SpaceX – Page 59 – Spaceflight Now

Video: Starship stacked atop Super Heavy booster ahead of first launch attempt

April 15, 2023 Stephen Clark

This time-lapse video shows the “chopstick” mechanism lifting the Starship atop the Super Heavy booster Saturday ahead of the inaugural test flight of the fully-stacked rocket from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas.

SpaceX launches Transporter 7 rideshare mission from California

April 15, 2023 Stephen Clark

After several delays to wait for improved weather, SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 rocket into space Saturday from California’s Central Coast with 51 small satellites, payloads, and orbital transfer vehicles from customers around the world.

FAA clears SpaceX to launch world’s largest rocket

April 15, 2023 Stephen Clark

The Federal Aviation Administration approved a commercial license Friday for the first full-scale test flight of SpaceX’s nearly 400-foot-tall Super Heavy and Starship mega-rocket from South Texas, a launch SpaceX said could happen as soon as Monday morning.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches rideshare mission with 51 small payloads

April 13, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, with 51 small satellites, hosted payloads, and orbital transfer vehicles heading into polar orbit on the Transporter 7 mission. Liftoff occurred at 11:48 p.m. PDT Friday (2:48 a.m. EDT; 0648 UTC Saturday).

Falcon Heavy test-fired at Kennedy Space Center

April 13, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX test-fired 27 main engines on a Falcon Heavy rocket Thursday in Florida, clearing a hurdle before installing three commercial communications satellites on the launcher for a mission to geostationary orbit later this month.

Schedule for SpaceX’s Starship test flight hinges on FAA regulatory approval

April 13, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX continues to prepare for a launch attempt as soon as next week for the first test flight of its Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket, with final work on the ship’s self-destruct system, data reviews, and the receipt of an FAA license still to come before teams proceed into a countdown in South Texas.

Preparations underway for SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launch

April 12, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy mission, set for April 18 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will launch a powerhouse bus-sized broadband satellite for Viasat into a high-altitude circular geostationary orbit, a demanding flight profile that will require disposal of all three of the rocket’s reusable boosters.

SpaceX readying Starship rocket for around-the-world test flight next week

April 11, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX said Tuesday it won’t perform a final countdown dress rehearsal this week for the giant new Starship launch vehicle, and could send the rocket — standing nearly 40 stories tall on its Texas launch pad — on an around-the-world test flight as soon as next week.

SpaceX launches Intelsat satellite with NASA air quality sensor

April 6, 2023 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral shortly after midnight Friday with Intelsat 40e, a communications satellite destined to beam broadband internet signals to airplane and cruise ship passengers across North America while hosting a NASA instrument package to monitor air pollution.

NASA air quality sensor ready for launch with Intelsat satellite

April 5, 2023 Stephen Clark

A $210 million NASA mission to improve air pollution monitoring over North America is set to launch Thursday with an Intelsat communications satellite blasting off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.