Reusability – Page 32 – Spaceflight Now

Live coverage: SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket

May 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 10:30 p.m. EDT Thursday (0230 GMT Friday). The 229-foot-tall launch vehicle delivered 60 satellites to orbit to begin the deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink Internet network, a fleet of spacecraft that may eventually number thousands.

NASA, ULA find launch opportunity for inflatable heat shield demonstrator

May 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

A flight demonstration of an inflatable heat shield that could be used to retrieve reusable engines from United Launch Alliance’s next-generation Vulcan rocket, and for the delivery of heavier cargo to the surface of Mars, is planned for launch in late 2021 or early 2022 as a piggyback payload on an Atlas 5 rocket with a NOAA weather satellite.

Falcon 9 rocket rolled out for first dedicated Starlink launch

May 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX ground teams at Cape Canaveral transferred a Falcon 9 rocket to launch pad 40 and rotated the booster vertical Monday for a preflight hold-down firing, ahead of a liftoff scheduled for Wednesday night carrying 60 satellites into orbit for the company’s planned Starlink broadband constellation.

SpaceX plans to launch “dozens” of Starlink test satellites this month

May 7, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s next launch, scheduled for no earlier than May 15, will loft dozens of small test satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral for the company’s planned Starlink broadband network, with fully operational Starlink spacecraft to follow on future missions, a senior SpaceX official said Tuesday.

SpaceX cargo ship reaches space station

May 6, 2019 William Harwood

A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship caught up with the International Space Station early Monday and then stood by while Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques, operating the lab’s robot arm, locked onto the spacecraft to wrap up a two-day rendezvous.

SpaceX launches space station resupply mission, lands rocket on drone ship

May 4, 2019 Stephen Clark

With a thundering, sky-lighting predawn blastoff from Cape Canaveral, a Falcon 9 rocket fired into orbit early Saturday with a Dragon cargo capsule in pursuit of the International Space Station. Minutes later, the rocket’s first stage booster fell from the sky and executed a pinpoint propulsive landing just offshore, setting the stage for another resupply mission for NASA this summer using the same vehicle.

Video: Falcon 9 launch as seen from KSC press site (members only)

May 4, 2019 Stephen Clark

Watch a replay of the Falcon 9 rocket’s liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as seen from the Kennedy Space Center press site roughly 4 miles away.

Falcon 9 launch scrubbed by problem on landing ship

May 3, 2019 Stephen Clark

An electrical problem on SpaceX’s drone ship parked just off the coast of Cape Canaveral prompted SpaceX to scrub a Falcon 9 launch attempt early Friday, delaying the start of a resupply mission to the International Space Station by 24 hours.

SpaceX clears cargo mission for launch, confirms destruction of crew capsule

May 2, 2019 Stephen Clark

While recovery teams continue combing through the test site at Cape Canaveral where SpaceX’s first space-worthy Crew Dragon capsule was destroyed in an explosive accident last month, engineers a few miles away are pressing ahead with the company’s 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station set for launch early Friday.

Live coverage: SpaceX cargo ship captured by space station’s robotic arm

May 2, 2019 Stephen Clark

Two days after launching from Cape Canaveral with nearly 5,500 pounds of supplies and experiments, an automated SpaceX Dragon cargo craft approached the International Space Station Monday. The Dragon supply ship was grappled by the station’s robotic arm at 7:01 a.m. EDT (1101 GMT).