Falcon 9 – Page 76 – Spaceflight Now

Watch the static fire of the Falcon 9 being readied for Starlink mission

November 5, 2019 Spaceflight Now

A Falcon 9 rocket fires its nine Merlin first stage engines at Cape Canaveral’s launch pad 40 Nov. 5, 2019, as part of a routine pre-launch test. The successful static fire clears the way for the launch of 60 Starlink satellites, currently scheduled for Nov. 11.

Live coverage: SpaceX test-fires Falcon 9 rocket for Starlink launch

November 5, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday at Cape Canaveral for the company’s next launch, which is set for takeoff Monday at around 9:56 a.m. EST (1456 GMT). The rocket will launch with the next batch of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites, the company’s first launch since early August. There is an 80 percent chance of favorable weather for launch Monday.

SpaceX’s next launch to mark another incremental step in rocket reusability

October 11, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX next launch, slated to carry the company’s second set of Starlink broadband satellites into orbit, will be the first to fly with a reused Falcon 9 booster making its fourth flight when it takes off in the coming weeks.

NASA chief says SpaceX properly focused on Crew Dragon

October 10, 2019 William Harwood

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine visited SpaceX’s California rocket factory Thursday, toured the sprawling facility with founder Elon Musk and told reporters he is optimistic the company will be ready to launch the first piloted test flight of its Crew Dragon spaceship in the first quarter of next year.

Boeing reveals target dates for initial Starliner test flights

October 9, 2019 Stephen Clark

Boeing officials said Wednesday that the company is targeting Dec. 17 for the launch of the first unpiloted orbital test flight of the new Starliner crew capsule from Cape Canaveral on a week-long demonstration mission to the International Space Station, a precursor to a mission with astronauts next year.

Hardware arrives in Florida for Crew Dragon in-flight abort test

October 3, 2019 Stephen Clark

Images taken inside SpaceX facilities at Cape Canaveral and released by NASA Thursday show the Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 booster assigned to an in-flight abort test of the new human-rated spaceship later this year, a prerequisite before astronauts climb aboard for a mission to the International Space Station.

Intuitive Machines selects SpaceX to launch commercial lunar lander

October 2, 2019 Stephen Clark

Intuitive Machines confirmed plans Wednesday to launch a commercial lunar lander aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Space Coast in 2021 on a mission to deliver multiple payloads to the moon, including up to five science instruments for NASA.

Launch of South Korean lunar orbiter delayed to 2022

September 20, 2019 Stephen Clark

The launch of South Korea’s first moon orbiter has been delayed from December 2020 until July 2022 after the mission encountered technical issues during development, officials recently announced.

Starlink to fill lion’s share of SpaceX near-term launch manifest

September 18, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX plans as many as 24 launches next year to build out the company’s Starlink network to provide broadband Internet service from space, following up to four more Starlink missions before the end of this year, according to SpaceX’s chief operating officer.

SES selects SpaceX for two Falcon 9 launches

September 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

Two SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches will loft seven high-throughput broadband satellites for SES’s O3b mPower constellation in 2021, SES announced this week.