News: SpaceX
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
- Entrepreneur purchases SpaceX Crew Dragon mission SpaceNews · 1 Feb 2021 An entrepreneur has purchased a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission slated for launch late this year that will include three other people as part of a project that is a mix of charity and commerce.
- SpaceX fires up next eight-flight Falcon 9 booster for Tuesday Starlink launch Teslarati · 31 Jan 2021 Update: SpaceX has confirmed a good static fire and Starlink-17’s 6:19 am, February 2nd launch target. Ending a few-day delay, SpaceX has...
- Next SpaceX commercial crew mission to launch in April SpaceNews · 30 Jan 2021 The second operational SpaceX commercial crew mission to the International Space Station will now launch in mid-April, carrying astronauts from Europe, Japan and the United States.
- FAA reviews delay SpaceX Starship test SpaceNews · 29 Jan 2021 A test flight of SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle is on hold as the company awaits approval from the FAA, a delay that has publicly aggravated the company’s chief executive.
- SpaceX’s Starlink fleet is about to cross the 1000-satellite mark Teslarati · 29 Jan 2021 While SpaceX technically launched its 1000th Starlink satellite on January 20th, the company’s next launch could give Starlink 1000 working satellites for...
- SpaceX, Elon Musk clash with the FAA over Starship launch license delays Teslarati · 28 Jan 2021 In a bizarre series of events, SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk spent the day visibly clashing with the US Federal Aviation Administration...
- Falcon 9 rocket arrives on pad 39A for sunrise Starlink launch this weekend Spaceflight Now · 28 Jan 2021 SpaceX plans to deploy the next group of Starlink internet relay spacecraft Sunday with a liftoff on top of a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the company’s fourth satellite launch of the month.
- SpaceX drone ship fleet aces two Falcon 9 booster recoveries in 48 hours Teslarati · 28 Jan 2021 SpaceX’s two-vessel drone ship fleet has successfully returned two boosters from sea to port in the space of just ~40 hours, an...
- Engineers analyze failure on SiriusXM satellite launched from Florida last month Spaceflight Now · 28 Jan 2021 Ground teams are evaluating a payload failure on a Maxar-built SiriusXM radio broadcasting satellite that launched from Cape Canaveral in December on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, officials said Wednesday.
- SpaceX’s thin-skinned Starship ‘test tank’ passes first trial Teslarati · 27 Jan 2021 CEO Elon Musk says that a new thin-skinned Starship ‘test tank’ just passed its first trial, taking advantage of delays to Starship...
- SpaceX’s rideshare carried small satellite technology of interest to U.S. military SpaceNews · 26 Jan 2021 Among the 143 satellites on Transporter-1 were technology demonstrations and payloads of interest to the U.S. military, including satellite components, in-space laser communications and remote sensing.
- Axiom reveals first all-private crew for trip to International Space Station Spaceflight Now · 26 Jan 2021 A four-man crew led by a former NASA astronaut intends to blast off early next year aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule for a flight to the International Space Station, the first such purely commercial, non-government fl...
- SpaceX adds laser crosslinks to polar Starlink satellites SpaceNews · 26 Jan 2021 The first Starlink satellites launched to polar orbit are equipped with laser crosslinks, a technology the company plans to add to other satellites next year.
- SpaceX’s most important Super Heavy booster part makes first appearance Teslarati · 26 Jan 2021 What is arguably the most complex and important part of SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster prototype has made its first appearance at the...
- High winds scrub SpaceX Starship SN9’s Monday launch attempt Teslarati · 25 Jan 2021 Update (2:30 pm CST): SpaceX appears to have called off Monday’s Starship SN9 launch attempt due (primarily) to high winds along the...
- Phase Four launches first plasma propulsion systems SpaceNews · 25 Jan 2021 Electric propulsion company Phase Four flew its first plasma thrusters on two spacecraft that were part of a SpaceX dedicated rideshare launch Jan. 24.
- SpaceX smashes record with launch of 143 small satellites Spaceflight Now · 25 Jan 2021 SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday from Cape Canaveral with 143 small satellites, a record number of spacecraft on a single mission, giving a boost to startup space companies and stressing the U.S. military’s track...
- SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster assembly is starting to speed up Teslarati · 24 Jan 2021 SpaceX has begun stacking a new section of the first Super Heavy prototype in the latest sign that work is accelerating on...
- SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket snags world record for most satellites launched at once Teslarati · 24 Jan 2021 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has successfully delivered 143 spacecraft to orbit, snagging a world record for most satellites launched in one...
- SpaceX launches record-setting cluster of smallsats SpaceNews · 24 Jan 2021 A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 143 small satellites for a wide range of customers Jan. 24 on the company's first dedicated rideshare mission, a service that poses a competitive threat to emerging small launch vehicles.
- SpaceX launches 143 satellites into orbit, most ever [Updated] Ars Technica · 24 Jan 2021 Party in the payload bay: 143 total satellites deployed in a dozen waves.
- Falcon 9 launch timeline on the Transporter-1 mission Spaceflight Now · 23 Jan 2021 SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Sunday, heading due south over the Atlantic Ocean on a trajectory hugging the east coast of Florida to deliver 143 small satellites into polar orbit.
- A closer look at Transporter-1 and its record-breaking 143 satellites onboard Space Scout · 23 Jan 2021 JAN. 23, 2021--SpaceX is set to launch a mission carrying over 140 satellites. We tracked 142 out of 143.
- Transporter-1 debuts new SpaceX rideshare program, world record NASASpaceflight · 22 Jan 2021 SpaceX launched their third mission of 2021 and the first of many planned Smallsat Rideshare Program missions, which are designed by the company to give small satellite operators the chance to launch together as a way to...
- SpaceX’s record-setting rideshare mission a challenge for space traffic control SpaceNews · 22 Jan 2021 SpaceX's Transporter-1, a rideshare mission scheduled to launch Jan. 23 could set a new record for the most satellites ever launched in a single flight.
- SpaceX is about to crush the record for most satellites launched on one rocket Teslarati · 22 Jan 2021 While delayed from Friday to Saturday, SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 launch still appears to be on track to obliterate the world’s current...
- Rocket Lab, Virgin Orbit lead a new class of small rockets with big ambitions for 2021 Teslarati · 21 Jan 2021 SpaceX’s reign as the only privately funded American spaceflight company to reach and successfully deploy small satellite payloads into orbit ended on...
- SpaceX aborts several Starship static fire attempts, rolls test tank to the pad Teslarati · 21 Jan 2021 Accidentally producing the polar opposite of Starship serial number 9 (SN9) completing a trio of Raptor ignition tests in four hours last...
- SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aces eighth launch and “envelope expansion” landing Teslarati · 20 Jan 2021 SpaceX has successfully completed the first of dozens of Starlink launches planned in 2021, simultaneously crushing multiple rocket reusability records and completing...
- SpaceX surpasses 1,000-satellite mark in latest Starlink launch SpaceNews · 20 Jan 2021 SpaceX launched its latest set of Starlink satellites Jan. 20, bringing the total number of spacecraft launched so far for that broadband constellation to more than 1,000.
- SpaceX’s second Super Heavy booster enters production in South Texas Teslarati · 20 Jan 2021 In a rare burst of visible activity, SpaceX’s South Texas Starship factory has begun fabricating a second Super Heavy booster and taken...
- SpaceX launches first Starlink mission of 2021 NASASpaceflight · 20 Jan 2021 As the second SpaceX launch of the year, and the first of many Starlink missions scheduled to launch in 2021, the company launched the Starlink v1.0 L16 mission — the 16th launch of operational satellites and 17th Starli...
- Satellogic signs multi-launch contract with SpaceX SpaceNews · 20 Jan 2021 Earth observation company Satellogic announced Jan. 19 it signed a contract with SpaceX covering several rideshare launches of its satellites through next year.
- SpaceX sets new rocket reuse records with successful Starlink launch Spaceflight Now · 20 Jan 2021 SpaceX launched 60 more Starlink satellites Wednesday into a sunny sky over Florida’s Space Coast, adding more capacity and coverage to the company’s commercial broadband network while setting new records for the pace it...
- SpaceX acquires former oil rigs to serve as floating Starship spaceports NASASpaceflight · 19 Jan 2021 SpaceX has acquired two former oil drilling rigs to serve as these floating spaceports. Named Phobos and Deimos, after the two moons of Mars, they are currently undergoing modifications to support Starship launch operati...
- SpaceX delays push Starship flight, two Falcon 9 launches into same three-day period Teslarati · 19 Jan 2021 A series of recent Starship and Starlink delays have pushed SpaceX’s Starship flight test and two Falcon 9 launches into the same...
- SpaceX is turning oil rigs into floating Starship spaceports named after Mars’ moons Teslarati · 19 Jan 2021 Six months after CEO Elon Musk revealed that “SpaceX is building floating, superheavy-class spaceports” for its next-generation Starship rocket, the company has...
- Aurora Insight to launch cubesats for RF sensing SpaceNews · 19 Jan 2021 Aurora Insight, a Denver startup that gathers data on terrestrial and satellite communications, plans to launch the first of two cubesats on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission scheduled for liftoff Jan. 21.
- SpaceX set to launch first Starlink mission of 2021 NASASpaceflight · 18 Jan 2021 As the second SpaceX launch of the year, and the first of many Starlink missions scheduled to launch in 2021, the company is set to launch the Starlink v1.0 L16 mission — the 16th launch of operational satellites and 17t...
- SpaceX drone ship heads to The Bahamas for Falcon 9’s next polar launch Teslarati · 18 Jan 2021 SpaceX is in the midst of preparing for back-to-back Falcon 9 launches from its two Florida pads, a feat that will also...