Drone Ship – Page 16 – Spaceflight Now

Timeline for Falcon 9 rocket’s launch of 10 Iridium satellites

January 13, 2017 Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the first 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet.

Falcon 9 rocket ready for all-important return to service Saturday

January 13, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX rolled a fully-assembled Falcon 9 booster out of its hangar and lifted it on top of a launch pad Friday for the first time since an explosion grounded the commercial rocket last year, setting the stage for a one-second launch window Saturday to take off from California’s Central Coast and deploy the first 10 satellites in orbit for a $3 billion upgrade to Iridium’s globe-spanning message relay network.

Iridium satellites closed up for launch on Falcon 9 rocket

December 30, 2016 Stephen Clark

The first 10 satellites for Iridium’s next-generation mobile voice and data relay network have been fueled, joined with their deployment module and encapsulated inside the clamshell-like nose cone of a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster for launch as soon as next week from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Another Falcon 9 rocket returns to perch in Port Canaveral

August 20, 2016 Stephen Clark

The sixth Falcon 9 rocket booster recovered by SpaceX has returned to Port Canaveral after an up-and-down flight Aug. 14 that sent a commercial Japanese broadcasting satellite toward orbit.

Falcon 9 rocket launches Japanese satellite, then nails bullseye landing

August 14, 2016 Stephen Clark

Vaulting into a starry sky over Florida’s Space Coast, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully took off early Sunday with a Japanese video and data relay satellite, then stuck a landing on a barge stationed nearly 400 miles east of Cape Canaveral.

Falcon 9 launch timeline with JCSAT 16

August 13, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral early Sunday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the JCSAT 16 communications satellite into orbit 32 minutes later.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket launches Japanese satellite, then lands at sea

August 13, 2016 Stephen Clark

For the second time this year, SpaceX has launched a commercial communications satellite for Tokyo-based SKY Perfect JSAT Corp. A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 1:26 a.m. EDT (0526 GMT) from Cape Canaveral with the JCSAT 16 satellite to relay data and video across Japan and the Asia-Pacific. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster nailed a landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean a few minutes later.

Falcon 9 rocket rumbles through pre-flight engine firing

August 11, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX technicians planned to connect a Japanese communications satellite to the tip of a Falcon 9 rocket as soon as Thursday, eyeing a launch from Cape Canaveral just after midnight Sunday.

Video: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on dual-satellite delivery mission

June 15, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Wednesday at 10:29 a.m. EDT (1429 GMT), launching with two Boeing-built communications satellites for Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite.

SpaceX successfully fires satellites into orbit, but loses booster on landing

June 15, 2016 Stephen Clark

Two pioneering communications satellites purely powered by plasma rocket thrusters lifted off from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 launcher Wednesday, starting missions to broadcast video across Asia and Latin America, and improve navigation for airplanes crossing the United States.