p.m. EDT Thursday (0230 GMT Friday). The 229-foot-tall launch vehicle delivered 60 satellites to orbit to begin the deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink Internet network, a fleet of spacecraft that may eventually number thousands.

Falcon 9 rocket rolled out for first dedicated Starlink launch

May 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX ground teams at Cape Canaveral transferred a Falcon 9 rocket to launch pad 40 and rotated the booster vertical Monday for a preflight hold-down firing, ahead of a liftoff scheduled for Wednesday night carrying 60 satellites into orbit for the company’s planned Starlink broadband constellation.

SpaceX plans to launch “dozens” of Starlink test satellites this month

May 7, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s next launch, scheduled for no earlier than May 15, will loft dozens of small test satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral for the company’s planned Starlink broadband network, with fully operational Starlink spacecraft to follow on future missions, a senior SpaceX official said Tuesday.

SpaceX launches space station resupply mission, lands rocket on drone ship

May 4, 2019 Stephen Clark

With a thundering, sky-lighting predawn blastoff from Cape Canaveral, a Falcon 9 rocket fired into orbit early Saturday with a Dragon cargo capsule in pursuit of the International Space Station. Minutes later, the rocket’s first stage booster fell from the sky and executed a pinpoint propulsive landing just offshore, setting the stage for another resupply mission for NASA this summer using the same vehicle.