SpaceX – Page 190 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX preps for test of Dragon capsule’s life-saving abort system

May 4, 2015 Stephen Clark

A spaceship designed to ferry astronauts into orbit by 2017 is set for a major test Wednesday, when SpaceX plans to blast the capsule away from Cape Canaveral on a mile-high demo flight to simulate the craft’s ability to protect occupants in the event of a catastrophic rocket mishap on the pad.

Arabsat contracts go to Lockheed Martin, Arianespace and SpaceX

April 29, 2015 Stephen Clark

Lockheed Martin will build two communications satellites for Saudi Arabia’s Arabsat, and Arianespace and SpaceX will launch the commercial relay platforms under contracts valued at $650 million announced Wednesday.

Photos: Falcon 9 rockets into dusky sky

April 28, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral on Monday after a 49-minute weather hold to wait for clouds to thin out overhead. The rocket finally lifted off into an overcast sky with a communications satellite built for Turkmenistan.

Falcon 9 rocket powers into space with satellite for Turkmenistan

April 28, 2015 Stephen Clark

A communications satellite for Turkmenistan soared into orbit Monday, climbing through gloomy skies over Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to give the Central Asian nation its first foothold in space.

Turkmenistan’s first satellite braced for liftoff

April 27, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX ground crews transferred a Falcon 9 rocket to its seaside launch mount at Cape Canaveral on Sunday evening in preparation for liftoff Monday with Turkmenistan’s first satellite.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches its fifth Falcon 9 flight of the year

April 27, 2015 Stephen Clark

Turkmenistan’s first satellite has blasted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida after a weather delay. Liftoff occurred at 7:03 p.m. EDT (2303 GMT).

Clouds in the forecast for Monday’s Falcon 9 launch

April 25, 2015 Stephen Clark

Forecasters will be watching clouds and rain showers during the countdown before Monday’s launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying Turkmenistan’s first communications satellite.

Decision on new space station cargo contracts deferred

April 22, 2015 Stephen Clark

NASA expects to select commercial contractors to resupply the International Space Station in September, three months later than the agency’s previous timetable under a competition for cargo deliveries beginning in 2018.

Dragon pad abort test set for early May

April 21, 2015 Stephen Clark

A major test of the system that would shoot SpaceX astronaut crews away from a failing rocket is scheduled for no earlier than May 5 from a specially-built mount at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad, NASA announced Tuesday.

Throttle valve blamed for Falcon 9’s unsuccessful landing

April 21, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX engineers have narrowed the cause of last week’s unsuccessful landing of a Falcon 9 rocket booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean on a commanding issue with an engine throttle valve, according to Elon Musk, the company’s founder and chief executive.