News: SpaceX
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
- SpaceX Starlink beta testers see big speed boosts, major outages Teslarati · 11 Mar 2021 A portion of the thousands of consumers participating in SpaceX’s “Better Than Nothing” Starlink beta test have begun to see massive speed...
- SpaceX adds more satellites to Starlink internet fleet Spaceflight Now · 11 Mar 2021 Continuing a high-tempo launch cadence, SpaceX delivered another batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites to orbit early Thursday after a seemingly flawless liftoff from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
- SpaceX launches Starlink satellites and expands international service SpaceNews · 11 Mar 2021 A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched another set of 60 Starlink satellites March 11 as the company expanded international service in several countries.
- SpaceX aces Starlink launch, kicks off service in Germany, New Zealand Teslarati · 11 Mar 2021 SpaceX has successfully completed the second 60-satellite Starlink launch this month and sixth Starlink launch this year while simultaneously announcing that the...
- ULA, SpaceX split military launch contract awards Spaceflight Now · 10 Mar 2021 The U.S. Space Force announced Tuesday that it awarded $384 million in contracts to United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, giving each company two missions to launch military satellites in 2023.
- Here’s why SpaceX’s latest Starship rocket exploded after touchdown Teslarati · 10 Mar 2021 In what has become a bit of a tradition, CEO Elon Musk has taken to Twitter again to explain the outcome of...
- Rocket Lab will directly challenge SpaceX with its proposed Neutron launcher Ars Technica · 10 Mar 2021 "We're in this for the long haul."
- Space Force awards ULA, SpaceX contracts for four national security missions SpaceNews · 9 Mar 2021 ULA received $224. 2 million for two missions named USSF-112 and USSF-87. SpaceX got $159.7 million for USSF-36 and NROL-69.
- SpaceX successfully launches Starlink v1.0 L20 mission NASASpaceflight · 9 Mar 2021 As SpaceX continues its push towards a new record number of launches in a single year, the company has launched the Starlink v1.0 L20 mission — the 20th launch of operational Starlink satellites and the 21st Starlink lau...
- SpaceX evolving fairing recovery plans, taking advantage of Octagrabber in pursuit of rapid reusability NASASpaceflight · 9 Mar 2021 SpaceX set a company record with 25 orbital launches in 2020. All but five of these missions utilized flight proven boosters, and 14 payload fairing halves were re-flown. As the company aims to almost double that cadence...
- (Update: delayed) SpaceX fires up Falcon 9 for second Starlink launch this month Teslarati · 9 Mar 2021 Update: SpaceX has delayed Falcon 9’s Starlink-20 to no earlier than (NET) 3:13 am EST (08:13 UTC) on Thursday, March 11th to...
- SpaceX takes aim at satellite mobility operators with Starlink expansion SpaceNews · 8 Mar 2021 SpaceX is seeking regulatory permission to connect moving vehicles to its rapidly expanding Starlink constellation, branching the broadband network out of fixed homes and offices.
- SpaceX reveals the grand extent of its starport plans in South Texas Ars Technica · 8 Mar 2021 The company will have two orbital, and two suborbital launch pads.
- SpaceX rolls Starship to the launch pad five days after last flight test Teslarati · 8 Mar 2021 NASASpaceflight.com reports that SpaceX – already scheduled to transport a new Starship to the launch pad on Monday, March 8th – wants...
- SpaceX eyes mobile connectivity market on eve of launching 60 more Starlink satellites Spaceflight Now · 8 Mar 2021 The next 60 Starlink internet satellites are awaiting a ride from Cape Canaveral into space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday night as SpaceX seeks regulatory authority to expand the network’s services from homes and offi...
- Starship SN11 prepares for rollout as SpaceX plans for the future NASASpaceflight · 8 Mar 2021 Just days after SN10 completed the first – albeit hard – Starship prototype landing, SN11 is set to rollout to the launch site for its own attempt. Incremental progress is being made with the test flights, with another t...
- SpaceX to “refine” hypersonic heat shield manufacturing for the US Air Force Teslarati · 7 Mar 2021 The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has competitively awarded SpaceX an $8.5 million contract to “refine” the process of manufacturing “next...
- Starlink FCC application reveal plans for satellite internet in moving vehicles Teslarati · 6 Mar 2021 The idea of Teslas being connected to the internet through Starlink may soon before a reality, with SpaceX recently filing an application...
- Next Crew Dragon launch set for April 22 Spaceflight Now · 5 Mar 2021 NASA and SpaceX have set April 22 as the target launch date for the next Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station. The four-person crew will be the first to ride a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster and a reu...
- NASA, SpaceX Invite Media to Next Commercial Crew Launch NASA · 5 Mar 2021 Media accreditation is now open for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station.
- Rocket Report: SpaceX explains landing failure, more on New Glenn delays Ars Technica · 5 Mar 2021 "The level of detail that we get is remarkable, how good the forecast is."
- SpaceX Starship landing leg upgrades imagined in new fan renders Teslarati · 5 Mar 2021 After new official Starship renders appeared to include the first view of an upgraded landing leg design, a SpaceX fan and digital...
- S. Korea’s Kencoa Aerospace expands space business in U.S. with new capital SpaceNews · 4 Mar 2021 Kencoa Aerospace Corp., a South Korean aircraft assembler and parts supplier that has NASA, SpaceX and Blue Origin as clients, is planning to expand its U.S. parts manufacturing plant in Georgia.
- SpaceX sticks 75th Falcon rocket landing after launching 60 more Starlink satellites Spaceflight Now · 4 Mar 2021 Launching through a blanket of low-hanging clouds and light mist, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thundered into the sky over Florida’s Space Coast early Thursday and delivered 60 more Starlink internet satellites to orbit. The...
- Falcon 9 launches Starlink satellites, lands booster SpaceNews · 4 Mar 2021 A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a new set of Starlink satellites and landed the booster March 4, two and a half weeks after the landing failed on the previous launch.
- SpaceX returns to flight with smooth Starlink launch weeks after Falcon 9 landing failure Teslarati · 4 Mar 2021 SpaceX has returned to flight less than three weeks after suffering its first Falcon landing failure in almost a year, successfully placing...
- SpaceX successfully launches long-delayed Starlink L-17 mission NASASpaceflight · 4 Mar 2021 SpaceX is targeting Thursday, March 4 for the launch of the Starlink v1.0 L17 mission with a new batch of Starlink satellites from historic LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center aboard a flight proven Falcon 9 booster. The...
- SpaceX recycling vehicle for second Starship launch attempt [Updated] Ars Technica · 3 Mar 2021 Musk says he is confident Starship will be ready for a lunar flight in three years.
- Launch companies, range teams reassessing Cape Canaveral weather rules Spaceflight Now · 3 Mar 2021 Launch companies and U.S. Space Force range officials at Cape Canaveral are reassessing long-standing weather rules, looking at beefing up rocket defenses against lightning, and considering strategies to prepare for two...
- SpaceX nails Starship landing, but rocket explodes minutes later Spaceflight Now · 3 Mar 2021 The latest prototype of SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle — Starship SN10 — took off from the company’s South Texas test site and flew to an altitude of more than 30,000 feet Wednesday, then descended to a controlled vert...
- Starship SN10 successfully lands before RUD’ing on the pad NASASpaceflight · 3 Mar 2021 SpaceX’s Starship SN10 launched – and nailed the landing – Wednesday. However, likely due to the failure of some of the landing legs, the slightly tilted Starship caught fire on the landing pad and then blew up a few min...
- SpaceX launches and lands Starship prototype, which later explodes SpaceNews · 3 Mar 2021 SpaceX launched a prototype of its Starship next-generation vehicle March 3, landing it safely only to have the vehicle explode minutes later.
- SpaceX already clearing Starship debris, preparing for next rocket rollout Teslarati · 3 Mar 2021 In a classically spectacular fashion, a SpaceX Starship prototype has successfully touched down in one piece for the first time ever, only...
- Boeing’s next Starliner test flight delayed after SpaceX crew rotation Spaceflight Now · 2 Mar 2021 An unpiloted test flight of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule to the International Space Station will be delayed from its previous target launch date of April 2 until at least May, after the arrivals of Russian Soyuz and S...
- SpaceX aborts Starship launch after Raptors produce too much thrust Teslarati · 2 Mar 2021 Update #3: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that Starship prototype SN10 automatically aborted a 2:15 pm CST (UTC-6) launch attempt after the...
- Crew-2 on schedule for April launch while next Starliner flight delayed SpaceNews · 2 Mar 2021 NASA officials said March 1 that the next SpaceX commercial crew mission to the International Space Station remains on schedule for late April, but that a Boeing uncrewed test flight is facing further delays.
- SpaceX on track to send Starship, private astronauts around the Moon in 2023 Teslarati · 2 Mar 2021 In a new media blitz, Japanese billionaire Yusaka Maezawa (‘MZ’) has reentered the spotlight with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to update the...
- SpaceX wins Air Force manufacturing research contract for hypersonic vehicle thermal shields SpaceNews · 1 Mar 2021 The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded SpaceX an $8.5 million contract to investigate manufacturing techniques for heat shields that protect hypersonic vehicles in flight.
- Component fatigue caused early shutdown of Merlin engine on last SpaceX launch Spaceflight Now · 1 Mar 2021 SpaceX has concluded fatigue on an engine cover caused one of the nine Merlin 1D first stage engines on the company’s most recent launch to shut down early during ascent, leading to the loss of the booster during an offs...
- The 2008 moment when triumph turned to torment for SpaceX Ars Technica · 1 Mar 2021 Flight Three of the Falcon 1 rocket could make or break the company