Falcon Heavy – Page 14 – Spaceflight Now

Citing SpaceX delays, Inmarsat moves satellite launch from Falcon Heavy to Ariane 5

December 9, 2016 Stephen Clark

The launch next year of a commercial communications craft jointly managed by London-based Inmarsat and the Greek satellite operator Hellas-Sat has been switched from SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket, officials said Thursday.

NASA to have limited role in SpaceX’s planned Mars campaign

September 21, 2016 Stephen Clark

Expertise, input and advice from seasoned NASA engineers will improve SpaceX’s chances of nailing the first commercial landing on Mars as soon as late 2018, a senior space agency official said Wednesday, but Elon Musk’s space transport company will likely seek more independence from U.S. government support on later expeditions to the red planet.

Falcon 9 could launch again in November, Falcon Heavy debut slips to 2017

September 14, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX hopes to resume launches in November as the company continues its investigation into a Sept. 1 launch pad explosion to determine whether the accident originated on the Falcon 9 rocket or ground systems, officials said Tuesday.

SpaceX undecided on payload for first Falcon Heavy flight

May 3, 2016 Stephen Clark

As SpaceX engineers put together the first model of the company’s new Falcon Heavy rocket, officials have not ruled out flying a paying customer’s satellite aboard the maiden flight of the humongous launcher scheduled later this year, the company’s president told Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX announces plan to send mission to Mars in 2018

April 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

Elon Musk’s space transport company — chartered with a long-term goal of colonizing Mars — plans to send the first commercial mission to the red planet as soon as 2018, SpaceX announced Wednesday.

SpaceX hopes to raise launch tempo after space station flight

March 20, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is targeting April 8 for the launch of its first resupply run to the International Space Station in nearly a year, a mission that the company hopes will mark the start of a rapid-fire launch manifest full of payloads waiting to fly.

Telesat launch agreements awarded to SpaceX

February 26, 2016 Stephen Clark

The Canadian telecom satellite operator Telesat plans to launch two multipurpose communications spacecraft aboard SpaceX Falcon rockets in 2018, the company disclosed this week in a quarterly earnings announcement.

ViaSat trades in Falcon Heavy launch for Ariane 5

February 15, 2016 Stephen Clark

Delays in the debut of SpaceX’s huge Falcon Heavy rocket have prompted ViaSat to move the launch of a high-speed Internet communications satellite from the new privately-developed booster to an Ariane 5 flight in early 2017, officials said last week.

‘Big three’ nab commercial launch contracts

September 15, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX announced Monday two new Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rocket missions from Cape Canaveral, Arianespace said it cinched a contract to launch a Japanese TV broadcasting satellite, and International Launch Services revealed a deal to launch a Spanish telecommunications payload, ending a drought in commercial Proton launch orders.

First flight of Falcon Heavy delayed again

July 21, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has slowed development of the Falcon Heavy rocket, a mega-booster made of three Falcon 9 booster cores strapped together, as the company recovers from a launch failure last month, delaying the new rocket’s debut until early 2016.