Falcon 9 – Page 101 – Spaceflight Now

Lawmakers question safety, schedule for Boeing/SpaceX commercial crew ships

January 17, 2018 William Harwood

Boeing and SpaceX hope to launch commercial crew ferry ships on long-awaited test flights later this year, but both companies face major challenges getting the spacecraft certified before late 2019 when seats aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft will no longer be easily available for NASA space station crews, officials told lawmakers Wednesday.

After Zuma, SpaceX keeps pace in preps for next Falcon 9 launch

January 11, 2018 Stephen Clark

Ground crews took steps this week to prepare for the next Falcon 9 launch, set for no earlier than Jan. 30 with a telecom satellite for SES and the Luxembourg government, as SpaceX officials stressed their rocket was not to blame for the rumored loss of a mysterious U.S. government payload after liftoff Sunday.

Fate of mystery Zuma satellite in question

January 9, 2018 William Harwood

A classified satellite code-named Zuma, launched Sunday night atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, may have suffered a mission-ending failure during or shortly after the climb to space, according to news accounts Monday evening.

SpaceX kicks off ambitious 2018 schedule with launch for U.S. government

January 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

Running nearly two months late after technical concerns prevented liftoff last year, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired into the sky Sunday night from Cape Canaveral with a top secret payload for the U.S. government, the first of some 30 launches on the company’s docket in 2018.

Video: Falcon 9’s first stage paints a dazzling spectacle in the sky

January 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

Watch a video clip of the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage separating and firing its engines to return to Cape Canaveral shortly after liftoff Jan. 7.

Video: Replay of SpaceX’s first launch and landing of 2018

January 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

Watch a replay of the launch and landing of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on Jan. 7 at Cape Canaveral.

Video: Falcon 9 launch with natural sound (members only)

January 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

Watch a view of the launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on Jan. 7 from Cape Canaveral with the U.S. government’s top secret Zuma payload.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket launches and lands at Cape Canaveral

January 2, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s first launch of 2018 blasted off at 8 p.m. EST Sunday (0100 GMT Monday). A Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral with a mysterious U.S. government payload known as Zuma, and the first stage returned to landing on Florida’s Space Coast around eight minutes later.

Falcon 9 launch lights up Southern California sky

December 28, 2017 Stephen Clark

Take a look back at the Dec. 22 liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a launch that was visible across Southern California and as far away as Arizona as the booster climbed into sunlight at dusk to deliver 10 commercial communications satellites to orbit.

SpaceX launch dazzles, delivering 10 more satellites for Iridium

December 23, 2017 Stephen Clark

Putting on a holiday light show for Southern California and much of the desert southwest, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired into a twilight sky from the Pacific coastline Friday night to add 10 new satellites to Iridium’s upgraded communications network.