Falcon 9 Upgrade – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX ready to return to the space station

April 7, 2016 Stephen Clark

Ground crews loaded time-critical experiments, including 20 mice to help scientists study muscle atrophy, into SpaceX’s commercial Dragon cargo capsule Thursday, a day before a launch planned from Cape Canaveral toward the International Space Station.

Falcon 9 grounded again after last-second abort

February 29, 2016 Stephen Clark

A commercial communications satellite stayed on Earth after a last-second launch abort Sunday, the third time in five days that SpaceX has scrubbed the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX launch aborted in final minutes

February 26, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX kept an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket on the ground Thursday after running into a problem loading super-cold liquid propellants into the launcher’s fuel tanks, postponing blastoff of a commercial communications satellite for the second day in a row.

Commercial Falcon 9 launch delayed to Thursday

February 25, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX called off the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday to make sure the booster’s supply of super-chilled cryogenic liquid oxygen is cold enough to support the delivery of the 5.8-ton SES 9 commercial communications satellite to an orbit nearly 25,000 miles above Earth.

SES says SpaceX will launch its satellite in late February

February 9, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s next launch from Cape Canaveral is set for Feb. 24, when a Falcon 9 rocket will carry a commercial television broadcasting satellite aloft for Luxembourg-based SES, the payload’s owner announced Monday.

Falcon 9 upgrade receives blessing from U.S. Air Force

January 25, 2016 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force on Monday certified the latest version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, featuring higher-thrust engines, enlarged fuel tanks and a super-chilled propellant mixture, for launches of the military’s most valuable satellites.

SpaceX rocket landing applauded, but experts say implications TBD

December 23, 2015 William Harwood

The successful launch and landing by the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Monday was a significant step toward achieving reusability and, eventually, lowering launch costs, but turning that success into operational reality poses a significant challenge for company founder Elon Musk.

Round-trip rocket flight gives SpaceX a trifecta of successes

December 22, 2015 Stephen Clark

Flying through the sky at supersonic speed, a Falcon 9 rocket stage descended to a historic landing at Cape Canaveral on Monday, returning to the spaceport minutes after boosting 11 Orbcomm communications satellites toward orbit on SpaceX’s first mission since a major failure in June.

Falcon 9’s return-to-flight launch delayed 24 hours

December 20, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX called off a try Sunday to launch a package of Orbcomm communications satellites from Cape Canaveral, eyeing a better chance to land the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster Monday, according to Elon Musk, the company’s billionaire founder.

Photos: Taller, souped-up Falcon 9 on the launch pad

December 20, 2015 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, built with extended propellant tanks and engines rated for higher thrust, is poised for liftoff on the company’s first launch since a catastrophic failure in June grounded the commercial booster.