Falcon 9 – Page 108 – Spaceflight Now

Hotfire test completed ahead of milestone Falcon 9 launch Thursday

March 27, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has set the first launch of a “flight-proven” Falcon 9 rocket for Thursday evening after running the booster through a hold-down engine firing Monday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Watch a replay of the Falcon 9 engine test

March 27, 2017 Spaceflight Now

The Falcon 9 rocket’s main engines briefly ignited at launch pad 39A in a standard pre-launch test. This is the second time this booster has test fired its engines on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral.

Watch Falcon 9 go upright on the launch pad in time lapse video

March 27, 2017 Spaceflight Now

A Falcon 9 rocket is moved into the position for a static test firing of its nine Merlin 1D engines. This time lapse video runs at 20 times normal speed.

Live coverage: Reused Falcon 9 rocket prepared for launch

March 24, 2017 Stephen Clark

Liftoff of a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket is set for 6:27 p.m. EDT (2227 GMT) Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first time SpaceX has reused one of its first stage boosters on a second mission. Ground crews face a tight timeline to ready the rocket and the SES 10 communications satellite in time for a Thursday launch attempt.

Q&A with Claire Leon, director of launch enterprise directorate at SMC

March 24, 2017 Stephen Clark

The head of the launch enterprise directorate at the U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center, Claire Leon, spoke with reporters March 15 about the military’s award of a GPS launch contract to SpaceX, and she discussed plans for more head-to-head launch contract competitions in the coming months.

Photos: EchoStar 23 takes flight on Falcon 9 rocket

March 18, 2017 Stephen Clark

The EchoStar 23 communications satellite, on the way to a 15-year service life broadcasting television signals, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Thursday from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SES 10 telecom satellite fueled and readied for launch on reused rocket

March 18, 2017 Stephen Clark

Launch preparations for the SES 10 communications satellite, the first spacecraft to ride a reused Falcon 9 booster to space, are on track for a late March blastoff from Florida, officials said.

SpaceX nabs GPS launch contract as Air Force opens more missions for bidding

March 18, 2017 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force this week awarded SpaceX a contract to launch a Global Positioning System satellite in early 2019, concluding the second of as many as 15 competitions the military plans to run over the next year to pit SpaceX against United Launch Alliance for rights to lift defense and intelligence-gathering payloads into orbit.

Photos: Falcon 9 flies off pad 39A

March 17, 2017 Stephen Clark

Climbing into a clear night sky, a Falcon 9 rocket soared into space early Thursday with the EchoStar 23 commercial communications satellite from launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch the EchoStar 23 satellite

March 16, 2017 Spaceflight Now

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, carrying the EchoStar 23 commercial television broadcast satellite into orbit.