Launch Pad 39A – Page 29 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX set to debut upgraded Falcon 9 rocket

April 24, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX technicians at Cape Canaveral are readying for the first launch of an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket configuration next week, a mission that will debut changes to make the launcher safer for astronauts and make it easier — and less expensive — for the company to reuse first stage boosters.

Rideshare mission for U.S. military confirmed as second Falcon Heavy launch

March 1, 2018 Stephen Clark

More than two dozen satellites from the U.S. military, NASA and research institutions will ride into orbit on SpaceX’s second Falcon Heavy rocket launch, a mission currently scheduled for liftoff in June, a military spokesperson said.

Photos: SpaceX’s imagery of Falcon Heavy test flight

February 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX this week released a new batch of photos showing the Feb. 6 liftoff of the company’s first Falcon Heavy rocket from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, followed by landing of the launcher’s two side boosters around eight minutes later at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Elon Musk’s Tesla will have a close encounter with Earth in 2091

February 14, 2018 William Harwood

Even though it doesn’t obey any earthly speed limit and has a space-suited mannequin for a driver, Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster won’t drive up his insurance rates anytime soon. Researchers say the sports car won’t have a really close encounter with Earth until 2091 and could last millions of years before getting totaled in a planetary crackup.

Photos: More images of Falcon Heavy’s launch and booster landings

February 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

These additional views of the Falcon Heavy’s maiden liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center, and landing of its two side boosters at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, come from locations across the Florida spaceport.

Photos: Launch pad cameras capture Falcon Heavy’s fiery liftoff

February 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

This up-close sequence of photos shows the Falcon Heavy rocket lifting off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with nearly 5 million pounds of ground-shaking thrust.

Photos: Press site views of Falcon Heavy’s maiden launch

February 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket powered off launch pad 39A at 3:45 p.m. EST (2045 GMT) Tuesday on its inaugural test flight, and we captured the launcher’s spectacular liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site around 3 miles from the pad.

‘Starman’ puts Earth in the rearview mirror

February 8, 2018 William Harwood

Now in an elliptical orbit around the sun, the Tesla Roadster launched atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket Tuesday during the powerful booster’s maiden flight was expected to pass beyond the moon’s orbit overnight Wednesday and reach the orbit of Mars in July as it puts Earth in its rear view mirror, analysts said.

Audio: Elon Musk speaks with reporters after Falcon Heavy test launch

February 7, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk briefed reporters on the status of the Falcon Heavy test flight, and several of the company’s other projects, shortly after the huge rocket lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX debuts world’s most powerful rocket, sends Tesla into solar system

February 7, 2018 Stephen Clark

Rumbling into the sky from a historic NASA-owned launch pad, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket — the world’s most powerful present-day launcher — flew for the first time Tuesday, dispatching a road-worn electric Tesla sports car with a spacesuit-clad mannequin nicknamed “Starman” on an interplanetary journey that will reach beyond the orbit of Mars.