launch | Common News Update

Jan72022 by adminNo Comments

SpaceX successfully completes first launch of 2022 from Florida

Science

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 6 (UPI) -- SpaceX kicked off a surge in launch activity Thursday with the successful launch of 49 of the company's Starlink communications satellites from Florida, heading south along the state's coastline. Five SpaceX missions may launch in the next month on the southern polar trajectory, flying closer to the Florida coast toward Miami than most launches, according to the U.S. Space Force. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off as planned at 4:49 p.m. EST from Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Nine minutes after launch, the first-stage booster landed successfully on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. "Starlink is now live in 25 countries and regions currently servicing over 145,000 users worldwide," SpaceX engineer Jessie Anderson said during a live broadcast of the launch. "...

Dec112021 by adminNo Comments

Blue Origin plans to launch largest crew yet Saturday

Science

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket company plans to launch six people, its largest crew yet, including the daughter of late astronaut Alan Shepard and ABC News anchor Michael Strahan, into space Saturday from Texas. Blue Origin plans liftoff of the New Shepard rocket on its NS-19 mission at 8:45 a.m. CST from its Corn Ranch spaceport 160 miles east of El Paso. Launch personnel postponed a launch Wednesday because of high winds in the area. Previous launches in July and October carried Bezos and William Shatner, 90, respectively. Bezos also invited former aviator Wally Funk, 82, to fly with him in July. Those previous crews were composed of four people. Let's light this candle! We put Alan Shepard's famous words on the crew access gantry for the astronauts to see just before ...

Oct312021 by adminNo Comments

NASA, SpaceX reschedule Crew-3 launch for Wednesday

Science

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- NASA and SpaceX on Saturday scrapped plans to send astronauts to the International Space Station after a large mid-Atlantic storm caused weather issues along the flight path. The Crew-3 launch, which was set to launch Sunday, is now scheduled to take place 1:10 a.m. EDT Wednesday, when weather conditions were expected to be 80% favorable. The NASA astronauts will launch on SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew, which includes pilot Tom Marshburn, commander Raja Chari, and mission specialists Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer, is expected to spend six months carrying out research to help the United States prepare for longer space missions. Dxperiments include multiple studies of astronaut health during long period...

Mar242021 by adminNo Comments

SpaceX launch sends 23rd Starlink communications satellite cluster

Science

ORLANDO, Fla., March 24 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched 60 more Starlink broadband communications satellites before dawn on Wednesday, from Florida. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellites occurred at Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The weather was cooperative for the 23rd Starlink mission. Advertisement "Deployment of 60 Starlink satellites confirmed," Space tweeted.[embedded content] "This was the sixth launch and landing of this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously supported launch of GPS-III Space Vehicle 03, Turksat 5A, and three Starlink missions," the company added. "One half of Falcon 9's fairing supported the Sentinel-6A mission and the other supported a previous Starlink mission." There was no room for delay on the Starlink launch because the...

Mar122021 by adminNo Comments

SpaceX plans 22nd Starlink cluster launch

Business

ORLANDO, Fla., March 12 (UPI) -- SpaceX plans to launch the 22nd cluster of Starlink communication satellites from Florida early Sunday morning. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for 5:44 a.m. EDT, just hours after clocks move ahead for Daylight Saving Time, from Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Advertisement The company has kept up a regular cadence of Starlink launches since the first mission in 2019. Sunday's launch follows another successful trip to orbit for the broadband internet spacecraft Thursday. The weather is expected to be nearly ideal for a launch Sunday, with only a 10 percent chance of thick clouds that can cause problems, according to a forecast from the U.S. Space Force. "Winds on Sunday morning will be relatively light, and it is possible there will be a ...