SpaceX

A artist’s rendering of the SpainSat New Generation 1 satellite. Graphic: Airbus Defense and Space SpaceX launched a secure communications satellite on behalf of Hisdesat, a Spanish communications company, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Wednesday night. The SpainSat New Generation 1 (SNG 1) satellite is supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) and manufactured by Airbus Defense and Space. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A happened at 8:34 p.m. EST (0134 UTC), the opening of a two-hour window.  The 45th Weather Squadron forecast pretty idiic conditions for liftoff on Wednesday night, forecasting a 95 percent chance of acceptable weather with just thick clouds presenting a possible obstruction. “Overall, launch weather conditions look favorable as ridging aloft an...

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station’s Harmony module and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Image: NASA. In a late afternoon post to X, SpaceX founder Elon Musk stirred up some confusion and consternation among the space community. Without any indication ahead of time, Musk suggested that the Crew Dragon capsule, named ‘Freedom,’ may make an early departure from the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams onboard.  The pair have been on orbit since June 2024 when they arrived on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft as part of the Crew Flight Test mission. Ultimately, NASA made the determination that they would come home on Dragon because of ...

Thermal imaging sensors developed for OroraTech and Spire Global’s OTC-P1 satellites. Image: Orora Technologies A new batch of eight fire detection satellites are getting ready to launch into low Earth orbit in what Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) described as a “responsive launch.” The dedicated flight is expected to launch from New Zealand in “just a few weeks” and will be the first OTC-P1 satellites deployed on behalf of German company, Orora Technologies (OroraTech). “This launch is a showcase of all the benefits of flying dedicated on Electron: control over schedule, agility and ability to meet tight deadlines and mission requirements, and the reliability of launching on the world’s most frequently launched small orbital rocket,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO in a statement....

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to begin the Starlink 13-1 mission on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now SpaceX launched its latest batch of Starlink satellites for its internet megaconstellation shortly after midnight on Tuesday. However, there may have been additional satellites onboard as well. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 12:24 a.m. EST (0524 UTC) to begin the Starlink 13-1 mission. Peculiarly, the SpaceX webcast didn’t begin on time and picked up a couple minutes into the flight. When it did get underway, it lacked the normal telemetry data and didn’t show any views of the Falcon 9 upper stage as it normally does during a Starlink...

A Falcon 9 rocket roars away from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 14, 2025, on the Transporter 12 mission. Image: Space X. SpaceX launched 131 payloads Tuesday onboard the company’s 12th smallsat rideshare mission to date. The Transporter-12 mission flew onboard a Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:09 a.m. PST (2:09 p.m. EST, 1909 UTC). The Falcon 9 booster used on Tuesday’s flight, tail number B1088 in the SpaceX fleet, was launching for a second time. It previously launched the NROL-126 mission, which was a combination of 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites and an undisclosed number of Starshield satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. About 7.5 minutes after liftoff, B1088 touched down at Landing Zone 4, located near the launch pad. It...