SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center carrying the Optus-X communications satellite. Image: Spaceflight Now Update 3:56 p.m. EST: SpaceX updated the launch time of the mission. Update 4:08 p.m. EST: SpaceX pushed back the launch time of the mission. Update 6:04 p.m. ESt: SpaceX landed its first stage booster on the droneship, following liftoff of the mission. SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at sunset with a payload that has been shrouded in secrecy to the point of not disclosing any specifics of the mission, and not using its original name. All regulatory filings and U.S. government agencies, like the Space Force and the Federal Aviation Administration, call the payload ‘Optus-X,’ while SpaceX calls the mission ‘TD7.’ SpaceX’s commentat...

Updated 7:21 p.m. EST (0021 UTC) File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands in the launch position at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the planned liftoff of the Starlink 6-61 mission on Oct. 22, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now SpaceX scrubbed the planned launch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday night. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the company said it was delaying the launch to Monday, Nov. 11, “due to unfavorable recovery weather conditions.” As a potential additional factor, the Falcon 9 rocket wasn’t brought upright at the launch pad until about 4.5 hours ahead of the planned liftoff time, shorter than the six hours normally used before a launch. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force St...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin the Starlink 6-77 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update Nov. 6, 2:56 p.m. EST: SpaceX pushed the planned T-0 liftoff time to the end of the launch window. Update Nov. 6, 7:17 p.m. EST: SpaceX scrubbed the mission more than 30 minutes prior to liftoff. Update Nov. 7, 2:43 p.m. EST: SpaceX pushed the launch forward by several minutes. Update Nov. 7, 3:54 p.m. EST: SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket and landed the first stage booster on its droneship. SpaceX launched the Starlink 6-77 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after scrubbing the launch twice over the past week. The Falcon 9 rocket thundered off the launch pad carrying another 23 Starli...

A merging of multiple photographs of SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster as it made its way down to be caught my the ‘Mechazilla’ launch tower during the Starlink Flight 5 mission on Oct. 13, 2024. Image: SpaceX Less than a month after launching its Starship rocket and catching its booster, SpaceX is targeting a sixth test flight of its gleaming stainless steel rocket which towers almost 400 feet tall (121 meters). The company announced on Wednesday a target launch date of Nov. 18, along with lessons learned from Flight 5 and mission objectives for Flight 6. Unlike every other mission launch, this time around, SpaceX didn’t need to hedge its bets on the timing of the launch based on regulatory approval. When the Federal Aviation Administration cleared the Flight 5 mission, they also approved the ...

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX SpaceX has delayed a Falcon 9 rocket launch from California on Wednesday, just hours after it scrubbed a Falcon 9 launch from Florida. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force base is now scheduled for Friday at 10:16 p.m. PST (1:16 a.m. EST, 0616 UTC on Saturday). SpaceX did not immediately provide an explanation for the two day delay. The Starlink 9-10 mission will add another 20 satellites to the growing megaconstellation in low Earth orbit. Among them are 13 satellites that include Direct to Cell capabilities.   Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.  The Falcon 9 first stage booster for this mission, tail number B1081 in the...