Falcon | Common News Update

Jun42021 by adminNo Comments

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches cargo to space station

Science

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., June 3 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched tiny squids, medical experiments and improved solar panels for the International Space Station from Florida on Thursday afternoon. The 7,300-pound cargo mission rose into a mostly cloudy sky aboard a Falcon 9 rocket as planned at 1:29 p.m. EDT from Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Eight minutes after launch, SpaceX recovered the first-stage booster by landing it on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. "We're actually flying a new booster this mission," Sarah Walker, the company's director of mission management for the Dragon capsule, said at a press conference Wednesday. "This is the 17th mission that SpaceX has launched just in this front half of 2021 ... and the first one that's on a new booster." SpaceX reuses first-stage ...

Dec202020 by adminNo Comments

SpaceX launches U.S. spy satellite; Falcon 9 first stage returns

Science

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched the company's second spy satellite mission for the U.S. government Saturday morning. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 9 a.m. EST from Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The payload fairing separated about 2 1/2 minutes after liftoff. Advertisement The reusable Falcon 9 rocket landed at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station about 8 1/2 minutes after liftoff -- the fifth time for this particular booster and the 70th time for a Falcon 9 to date. SpaceX aborted a previous launch attempt Thursday due to a slightly high pressure reading in an upper stage liquid oxygen tank on the rocket. The countdown stopped at 1 minute, 53 seconds before launch.[embedded content] Andy Tran, a SpaceX avionics production supervisor, said during a live b...

Nov212020 by adminNo Comments

Falcon 9 carries NASA’s new ocean-imaging satellite into space

Science

Nov. 21 (UPI) -- SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched from Central California on Saturday, carrying Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, the newest satellite to monitor global sea level rise. Liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base took place at 12:17 p.m. EST. The reusable Falcon 9 rocket landed around 12:25 p.m. EST and the satellite separated about an hour after liftoff. Advertisement NASA said it received its first signal from the deployed satellite. [embedded content] Sentinel-6 was developed by scientists and engineers at NASA, the European Space Agency, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites and NOAA. The satellite houses a trio of instruments, including a state-of-the-art altimeter, that will be used to monitor the topography of the sea surface. It also will re...

Sep102018 by adminNo Comments

SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches powerful telecom satellite into orbit

Science

Sept. 9 (UPI) -- SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched early Monday morning, carrying a powerful telecommunications satellite into orbit. The rocket blasted off from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base at approximately 12:55 E.T. The rocket's first stage went smoothly and dropped into the Atlantic Ocean via the "Of Course I Still Love You" drone ship about 10 minutes later. The rocket's second stage then reached orbit about 35 minutes after liftoff. Engineers successfully test-fired the rocket's engines last week. The launch was originally scheduled for Saturday night, but on Thursday, SpaceX officials announced a 24-hour delay. "Now targeting September 9 launch of Telstar 18 VANTAGE from Pad 40 in Florida," SpaceX wrote on Twitter. "Rocket and payload are healthy; additional time will be u...

Jul172018 by adminNo Comments

Israel: Falcon dead in arson attack, fuel cargo restricted

World

July 17 (UPI) -- Israeli officials have placed new restrictions on fuel deliveries across the Gaza Strip after new arson attacks, including one that involved a dead falcon. Israel Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the suspension of fuel cargo was due to "continued terror attempts" by Hamas. The Gaza border region was hit by rocket fire over the weekend after months of incendiary attacks, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn Monday of a "prolonged struggle". The arson attacks have caused hundreds of fires in southern Israel since April and Israeli officials say the practice of setting kites and balloons aflame across the Gaza border started out on a small scale, but was adopted and encouraged by Hamas, an opponent to Israel. Although food and medicine deliveri...