SpaceX – Page 144 – Spaceflight Now

Engine hotfire test completed for SpaceX’s first launch since explosion

January 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s launch team fueled up a Falcon 9 rocket on a California launch pad Thursday, fired the booster’s nine Merlin engines, and passed a key preflight test for the first time since a Falcon 9 exploded during a similar practice countdown in September.

SpaceX failure probe complete; flights to resume Sunday from California

January 2, 2017 William Harwood

After an exhaustive investigation, SpaceX engineers have identified the most likely cause of the spectacular explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket during a pre-launch test Sept. 1 that destroyed the booster and its $195 million satellite payload, the company announced Monday.

Iridium satellites closed up for launch on Falcon 9 rocket

December 30, 2016 Stephen Clark

The first 10 satellites for Iridium’s next-generation mobile voice and data relay network have been fueled, joined with their deployment module and encapsulated inside the clamshell-like nose cone of a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster for launch as soon as next week from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

SpaceX’s first crew launch moved back to 2018

December 13, 2016 Stephen Clark

Astronauts will not fly to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship until at least May 2018, NASA said this week, missing a previous target launch date at the end of next year.

Citing SpaceX delays, Inmarsat moves satellite launch from Falcon Heavy to Ariane 5

December 9, 2016 Stephen Clark

The launch next year of a commercial communications craft jointly managed by London-based Inmarsat and the Greek satellite operator Hellas-Sat has been switched from SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket, officials said Thursday.

SpaceX return-to-flight slips to early January

December 7, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s first mission since a rocket explosion on a Florida launch pad is now scheduled for early January, when a Falcon 9 booster is set to begin a 70-satellite deployment for Iridium’s next-generation voice and data relay network, the company announced Wednesday.

SpaceX sets Dec. 16 for first flight since launch pad explosion

December 2, 2016 Stephen Clark

The first 10 satellites in Iridium’s next-generation mobile voice and data network could head into orbit from California as soon as Dec. 16 on SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 flight since a booster exploded on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral in September, grounding the commercial launcher more than three months.

SpaceX hopes procedure fix can allow Falcon 9 launches to resume

October 31, 2016 Stephen Clark

Investigators probing the Sept. 1 explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on its launch pad in Florida believe a high-pressure gas tank inside the launcher’s upper stage most likely burst due to the conditions of the helium loaded into it, a finding that could simplify fixes needed before the commercial booster can return to service.

NASA has no plans to buy more Soyuz seats, and it may be too late anyway

October 13, 2016 Stephen Clark

NASA is sure enough that Boeing and SpaceX can safely launch astronauts to the International Space Station by early 2019 to hold off paying Russia to keep flying U.S. crews to the research complex, and one official says a deadline to order parts for new Russian Soyuz crew capsules may have already passed.

SpaceX still expects to resume launches by the end of the year

October 11, 2016 Stephen Clark

Strong winds from Hurricane Matthew stripped exterior panels from SpaceX’s payload processing facility at Cape Canaveral last week, but the damage is not likely to affect the company’s plans to launch Falcon 9 rockets again by the end of the year, officials said.