[ad_1] There’s clearly a pragmatic incentive to allow reused rockets. The Space Force expects to save $52.7 million for the GPS III missions alone. It might also be difficult to insist on brand new rockets. SpaceX is shifting its focus to Starship, and might not be eager to make more Falcon 9 rockets than necessary. […]
Category: falcon 9
SpaceX’s latest launch took rare southern route from Florida
[ad_1] However, due to wildfire dangers near Vandenberg, the Air Force decided to allow SpaceX — and only SpaceX — to launch south from Florida. It made the exception because the Falcon 9 has an automatic flight safety system that can destroy the rocket it it has an anomaly or goes off its intended path. […]
SpaceX pulls off its first double fairing catch after a Falcon 9 launch
[ad_1] Part of the SpaceX mission has been to create reusable rockets that make spaceflight cheaper, and it has become routine to see the company’s booster rockets return safely to Earth. With today’s launch SpaceX set a new milestone by catching both halves of the nosecone fairing, according to a tweet from CEO Elon Musk. […]
SpaceX’s next Starlink launch will help improve satellite imagery of the Earth
[ad_1] That might not sound like a lot, but it means that previously indistinct vehicles on roadways can now be identified as being a car or a truck, and it’s this sort of development that’s needed to help bolster infrastructure for the eventual arrival of autonomous vehicles — and even to improve the way we […]
SpaceX will answer Crew Dragon and Starlink questions on Reddit at 3PM ET
[ad_1] If you’ve wanted to learn more about SpaceX’s projects than you normally see in the news, now’s your chance. The company’s software team is holding a Reddit AMA session today starting at 3PM Eastern to answer questions on the software that guides SpaceX’s projects, including Crew Dragon and Starlink. Six key staffers will be […]
SpaceX’s latest batch of internet satellites includes one with a sun shield
[ad_1] SpaceX is launching another pack of Starlink satellites into orbit at 9:25PM Eastern (weather permitting), but this won’t be a typical mission. As TechCrunch explains, one of the 60 internet satellites in the bunch will test a sun visor that should make the vehicles less of a nuisance in the night sky. If the […]
SpaceX’s historic launch succeeds on its second attempt
[ad_1] Officially designated Demonstration-2, or Demo-2, this mission is the final test before NASA certifies the Dragon system for regular use in shuttling astronauts to and from the ISS. Engadget Roughly nine minutes after the Falcon 9 took off, the first stage rocket successfully set down on its autonomous sea barge, “Of Course I Love […]
SpaceX’s first crewed mission to the ISS is scrubbed for today
[ad_1] In recent years, a number of private aerospace firms have designed and tested crew capsules of their own including Blue Origin’s New Shepard, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceshipTwo, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. While the New Shepard and SpaceShipTwo are built for suborbital flights, NASA awarded Boeing and SpaceX multi-billion dollar contracts in 2014, […]
Watch NASA and SpaceX launch astronauts (updated)
[ad_1] This afternoon NASA astronauts will take off from US soil for the first time since NASA’s space shuttle program ended in 2011. The launch is historic for another reason too. It will be the first time NASA launches astronauts in a SpaceX spacecraft, and it marks the beginning of what could be many crewed […]
SpaceX aborts Falcon 9 launch with rare ‘Liftoff! Disregard’ sequence
[ad_1] Apparently, the launch was aborted automatically by the Falcon 9’s onboard computer after it detected a Merlin 1D engine issue. During the commentary, SpaceX supervisor Michael Andrews noted that it had a “condition regarding engine power that caused us to abort today’s launch.” SpaceX later added, via a tweet: “Standing down today; standard auto-abort […]