Just Read the Instructions – Page 3

SpaceX’s fairing-catching boat heads to sea, this time with a bigger net

July 24, 2018 Stephen Clark

After several near-misses in tries to catch payload shrouds jettisoned from Falcon 9 rockets climbing into space, a high-speed boat tasked with retrieving the fairings for SpaceX to reuse has been upgraded and dispatched into the Pacific Ocean ahead of a launch Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force in California.

Photos: SpaceX rocket climbs into orbit from Vandenberg

August 28, 2017 Stephen Clark

The launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Aug. 24 from California delivered Taiwan’s Formosat 5 Earth-imaging satellite to orbit, and the Falcon’s first stage booster returned to landing on a drone ship downrange in the Pacific Ocean.

SpaceX launches and lands second Falcon 9 rocket in two days

June 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

Two days after launching a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, SpaceX sent another mission into orbit Sunday from California’s Central Coast with 10 new satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay network.

Video: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg, lands in Pacific

June 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Sunday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and carried 10 Iridium communications satellites toward a perch in low Earth orbit, then the launcher’s first stage nailed a landing on a platform positioned in the Pacific Ocean.

Falcon 9 rocket launching Sunday sports fin upgrade

June 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

Redesigned titanium steering fins will fly aboard a Falcon 9 rocket launching Sunday from California, part of upgrades SpaceX says will ease the reuse of future boosters.

Live coverage: Ten Iridium satellites successfully deployed by Falcon 9 rocket

June 24, 2017 Stephen Clark

Ten new satellites joined Iridium’s global voice and data relay constellation Sunday after a successful launch, and landing, of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Liftoff occurred at 1:25 p.m. PDT (4:25 p.m. EDT; 2025 GMT).

Falcon 9 booster, first recovered off West Coast, back in port

January 17, 2017 Stephen Clark

The first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket launched Saturday has returned to port in Southern California after landing on a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean, ready for refurbishment and potential reuse on a future mission.

SpaceX rocket wreckage back on shore after near-miss at landing

January 20, 2016 Stephen Clark

Debris from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket booster returned to shore in Southern California late Monday after it tipped over on touchdown on a landing platform in the Pacific Ocean following liftoff with a ocean study satellite.

SpaceX narrowly misses booster landing at sea

January 18, 2016 Stephen Clark

One of four landing legs mounted to the base of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster failed to engage on the rocket’s final descent to a barge in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, leaving wreckage scattered on the football field-sized deck of the landing ship after an otherwise successful launch with an ocean research satellite.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 launches ocean study satellite, barge landing fails

January 17, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Central Coast at 10:42:18 a.m. PST (1:42:18 p.m. EST; 1842:18 GMT) Sunday with the Jason 3 oceanography satellite. A secondary objective of the mission to recover the first stage on a barge in the Pacific Ocean failed.