Falcon Heavy – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launches $5.2 billion NASA mission to Jupiter’s ocean moon, Europa

October 14, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission featured the launch of NASA’s largest spacecraft bound on a planetary mission. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A happened 12:06 p.m. EDT (1606 UTC).

SpaceX launches final NOAA GOES weather satellite on Falcon Heavy rocket

June 25, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The geostationary orbital satellite is the fourth and final in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R (GOES-R) series. Liftoff happened at 5:26 p.m. EDT (2126 UTC).

SpaceX completes Falcon 9 double launch day with Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Station

June 23, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission marked SpaceX’s second launch of the day. Liftoff happened at 8:47 p.m. PDT (11:47 p.m. EDT, 0347 UTC).

SpaceX marks record 20th flight with Falcon 9 payload fairing half on Starlink mission

June 22, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX swapped out the Falcon 9 vehicle after a last-second abort at engine ignition during a launch attempt on June 14. Liftoff of the Starlink 10-2 mission happened at 1:15 p.m. EDT (1715 UTC) on Sunday.

SpaceX experiences a rare mission scrub of its Falcon 9 rocket at the moment engine ignition

June 13, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX struck out for a third time in as many days attempting to launch the Starlink 10-2 mission. After pushing back the launch time a few times within their window of availability on Friday, an abort was called just as the Merlin engines at the base of the 70-meter-tall (299 feet) rocket ignited.

SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket, X-37B military spaceplane

December 28, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX launched the X-37B military spaceplane onboard its Falcon Heavy rocket late Thursday night. Liftoff of the USSF-52 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center occurred 8:07 p.m. EST (0107 UTC) on Thursday at the opening of a ten-minute launch window.

Falcon Heavy launch of secretive X-37B military spaceplane on hold

December 11, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

Falcon Heavy is returning to the hangar and the launch of the USSF-52 mission with the X-37B spaceplane is on hold. A ground issue scrubbed an earlier launch attempt and now required work on the vehicle itself.

SpaceX conducts static fire test ahead of fifth Falcon Heavy launch of 2023

December 3, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

Following two Falcon 9 launches from both California and Florida, SpaceX closed out the first weekend of December with a Falcon Heavy static fire test. The ignition of the 27 Merlin engines comes a week ahead of the planned launch of the U.S. military’s secretive X-37B spaceplane.

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Starlink mission

December 2, 2023 Spaceflight Now

SpaceX continued a busy weekend with the launch of another batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station late Saturday night. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 occurred at 11:00 p.m. EST (0400 UTC).

U.S. military’s X-37B mini-shuttle to launch on SpaceX Falcon Heavy for the first time

November 9, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The U.S. military’s experimental spaceplane will soon soar to orbit using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time, a Pentagon news release announced. The X-37B spacecraft will launch from the Kennedy Space Center no earlier than December 7.