Falcon 9 – Page 100 – Spaceflight Now

Iridium’s third batch of new satellites set for Monday launch

October 8, 2017 Stephen Clark

Ten new satellites for Iridium’s $3 billion next-generation communications network are set for launch Monday from California’s Central Coast aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX delays Falcon 9 launch of TV broadcast satellite

October 5, 2017 Stephen Clark

Liftoff of a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with a European-built television broadcast satellite has been pushed back from Saturday until at least next Wednesday night, officials said.

Previously-flown Falcon 9 booster test-fired for weekend launch

October 2, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX test-fired a reused Falcon 9 booster Monday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, checking the rocket’s readiness for a planned liftoff Saturday with an Airbus-built commercial communications satellite.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket test-fired in Florida

October 2, 2017 Stephen Clark

A previously-flown SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster conducted a test-firing Monday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of a planned launch Oct. 7 with an Airbus-built communications satellite made for SES and EchoStar.

SpaceX sets target launch dates for back-to-back flights next month

September 26, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX engineers are readying two Falcon 9 rockets for launches Oct. 7 and Oct. 9 from Florida and California, setting up another quick turnaround to first deploy a large TV broadcasting satellite for SES and EchoStar over the United States with a previously-flown booster, then add 10 more spacecraft to Iridium’s fleet of new-generation voice and data relay network.

GRACE satellites to end research mission in November, before replacements launch

September 26, 2017 Stephen Clark

Two U.S.-German satellites launched more than 15 years ago to measure Earth’s changing gravity field will stop collecting data in November, a few months before a pair of replacement craft will launch to resume gravity measurements, NASA officials said.

Launch operators expect minimal delays from Hurricane Irma

September 13, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX and United Launch Alliance expect to resume launches with little or no delay after Hurricane Irma veered west of Cape Canaveral last weekend, sparing the launch base from the storm’s most extreme damage.

Photos: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off and lands at Cape Canaveral

September 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A on Thursday, then its first stage booster touched down on a nearby landing target after sending a U.S. Air Force X-37B spaceplane toward orbit.

SpaceX beats hurricane with smooth launch of military’s X-37B spaceplane

September 7, 2017 Stephen Clark

Succeeding on a one-shot launch attempt before Hurricane Irma shuts down the Cape Canaveral spaceport, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thundered into orbit Thursday with the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane, a reusable robotic mini-shuttle that could stay aloft for years with clandestine on-board experiments.

4K video: Wide-angle view of Falcon 9 launch

September 7, 2017 Stephen Clark

Watch a 4K video replay of Thursday’s Falcon 9 launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.