SpaceX – Spaceflight Now

Dragon crew rehearses for launch day, first-look weather forecast looks good

April 19, 2021

After completing a dress rehearsal for launch day over the weekend, the four astronauts gearing up for liftoff Thursday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket are in good spirits and spending time with their families in Florida before leaving the planet for a six-month expedition on the International Space Station. Forecasters with the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predict an 80% chance of acceptable weather for launch early Thursday.

Photos: Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon roll out to pad 39A

April 18, 2021

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft rolled out to pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Friday. Hydraulics raised the 215-foot-tall rocket vertical on the historic launch pad in preparation for liftoff with four astronauts heading for the International Space Station.

SpaceX test-fires rocket for crew launch

April 17, 2021

SpaceX test-fired the Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday ahead of launch with the next four astronauts heading to the International Space Station. The static fire test before sunrise Saturday in Florida was a major step toward liftoff Thursday.

NASA chooses SpaceX to land next astronauts on the Moon

April 17, 2021

NASA has selected SpaceX to build a spacecraft to land the first astronauts on the moon since 1972, choosing Elon Musk’s space company over competing proposals from Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and the aerospace firm Dynetics, officials announced Friday.

Crew Dragon astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center for launch preps

April 16, 2021

An all-veteran crew of four astronauts jetted into NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Friday for the final few days of rehearsals, briefings, and relaxation before blasting off Thursday bound for a six-month stint on the International Space Station.

NASA, SpaceX clear crew capsule for launch next week

April 15, 2021

NASA and SpaceX officials are moving forward with preparations to launch the next commercial Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station next week after a Flight Readiness Review Thursday, pending a final evaluation of a discovery by SpaceX that it has potentially been loading slightly more propellant than expected into its Falcon 9 rockets.

Live coverage: Florida weather looks favorable for crew launch Thursday

April 15, 2021

SpaceX rolled out a Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft to pad 39A Friday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, setting the stage for a static fire test Saturday and a crew countdown rehearsal Sunday. The four astronauts who will ride the capsule to the International Space Station also arrived at the Florida spaceport Friday to prepare for liftoff.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour meets Falcon 9 rocket for launch next week

April 14, 2021

SpaceX trucked its Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft — refurbished with a new heat shield and structural enhancements — across the Cape Canaveral spaceport this week for attachment to a Falcon 9 rocket ahead of a planned liftoff next Thursday with four astronauts heading to the International Space Station.

Astrobotic selects SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch robotic lunar lander

April 13, 2021

A commercial lunar lander built by Astrobotic will launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in late 2023 to deliver a water-hunting NASA rover to the moon’s south pole, officials announced Tuesday.

SpaceX launches its 100th mission from Florida’s Space Coast

April 7, 2021

A Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral Wednesday with another batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites, achieving success on SpaceX’s 100th mission to launch from Florida’s Space Coast and clearing the way for liftoff of a NASA crew mission to the International Space Station later this month.