SpaceX – Page 75 – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Falcon 9 rocket launches from Florida with GPS navigation satellite

July 4, 2020 Stephen Clark

The first launch by SpaceX for the U.S. Space Force on June 30 carried the third in a new line of modernized GPS navigation satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral.

Coronavirus work stoppage likely to delay launch of NASA X-ray astronomy mission

July 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

A nearly three-month stoppage of on-site work due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus at NASA’s Marshall Space Fight Center in Alabama is expected to push back the launch of the IXPE X-ray astronomy satellite from May 2021 until some time later next year, a senior space agency official said.

Spacewalkers complete another round of battery replacement work

July 1, 2020 William Harwood

Picking up where they left off last week, two space station astronauts ventured back outside the outpost Wednesday to continue the replacement of aging batteries in the lab’s solar power system. Two more spacewalks later this month should complete the multi-year project.

SpaceX launches its first mission for the U.S. Space Force

June 30, 2020 Stephen Clark

A new GPS satellite rocketed into orbit from Cape Canaveral on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher Tuesday on the way to replace one of the more than 30 other spacecraft helping guide everything from military munitions to motorists.

Timeline for Falcon 9’s launch of the GPS 3 SV03 spacecraft

June 30, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday carrying the U.S. Air Force’s next GPS 3-series navigation satellite destined for an orbit more than 12,000 miles above Earth.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches GPS navigation satellite from Cape Canaveral

June 30, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral at 4:10 p.m. EDT (2010 GMT) Tuesday on the company’s first mission dedicated to the newly-established U.S. Space Force. The Falcon 9 carried a GPS navigation satellite into orbit.

U.S. military makes adjustments in GPS launch to allow for SpaceX booster landing

June 29, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is preparing for liftoff Tuesday of its first mission for the U.S. Space Force, a launch from Cape Canaveral that will deploy a new GPS navigation satellite using a redesigned profile to allow the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster to reserve enough propellant for landing on SpaceX’s drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Cassidy, Behnken begin final series of space station battery upgrades

June 26, 2020 William Harwood

Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station early Friday for the first of four planned spacewalks to wrap up a complex multi-year job to replace 48 aging batteries in the lab’s solar power system with 24 more powerful lithium-ion units.

SpaceX postpones Starlink launch

June 26, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX scrubbed the planned launch from the Kennedy Space Center of a Falcon 9 rocket Friday with the company’s next 57 Starlink Internet satellites and a pair of commercial Earth-imaging surveillance satellites. Officials did not immediately confirm a new target launch date.

GPS satellite ready for installation on Falcon 9 rocket for launch next week

June 26, 2020 Stephen Clark

The U.S. military’s next GPS navigation satellite moved to a SpaceX launch facility late Thursday at Cape Canaveral, ready for attachment with a Falcon 9 rocket for liftoff June 30 to take the place of an aging GPS spacecraft launched from Florida’s Space Coast more than 20 years ago.