Space Launch Complex 4-East – Page 4

Photos: Twice-flown Falcon 9 rocket prepared for third mission

December 3, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is readying a Falcon 9 rocket booster for launch Monday at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on a record-setting mission with 64 smallsats on-board that will also mark the launch provider’s first use of the same first stage for a third flight.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches record-setting mission from California

December 2, 2018 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 10:34 a.m. PST (1:34 p.m. EST; 1834 GMT) Monday. The launch, under contract to Spaceflight, carried into orbit 64 small satellites from 17 countries, the largest multi-payload rideshare mission ever flown on a U.S. rocket. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster previously flew on two missions from Florida, and landed again on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean after Monday’s launch.

SpaceX launch Monday will signify a new advance in reusing rockets

December 1, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX teams at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California are preparing to launch a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Monday, powered by a reused first stage booster flying on its third mission, a first for the company as engineers continue chasing a long-term goal of re-flying the same rocket on back-to-back days.

SpaceX postpones California launch to wait for better weather

November 27, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has postponed Wednesday’s scheduled launch from California’s Central Coast with 64 smallsats, electing to keep the Falcon 9 rocket on the ground until at least Sunday to wait for improved weather conditions.

SpaceX postpones rideshare launch from California

November 17, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has ordered additional inspections on a Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a decision that is expected to keep the launcher grounded for several days until after the Thanksgiving holiday, officials said Saturday.

SpaceX aces first rocket landing in California after launching Argentine satellite

October 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Falcon 9 rocket launching an Argentine Earth-observing satellite streaked across the skies of Southern California on Sunday night, then its booster stage returned to Vandenberg Air Force Base for an on-target landing, the first by SpaceX on the West Coast.

Photos: Falcon 9 rocket, landing pad ready for action at Vandenberg

October 7, 2018 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was raised vertical at Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sunday ahead of a planned liftoff with Argentina’s SAOCOM 1A radar observation satellite, and the first landing of a SpaceX booster on the U.S. West Coast.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches Argentine satellite, lands rocket in California

October 7, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday at 7:21 p.m. PDT (10:21 p.m. EDT; 0221 GMT Monday) with SAOCOM 1A, a radar observation satellite for Argentina, then returned the booster to a landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, for the first time.

Spaceflight preps for first launch of unique orbiting satellite deployers

August 23, 2018 Stephen Clark

Engineers working for Spaceflight, a Seattle-based launch services company, are in the final steps of preparing for the first launch of new robotic free flyers carrying more than 70 small government and commercial satellites into polar orbit later this year aboard a dedicated flight of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Video: Falcon 9 lifts off in a veil of fog

July 25, 2018 Stephen Clark

A thick marine layer blanketing Vandenberg Air Force Base in California restricted views of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifting off early Wednesday, but cameras fixed to the launcher provided spectacular imagery of the predawn departure with 10 Iridium satellites on-board.