Kennedy Space Center – Page 2

Photos: Falcon 9 stands ready for weekend launch

May 15, 2021 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stood atop historic launch pad 39A Saturday afternoon as teams counted down to liftoff with 52 more Starlink internet satellites and two hitchhiker payloads.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center

May 15, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched its fifth Falcon 9 rocket in 22 days on Saturday, beginning a mission to deploy 52 more Starlink internet satellites and two rideshare payloads for Capella Space and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems. Liftoff from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida occurred at 6:56 p.m. EDT (2256 GMT), and SpaceX successfully landed the first stage on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Two hitchhiker smallsats to accompany SpaceX’s next Starlink mission into orbit

May 14, 2021 Stephen Clark

An innovative commercial Capella radar observation spacecraft with night vision and a small payload from the California-based smallsat manufacturer Tyvak are set to ride into orbit from Florida’s Space Coast Saturday with 52 more Starlink internet satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Long-time Kennedy Space Center director to take job at NASA Headquarters

May 12, 2021 Stephen Clark

Former space shuttle commander Bob Cabana, who has led NASA’s Kennedy Space Center since 2008, will take a new job in Washington as the space agency’s No. 3 official next week.

Starlink launch marks 100 missions since an in-flight Falcon rocket failure

May 4, 2021 Stephen Clark

The oldest Falcon 9 booster in SpaceX’s operational rocket fleet sent 60 more Starlink internet satellites into space Tuesday with a launch from historic pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches another Starlink mission

May 4, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at 3:01 p.m. EDT (1901 GMT) Tuesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying 60 more Starlink satellites into orbit. SpaceX successfully landed the Falcon 9 booster on a drone ship offshore.

Core of NASA’s first Artemis moon rocket towed into Vehicle Assembly Building

April 29, 2021 Stephen Clark

A decade in the making, the core stage for NASA’s first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket rolled into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center Thursday to join up with twin solid rocket boosters and an Orion capsule for an unpiloted test flight around the moon.

NASA barge delivers first SLS core stage to Kennedy Space Center

April 27, 2021 Stephen Clark

The core stage of NASA’s first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday evening aboard a specially-built barge, completing a voyage by sea from a test site in Mississippi to begin final preparations for the first flight of NASA’s Artemis Moon program. Ground crews plan to transport the core stage into the Vehicle Assembly Building beginning around 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT) Thursday to join its two solid rocket boosters.

SLS core ready for shipment to Florida; NASA still hopes for late 2021 launch

April 21, 2021 Stephen Clark

Teams at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi removed the core of NASA’s first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket from a test stand earlier this week for loading onto a barge to carry it to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the rocket stage is due to arrive by the end of the month to start final preparations for a test flight around the Moon.

Astrobotic selects SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch robotic lunar lander

April 13, 2021 Stephen Clark

A commercial lunar lander built by Astrobotic will launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in late 2023 to deliver a water-hunting NASA rover to the moon’s south pole, officials announced Tuesday.