News: SpaceX
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
- SpaceX scrubs launch of long-delayed Starlink mission NASASpaceflight · 28 Feb 2021 SpaceX was targeting Sunday, February 28 for the launch of the Starlink v1.0 L17 mission. Another batch of Starlink satellites was to launch from historic LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center aboard a flight proven Falcon...
- SpaceX Starlink launch suffers last-minute abort after weeks of delays Teslarati · 28 Feb 2021 A SpaceX rocket originally scheduled to launch a batch of Starlink satellites more than five weeks ago has suffered the latest of...
- SpaceX swaps “suspect” Starship engine in record time Teslarati · 26 Feb 2021 SpaceX has reportedly swapped a “suspect” Raptor engine installed on Starship serial number 10 (SN10) in record time, setting the company up...
- SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster spotted at Texas rocket testing HQ Teslarati · 25 Feb 2021 Three weeks after the building-sized rocket was spotted on its way to Texas, SpaceX’s next new Falcon Heavy ‘center core’ has gone...
- Stoke raises seed round to work on fully reusable rockets SpaceNews · 25 Feb 2021 A startup founded by a group of former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees has raised a seed round of funding to support their effort to make a fully reusable launch vehicle.
- Iceye releases images from latest SAR satellites SpaceNews · 25 Feb 2021 Iceye published the first images Feb. 25 from three synthetic aperture radar satellites the Finnish company launched in January on a SpaceX rideshare mission.
- SpaceX says “heat damage” caused landing failure on recent Falcon 9 mission Spaceflight Now · 25 Feb 2021 A senior SpaceX official said this week that “heat damage” led to the failure of a Falcon 9 booster during a landing attempt Feb. 15, but the company will press on with more launches and will likely surpass the 10-flight...
- SpaceX rapidly builds, tests Starship Moon elevator for NASA Teslarati · 24 Feb 2021 As part of a NASA program that will select one or two commercial crewed Moon landers, SpaceX is busy testing Starship and...
- SpaceX raises $850 million in latest round SpaceNews · 24 Feb 2021 SpaceX confirmed Feb. 23 it has raised $850 million in a new funding round as the company continues work on two capital-intensive but potentially lucrative projects.
- SpaceX Falcon boosters likely to surpass Elon Musk’s prime rocket reuse directive Teslarati · 24 Feb 2021 A SpaceX vice president and one of Elon Musk’s first hires says that Falcon boosters will soon meet – and should ultimately...
- SpaceX Starlink users could see “much higher download speeds” amid upgrades Teslarati · 24 Feb 2021 CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX’s thousands of Starlink users could see “much higher download speeds” as the company begins implementing “system...
- Cancer survivor named to SpaceX flight promoting St. Jude hospital Spaceflight Now · 23 Feb 2021 A 29-year-old cancer survivor, now a physician’s assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, will blast off aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule later this year for a flight dedicated to raising money for the Memp...
- SpaceX blames failed Falcon 9 booster landing on heat damage SpaceNews · 23 Feb 2021 A Falcon 9 booster failed to land after its most recent launch Feb. 15 because of “heat damage” it sustained, but a SpaceX official said he was confident that the boosters can be reused 10 or more times.
- SpaceX grapples with failed Falcon 9 landing as Starlink launches slip Teslarati · 23 Feb 2021 The follow-on effects of SpaceX’s failed February 15th booster landing have begun to roll in, triggering at least one to two weeks...
- SpaceX Starship static fire bodes well for a launch later this week Teslarati · 23 Feb 2021 SpaceX’s third high-altitude Starship prototype appears to have successfully ignited its trio of Raptor engines, boosting the odds of another launch and...
- NASA to Host Briefings, Interviews for Next Crew Rotation Mission with SpaceX NASA · 22 Feb 2021 NASA will highlight the second crew rotation flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the International Space Station with a pair of news conferences beginning 12:30 p.m. EST Monday, March 1.
- FAA clears SpaceX Starship prototype for third launch and landing attempt Teslarati · 22 Feb 2021 The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has already cleared Starship serial number 10 (SN10) for flight, cutting short any potential licensing drama...
- SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket still on track for two launches this year Teslarati · 22 Feb 2021 Spaceflight Now reports that SpaceX’s next two Falcon Heavy rockets – both under contract with the US military – are scheduled to...
- SpaceX Starship ready to find out if third time’s the charm later this week Teslarati · 21 Feb 2021 After a miserable week of extreme cold, power grid failures, high winds, and general chaos, conditions are improving, the sun is shining,...
- SpaceX reschedules Starship static fire amid deadly Texas cold snap, power grid failure Teslarati · 19 Feb 2021 After extreme weather and a once-in-a-decade cold snap ground SpaceX’s Starship launch preparations to a halt, the company’s next critical preflight test...
- SpaceX’s Crew-1 NASA astronauts celebrate Mars rover landing in Earth orbit Teslarati · 18 Feb 2021 SpaceX’s Crew-1 NASA astronauts and the rest of the International Space Station crew are celebrating the space agency’s latest historic Mars landing...
- SpaceX setting the stage for Starlink’s widespread European debut Teslarati · 18 Feb 2021 Combined with regulatory filings, a series of new job listings suggest that SpaceX is in the late stages of preparations for a...
- SpaceX Starship factory battles Texas power outages with Tesla solar and storage Teslarati · 17 Feb 2021 A major cold snap and the ineptitude of state governance have combined to throw millions of Texans into darkness as freezing temperatures...
- SpaceX completes $850M equity funding round, raising valuation to ~$74B Teslarati · 17 Feb 2021 SpaceX has completed another massive equity funding round of $850 million last week, effectively bringing the company’s valuation to about $74 billion....
- SpaceX successfully deploys 60 Starlink satellites, but loses booster on descent Spaceflight Now · 16 Feb 2021 SpaceX successfully launched 60 more Starlink internet satellites Monday night from Cape Canaveral, but lost the Falcon 9 rocket’s reusable first stage booster during a landing attempt on a drone ship parked in the Atlan...
- SpaceX launches Starlink satellites, but booster landing fails SpaceNews · 16 Feb 2021
- Next SpaceX launch postponed Spaceflight Now · 16 Feb 2021 SpaceX has postponed its next launch of Starlink internet satellites from Wednesday after a Falcon 9 booster missed a landing attempt on an offshore drone ship during an otherwise successful mission Monday night.
- SpaceX successfully launches Starlink v1.0 L19 mission, loses first stage during landing NASASpaceflight · 15 Feb 2021 SpaceX launched another set of 60 satellites for their Starlink internet constellation on Monday, February 15 at 22:59 EST (Tuesday, February 16 at 03:59 UTC) from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The pa...
- SpaceX Starship testing slows to a crawl amid high winds and freezing rain Teslarati · 15 Feb 2021 SpaceX’s South Texas Starship program has been hit by a burst of extreme winter weather, slowing plans and preparations for a static...
- SpaceX Starship to test landing upgrades after two explosions Teslarati · 15 Feb 2021 After two Starship prototypes aced their high-altitude launch debuts only to suffer last-second landing failures for unique reasons, SpaceX is gearing up...
- SpaceX rocket suffers rare landing failure after kicking off Starlink doubleheader Teslarati · 15 Feb 2021 In a rare surprise for Starlink launches, a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster has failed to successfully land after kicking off the first...
- SpaceX planning launch of two Falcon Heavy missions in summer and fall Spaceflight Now · 15 Feb 2021 SpaceX plans two Falcon Heavy launches this year for the U.S. Space Force in July and October, and United Launch Alliance has four national security space missions on its 2021 schedule, according to a military spokespers...
- Photos: Falcon 9 test-fired before Starlink launch Spaceflight Now · 14 Feb 2021 SpaceX test-fired nine Merlin engines Saturday before the company’s next launch from Cape Canaveral, clearing a key readiness test before liftoff as soon as Sunday night with 60 more Starlink internet satellites.
- NASA Assigns Astronauts to Agency’s SpaceX Crew-4 Mission to Space Station NASA · 12 Feb 2021 NASA has assigned two crew members to launch on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission – the fourth crew rotation flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.
- Rocket Report: Iran debuts new booster, SpaceX to launch Lunar Gateway Ars Technica · 12 Feb 2021 "Customer demand has been extremely strong."
- SpaceX gearing up for two more Starlink missions within days Spaceflight Now · 12 Feb 2021 Days after SpaceX opened preorders for Starlink internet service, two more Falcon 9 rockets are set for launch from Florida’s Space Coast as soon as Sunday night and Tuesday morning to help push the broadband network clo...
- SpaceX’s Elon Musk talks Starship heatshield, rocket landings on Joe Rogan podcast Teslarati · 12 Feb 2021 In a multi-hour February 2021 interview with Elon Musk himself, Joe Rogan inexplicably told the famous engineer and CEO that he had...
- DoD space agency launching experiments in preparation for 2022 satellite deployments SpaceNews · 11 Feb 2021 SDA and DARPA small spacecraft equipped with optical crosslinks will fly to orbit in SpaceX's next rideshare mission Transporter-2.
- SpaceX rolls last Starship off the assembly line ahead of “major upgrades” Teslarati · 11 Feb 2021 SpaceX has installed Starship serial number 11’s (SN11) steel nosecone, effectively completing the rocket and marking the end of production for a...
- NASA seeking astronaut seat on Soyuz launch in April Spaceflight Now · 11 Feb 2021 NASA wants to fly an astronaut on Russia’s next Soyuz mission to the International Space Station in April, a measure the agency says would ensure a continued U.S. presence on the research outpost in case of delays in the...