SpaceX – Page 53 – Spaceflight Now

Third set of upgraded solar arrays ready for ride to International Space Station

June 2, 2023 Stephen Clark

Two more roll-out solar arrays will ride a SpaceX cargo ship to the International Space Station this weekend, continuing a years-long mid-life station upgrade as NASA plans procurement of a final set of new solar wings to fully reinforce the lab’s power supply.

SpaceX delivers 52 more Starlink satellites into orbit

May 31, 2023 Stephen Clark

Another batch of 52 Starlink satellites launched late Tuesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on the way to join SpaceX’s fleet of more than 4,000 spacecraft beaming broadband signals around the world.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches more Starlink satellites from California

May 30, 2023 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:02 p.m. PDT Tuesday (2:02 a.m. EDT; 0602 UTC Wednesday) with another batch of 52 Starlink internet satellites.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches satellites for OneWeb and Iridium

May 19, 2023 Stephen Clark

After scrubbing a launch attempt Friday, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday on a mission to send communications satellites from OneWeb and Iridium into polar orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Liftoff occurred at 6:16 a.m. PDT (9:16 a.m. EDT; 1316 UTC).

SpaceX launches 22 new-generation Starlink satellites

May 19, 2023 Stephen Clark

Another Falcon 9 rocket lifted off early Friday from Cape Canaveral with a batch of 22 upgraded, new-generation Starlink internet satellites.

NASA’s Lunar Flashlight CubeSat mission ends before entering orbit around moon

May 16, 2023 Stephen Clark

NASA’s small Lunar Flashlight spacecraft, sent to the moon last year to search for water ice deposits at the lunar south pole, will not be able to complete its science mission after a problem with the probe’s propulsion system.

Overnight launch adds 56 more satellites to SpaceX’s Starlink fleet

May 14, 2023 Stephen Clark

Fifty-six more Starlink internet satellites lifted off early Sunday atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on SpaceX’s 32nd launch of the year.

SpaceX rockets past 4,000 Starlink satellites in orbit with another launch

May 4, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX surpassed more than 4,000 Starlink internet satellites in orbit with the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket and another batch of 56 spacecraft Thursday from Cape Canaveral, the company’s fourth mission in less than a week.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy hits bullseye with ascent to near-geosynchronous orbit

May 1, 2023 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket thundered into the sky over Florida’s Space Coast Sunday night and deployed a sophisticated internet satellite for Viasat into a circular orbit more than 20,000 miles over the equator, delivering for a competitor to SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center

April 30, 2023 Stephen Clark

On the mission’s third launch attempt, SpaceX sent a Falcon Heavy rocket aloft at 8:26 p.m. EDT Sunday (0026 UTC Monday) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The nearly five-hour mission to a near-geosynchronous orbit carried the first satellite for the ViaSat 3 space-based internet network, along with two smaller rideshare payloads.