SpaceX – Page 130 – Spaceflight Now

Test satellites for SpaceX’s broadband ‘megaconstellation’ set for launch

February 20, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is set to launch two prototype probes Wednesday to begin testing spacecraft and antenna technology the company hopes will eventually power a network of thousands of satellites blanketing planet Earth with broadband Internet coverage.

Falcon 9 launch timeline with Paz

February 20, 2018 Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the Paz Earth observation payload for Hisdesat, operator of Spain’s governmental satellites.

Exoplanet-hunting satellite arrives in Florida for April launch

February 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for final testing, fueling and attachment to a Falcon 9 launcher for liftoff in mid-April, a delay of nearly one month to allow SpaceX additional time to prepare the rocket for the mission.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with three satellites

February 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

Running several days late after a series of technical and weather delays, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 6:17 a.m. PST (9:17 a.m. EST; 1417 GMT) with the Spanish-owned Paz radar observation satellite and two prototype payloads for SpaceX’s planned Starlink broadband satellite network.

Photos: SpaceX’s imagery of Falcon Heavy test flight

February 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX this week released a new batch of photos showing the Feb. 6 liftoff of the company’s first Falcon Heavy rocket from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, followed by landing of the launcher’s two side boosters around eight minutes later at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

New drone ship under construction for SpaceX rocket landings

February 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX will deploy a new rocket landing platform off Florida’s Space Coast to enter a rotation with another drone ship stationed at Cape Canaveral, company founder Elon Musk said Monday.

Elon Musk’s Tesla will have a close encounter with Earth in 2091

February 14, 2018 William Harwood

Even though it doesn’t obey any earthly speed limit and has a space-suited mannequin for a driver, Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster won’t drive up his insurance rates anytime soon. Researchers say the sports car won’t have a really close encounter with Earth until 2091 and could last millions of years before getting totaled in a planetary crackup.

NASA gears up for brisk launch pace, starting with weather satellite

February 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center tasked with overseeing launches of scientific satellites and interplanetary probes will be responsible later this year for ensuring six major missions safely get into space over a span of a little more than six months, beginning with the launch of NOAA’s new GOES-S weather observatory on an Atlas 5 rocket March 1.

Photos: More images of Falcon Heavy’s launch and booster landings

February 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

These additional views of the Falcon Heavy’s maiden liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center, and landing of its two side boosters at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, come from locations across the Florida spaceport.

Photos: Launch pad cameras capture Falcon Heavy’s fiery liftoff

February 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

This up-close sequence of photos shows the Falcon Heavy rocket lifting off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with nearly 5 million pounds of ground-shaking thrust.