SpaceX

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands at the ready to support the Starlink 10-4 mission, which will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 28, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 1:46 a.m. EDT: SpaceX pushed back the liftoff time of the mission. Weather may have stymied the launch of four astronauts on the Polaris Dawn mission, but SpaceX is planning to take advantage of their range reservations, both in Florida and California. The company aims to launch back-to-back batches of Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rockets from both Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday morning. First up is the Florida mission, dubbed Starlink 8-6, which will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at 3:48 a.m. EDT (07...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft stand ready to launch the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission from Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is set for no earlier than 3:38 a.m. EDT (0738 UTC) on Aug. 27, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update 8:19 p.m. EDT: SpaceX stood down from a launch opportunity Tuesday morning and is pivoting to a 24-hour backup window on Wednesday, Aug. 28. A commercial astronaut mission of historic firsts is set to launch in the predawn hours of Wednesday morning. The four members of the Polaris Dawn flight will climb aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon to embark on a roughly five-day, free-flying mission orbiting the Earth. The crew, led by billionaire-entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, will go further than humans have ven...

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, seen from a window on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. Image: NASA. After weeks of debate, NASA has ruled out bringing two astronauts back to Earth aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule because of lingering concerns about multiple helium leaks and degraded thrusters, both critical to a successful re-entry, officials said Saturday. Despite successful tests of the Starliner’s maneuvering thrusters, detailed analyses and confirmation the known propulsion system helium leaks are stable and have not worsened, NASA concluded there is no way to prove the systems will continue to operate normally, ensuring a safe de-orbit, re-entry and landing. The decision means two of four “Crew 9” ...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Launch Complex 39A, ready to support the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission. Image: SpaceX The SpaceX and Polaris Dawn teams are working towards some of the final big tests before they are ready to launch the historic commercial mission. A little less than a week after arriving at Florida’s Space Coast, the four astronauts will step through all the activities they will experience on launch day, including suiting and and climbing aboard the Crew Dragon Resilience, which will be their home during the roughly five-day mission. Following the activity known as a dry dress rehearsal, SpaceX will clear the pad at Launch Complex 39A in order to conduct a static fire test of its Falcon 9 rocket. The T-0 for ignition is expected at 6:38 a....

On Monday, SpaceX fired the nine Merlin engines on its Falcon 9 rocket ahead of the planned launch of the Starlink 10-5 mission on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. The booster, B1085, will also launch the Crew-9 mission for NASA no earlier than Sept. 24. Image: Spaceflight Now SpaceX completed a test fire of a brand-new Falcon 9 rocket that will eventually carry the Crew 9 mission to the International Space Station. The static fire test and a “shakedown” mission were ordered for the booster after it suffered moisture intrusion on its way from SpaceX’s McGregor test facility in Texas to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. If all goes according to plan, the rocket will launch no earlier than Tuesday morning on the Starlink 10-5 mission and will then start preparations for the Crew 9 mission, curr...