Launch Pad 39A – Page 49 – Spaceflight Now

Live coverage: Dragon cargo carrier reaches space station

February 17, 2017 Stephen Clark

A day after aborting a rendezvous to resolve a navigation glitch, SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft made a smooth final approach to the International Space Station on Thursday, floating in range of the research lab’s robot arm for capture at 5:44 a.m. EST (1044 GMT).

Time lapse: Fully-assembed Falcon 9 rocket lifted atop launch pad 39A

February 16, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is again standing on launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this time with a Dragon supply ship on top ready to head on a resupply run to the International Space Station.

Weather could stand in way of Falcon 9 launch Saturday

February 15, 2017 Stephen Clark

Rainy weather expected across Central Florida this weekend has a 50-50 chance of preventing the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Saturday on a resupply mission to the International Space Station, U.S. Air Force forecasters said Wednesday.

Fire returns to flame trench at Apollo-era launch pad in Florida

February 12, 2017 Stephen Clark

Nine Merlin engines ignited and throttled up to nearly 2 million pounds of thrust Sunday during a brief hold-down firing of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, sending a plume of smoke out of the flame trench at Kennedy Space Center’s historic launch pad 39A as the company preps for a space station cargo mission next weekend.

Live coverage: SpaceX begins final launch preparations at historic launch pad

February 10, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Falcon 9 rocket is being readied for a space station resupply mission at Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A . The rocket is scheduled to launch at 10:01 a.m. EST (1501 GMT) on Saturday, weather permitting. Watch live coverage.

SpaceX readies rocket for tests at historic pad 39A

February 8, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX engineers are preparing to mount a Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center’s historic launch pad 39A for the first time this week as the company declares the modified facility ready to support a new era of commercial space missions.

Station cargo flight leapfrogs commercial satellite launch on SpaceX manifest

January 29, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX said Sunday that the first Falcon 9 rocket launch from pad 39A, a former shuttle-era complex at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is scheduled to send a Dragon supply ship to the International Space Station in mid-February, deferring a mission with an EchoStar communications satellite that was set to take off this month.

SES 10 telecom satellite in Florida for launch on reused SpaceX rocket

January 17, 2017 Stephen Clark

A European-built communications satellite has arrived at Cape Canaveral for fueling and final launch preparations ahead of a planned late February liftoff aboard a Falcon 9 rocket with a previously-flown first stage booster.

SpaceX hopes procedure fix can allow Falcon 9 launches to resume

October 31, 2016 Stephen Clark

Investigators probing the Sept. 1 explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on its launch pad in Florida believe a high-pressure gas tank inside the launcher’s upper stage most likely burst due to the conditions of the helium loaded into it, a finding that could simplify fixes needed before the commercial booster can return to service.

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.