Falcon 9 – Page 80 – Spaceflight Now

Live coverage: SpaceX cargo ship captured by space station’s robotic arm

May 2, 2019 Stephen Clark

Two days after launching from Cape Canaveral with nearly 5,500 pounds of supplies and experiments, an automated SpaceX Dragon cargo craft approached the International Space Station Monday. The Dragon supply ship was grappled by the station’s robotic arm at 7:01 a.m. EDT (1101 GMT).

Launch timeline for SpaceX’s 17th space station resupply mission

May 2, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will go from Cape Canaveral to low Earth orbit in less than 10 minutes Saturday with a Dragon capsule heading for the International Space Station carrying nearly 5,500 pounds of supplies and experiments.

FCC approves SpaceX’s plan to operate Starlink satellites at lower altitude

April 30, 2019 Stephen Clark

The Federal Communications Commission has granted a request by SpaceX to begin launching spacecraft for the company’s Starlink broadband network to a lower orbit than originally planned, overruling protests by competitors and clearing a major regulatory hurdle before the launch of the first batch of Internet satellites from Cape Canaveral in May.

SpaceX resupply launch delayed by malfunction on space station

April 30, 2019 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Dragon supply ship packed with nearly three tons of experiments, crew provisions and supplies will remain on the ground until at least Friday morning to allow more time for NASA flight controllers to troubleshoot a problem with an electrical distribution unit on the International Space Station.

Falcon 9 rocket completes static fire test, aims for launch early Wednesday

April 27, 2019 Stephen Clark

A week after a test-firing of SpaceX’s new crew capsule went awry, SpaceX successfully completed a hold-down firing of its next Falcon 9 launcher Saturday morning at Cape Canaveral in preparation for a predawn liftoff Wednesday carrying several tons of food, supplies and experiments to the International Space Station.

Video: Falcon 9 rocket fires engines in pre-launch test (members only)

April 27, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday at Cape Canaveral, a critical test before liftoff Wednesday with several tons of cargo heading to the International Space Station.

Live coverage: NASA replaces failed power distribution unit on space station

April 27, 2019 Stephen Clark

Flight controllers at NASA’s mission control center in Houston have completed the robotic swap out of a failed power distribution unit outside the International Space Station, clearing a hurdle ahead of Friday’s predawn launch from Cape Canaveral of a SpaceX supply ship.

Carbon-monitoring instrument poised for launch to International Space Station

April 25, 2019 Stephen Clark

A $110 million NASA science instrument twice targeted for cancellation by the Trump administration is set for launch Tuesday inside the trunk of a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule for delivery to the International Space Station, where it will spend three years charting changing carbon dioxide concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere.

SpaceX likely to move next rocket landing to drone ship

April 23, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is likely to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket set for launch April 30 on a drone ship just off the coast of Cape Canaveral, not at the company’s onshore recovery site as originally planned, after a ground test of the company’s Crew Dragon capsule at the landing pad ended in an explosion Saturday.

SpaceX retrieves Falcon Heavy fairings from sea for reuse on future launch

April 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk said Thursday that the company’s recovery fleet in the Atlantic Ocean recovered the two halves of the Falcon Heavy’s payload shroud after the heavy-lifter’s second launch from the Kennedy Space Center. Musk said the company plans to reuse the fairing for the first time later this year.