Orbcomm – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX rocket landing applauded, but experts say implications TBD

December 23, 2015

The successful launch and landing by the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Monday was a significant step toward achieving reusability and, eventually, lowering launch costs, but turning that success into operational reality poses a significant challenge for company founder Elon Musk.

Photos: Falcon 9 booster stands upright after landing

December 22, 2015

SpaceX took a group of reporters and photographers just offshore the Falcon 9 rocket’s landing point Tuesday, a day after the 15-story booster made a pinpoint touchdown after helping send 11 communications satellites into orbit.

Round-trip rocket flight gives SpaceX a trifecta of successes

December 22, 2015

Flying through the sky at supersonic speed, a Falcon 9 rocket stage descended to a historic landing at Cape Canaveral on Monday, returning to the spaceport minutes after boosting 11 Orbcomm communications satellites toward orbit on SpaceX’s first mission since a major failure in June.

Q&A with Elon Musk after SpaceX’s first rocket landing

December 22, 2015

SpaceX’s billionaire founder and chief executive Elon Musk spoke with reporters just after successfully landing a Falcon 9 booster for the first time.

From all angles: Up and down with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster

December 22, 2015

Relive the experience with imagery from Monday night’s blazing blastoff of a Falcon 9 rocket and its historic, dramatic landing at Cape Canaveral.

Falcon 9 launch timeline with Orbcomm satellites

December 21, 2015

Track the progress of the launch and landing of SpaceX’s upgraded Falcon 9 rocket carrying 11 Orbcomm message relay satellites with this timeline of major events in the flight sequence.

Falcon 9’s return-to-flight launch delayed 24 hours

December 20, 2015

SpaceX called off a try Sunday to launch a package of Orbcomm communications satellites from Cape Canaveral, eyeing a better chance to land the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster Monday, according to Elon Musk, the company’s billionaire founder.

Patience a key ingredient in Orbcomm’s new satellite fleet

December 20, 2015

Nearly a decade after Orbcomm raised the money to pay for a second-generation satellite fleet to drastically expand the company’s reach, the $230 million program is finally primed for completion after Monday’s launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

Photos: Taller, souped-up Falcon 9 on the launch pad

December 20, 2015

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, built with extended propellant tanks and engines rated for higher thrust, is poised for liftoff on the company’s first launch since a catastrophic failure in June grounded the commercial booster.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket launches, and lands, at Cape Canaveral

December 20, 2015

In a fiery, dramatic comeback for SpaceX, a Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, streaking into orbit as its booster stage returned to a historic landing on Florida’s Space Coast in a key achievement aimed at slashing the cost of space transportation. Eleven communications satellites for Orbcomm were deployed in orbit in the flight’s prime objective.