Falcon 9
Live coverage: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket with more Starlink satellites
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday at 9:06 a.m. EST (1406 GMT) from Cape Canaveral with 60 satellites for the company’s Starlink Internet network. Previous attempts to launch the mission were stymied by strong upper level winds and rough seas in the Falcon 9’s downrange recovery area northeast of Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX releases preliminary results from Crew Dragon abort test
Data from the Jan. 19 in-flight launch escape demonstration of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft indicate the performance of the capsule’s SuperDraco abort engines was “flawless” as the thrusters boosted the ship away from the top of a Falcon 9 rocket with a peak acceleration of about 3.3Gs, officials said Thursday.
SpaceX test-fires rocket for next Starlink mission; launch date under review
Just one day after a mission from a nearby launch pad, SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket Monday at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station ahead of the company’s next flight. Faced with extreme weather this week in the ocean recovery zone for the Falcon 9’s first stage booster and payload shroud, SpaceX said it was evaluating the best opportunity to launch the Falcon 9 with 60 Starlink broadband satellites.
Live coverage: Next SpaceX launch expected no earlier than Monday
SpaceX performed a hold-down test-firing Jan. 20 of a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral in preparation for a launch with 60 Starlink broadband satellites, but officials delayed the missions’s planned launch Tuesday due to extreme weather in the downrange recovery zone for the first stage and payload fairing. The next possible launch attempt is expected at 9:49 a.m. EST (1449 GMT) Monday.
SpaceX aces final major test before first crew mission
SpaceX performed a dramatic high-altitude test flight Sunday of the company’s Crew Dragon capsule over Florida’s Space Coast, testing the human-rated ship’s ability to escape a rocket failure and save its crew before two NASA astronauts strap in for a flight to the International Space Station as soon as this spring.