News: SpaceX
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
- SpaceX may try to catch a falling rocket with a launch tower Ars Technica · 4 Jan 2021 At first blush, this sounds insane.
- SpaceX Starlink beta arrives in the UK, sets sights on rest of Europe and Australia Teslarati · 4 Jan 2021 As of the first day of 2021, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet beta program appears to have arrived in the United Kingdom in...
- SpaceX sets reuse records in 2020, looks ahead to even more ambitous 2021 NASASpaceflight · 2 Jan 2021 In their most active year to date, SpaceX reached a number of reuse milestones, further pursuing their goal of rapid reuse. SpaceX flew boosters on fifth, sixth, and seventh flights for the first time this year, and also...
- SpaceX wins US military satellite constellation launch contract to close out 2020 Teslarati · 1 Jan 2021 SpaceX’s Falcon 9 workhorse rocket has secured a new US military launch contract worth $150 million, closing out a spectacularly successful year....
- SpaceX wins $150 million contract to launch Space Development Agency satellites SpaceNews · 31 Dec 2020 SpaceX has been awarded a $150.4 million contract to launch as many as 28 satellites for the Pentagon’s space agency.
- [Update: delayed] SpaceX Falcon 9 fleet to kick off 2021 with a flurry of launches Teslarati · 31 Dec 2020 Update: SpaceX’s first launch of 2021 appears to be slipping from its January 4th target after drone ship Just Read The Instructions...
- Year in Review: Mars missions, Lunar Samples, Crew launched from the US, and Starlink NASASpaceflight · 30 Dec 2020 Despite a worldwide pandemic which affected agencies around the world, 2020 featured many significant achievements in spaceflight. In total, 114 orbital launches were attempted, including deep space missions like Solar O...
- SpaceX Starship boosters could forgo landings entirely, says Elon Musk Teslarati · 30 Dec 2020 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that Starship’s Super Heavy boosters could forgo landings entirely, relying instead on a wild crane-based solution to...
- SpaceX’s next Starship gets frosty to prepare for first launch Teslarati · 30 Dec 2020 One week after the rocket was rolled from the factory to the launch pad, SpaceX appears to have successfully put Starship serial...
- SpaceX’s first Super Heavy booster hop “a few months” away, says Elon Musk Teslarati · 29 Dec 2020 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that the first prototype of a Starship booster – known as Super Heavy – could be finished...
- Three astronauts assigned to Crew Dragon mission in late 2021 Spaceflight Now · 29 Dec 2020 Rookie astronaut Raja Chari — a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot — veteran physician-astronaut Tom Marshburn, and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer have been assigned to fly to the International Space St...
- Two payloads orbited by SpaceX’s launch of NRO mission Spaceflight Now · 27 Dec 2020 Tracking information released by the U.S. military indicates two government payloads rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Dec. 19 on the NROL-108 mission, a dedicated launch for the National Reconnaissance Office.
- Preparing for “Earth to Earth” space travel and a competition with supersonic airliners NASASpaceflight · 26 Dec 2020 Commercial spaceflight companies are preparing to enter a new market: suborbital flights from one place to another on Earth. Aiming for fast transportation for passengers and cargo, these systems are being developed by a...
- SpaceX Superstars: Hans Koenigsmann, Vice President of Build and Flight Reliability ElonX · 25 Dec 2020 Hans Koenigsmann is responsible for the reliability of rocket launches and safety of flight operations at SpaceX. He was born in Germany and was instrumental in the creation of Elon Musk’s company when he became one of t...
- SpaceX’s first dedicated Falcon 9 rideshare lines up dozens of smallsats Teslarati · 23 Dec 2020 Already set to include several dozen small satellites for companies and institutions around the world, SpaceX’s first self-managed Falcon 9 rideshare launch...
- Relive SpaceX’s high-altitude Starship launch debut in 4K [video] Teslarati · 23 Dec 2020 SpaceX has published a 4K recap of Starship serial number 8’s (SN8) spectacular high-altitude launch debut, highlighting all crucial aspects of the...
- Space Development Agency to reevaluate proposals for missile-tracking satellites SpaceNews · 22 Dec 2020 Companies that competed earlier this year for Space Development Agency satellite contracts awarded to L3Harris and SpaceX were asked to resubmit their proposals following several protests.
- SpaceX moves next high-altitude Starship to launch pad after fixing fall damage Teslarati · 22 Dec 2020 Update: Right on schedule, SpaceX rolled Starship serial number 9 (SN9) out of its ‘high bay’ assembly roost and transported the 50-meter-tall...
- SpaceX celebrates five years of rocket landings with a record streak of success Teslarati · 21 Dec 2020 As SpaceX closes out a halcyon year, today marks the fifth anniversary of the first Falcon booster landing and the company is...
- Starship SN9 rolled to launch site – Super Heavy construction ramps up NASASpaceflight · 21 Dec 2020 SpaceX Boca Chica is now transitioning towards the next launch campaign, with Starship SN9 rolled out to the launch site on Tuesday. There remains a slim chance SN9 will be ready to launch before the end of the year, rep...
- Russia’s space chief cannot seem to get “gentle” SpaceX out of his mind Ars Technica · 21 Dec 2020 "I wonder if gentle SpaceX is able to work in such conditions?"
- SpaceX Starship factory sprouts another nosecone as ‘SN10’ nears completion Teslarati · 21 Dec 2020 Days after SpaceX’s second full-height Starship prototype took a minor tumble in an assembly bay, the company’s South Texas rocket factory has...
- SpaceX Falcon 9 ends year as the most-launched rocket of 2020 Teslarati · 20 Dec 2020 With just a few global launches left before 2021 and SpaceX’s last December launch behind it, it’s now safe to say that...
- SpaceX closes out record-setting year of launches from Florida’s Space Coast Spaceflight Now · 19 Dec 2020 SpaceX hurled a secret cargo into space for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency Saturday, the 30th rocket launch to fly into Earth orbit from pads on Florida’s Space Coast in 2020. The Falcon 9 flight broke an ann...
- SpaceX wraps up 2020 with Falcon 9 launch of classified NRO satellite SpaceNews · 19 Dec 2020 A Falcon 9 carrying the NROL-108 mission lifted off at Dec. 19 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center.
- SpaceX completes 2020 manifest with covert flight for NRO NASASpaceflight · 19 Dec 2020 Rounding off a record-breaking and historic launch manifest for 2020, SpaceX conduct its second dedicated launch for the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on Saturday – following a scrub on Thursday – wi...
- SpaceX’s first Starship booster a step closer as custom parts arrive Teslarati · 18 Dec 2020 While SpaceX remains focused on Starship flight testing as the dust settles from SN8’s launch debut, the company continues to make slow...
- SpaceX Starlink rollout continues to uplift rural schools, Native Americans Teslarati · 17 Dec 2020 SpaceX continues to make a point of deploying nascent Starlink internet services – often for free – in ways that prioritize and...
- SpaceX scrubs Falcon 9 launch to assess second stage issue Spaceflight Now · 17 Dec 2020 SpaceX scrubbed a Falcon 9 launch attempt Thursday to evaluate a “slightly high” pressure reading in the rocket’s upper stage liquid oxygen tank, and officials tentatively rescheduled the company’s final mission of the y...
- (Update: nope) SpaceX looks to double its valuation on Starlink, Starship promise Teslarati · 16 Dec 2020 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has responded, stating that it is “incorrect” to say that the company is seeking to double its valuation...
- NRO using SpaceX’s commercial launch service for spy satellite payload Spaceflight Now · 16 Dec 2020 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to take off Thursday from Florida’s Space Coast with a classified cargo for the National Reconnaissance Office, which broke with standard practice to procure the payload’s launch com...
- Watch SpaceX’s last launch and landing of 2020 live [webcast] Teslarati · 16 Dec 2020 Update: Despite no plans for a preflight static fire, SpaceX remains on track to attempt its last launch and landing of 2020...
- News Analysis | For SpaceX, Starlink’s big broadband subsidy more symbolic than material SpaceNews · 15 Dec 2020 SpaceX’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase 1 award is big, but the impact on its overall Starlink broadband business will be modest.
- SpaceX wins almost $1B to bring Starlink internet to half a million US homes, businesses Teslarati · 15 Dec 2020 In a competition against hundreds of providers, many established, SpaceX’s Starlink constellation has come out of left field to win almost $1B...
- NASA, ESA Choose Astronauts for SpaceX Crew-3 Mission to Space Station NASA · 14 Dec 2020 NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) have selected three astronauts to serve as crew members for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station, which is expected to launch in the fall of 2021.
- SpaceX almost drops finished Starship prototype – but it might be salvageable Teslarati · 14 Dec 2020 Less than 48 hours after Starship SN8’s (successful) demise, something on or around a metal stand holding up SpaceX’s next completed Starship...
- NASA assigns astronauts for third SpaceX commercial crew mission SpaceNews · 14 Dec 2020 NASA has selected three astronauts for a future SpaceX commercial crew mission to the International Space Station as it leaves open the possibility of exchanging seats with Russia.
- SiriusXM satellite rides SpaceX rocket into orbit Spaceflight Now · 13 Dec 2020 A hefty new satellite to beam SiriusXM radio programming across North America rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Saturday from Cape Canaveral on course to replace an aging broadcast station launched more than 15 ye...
- SpaceX crushes commercial Falcon 9 reuse record with radio satellite launch Teslarati · 13 Dec 2020 SpaceX has crushed its commercial Falcon 9 reuse record with the successful December 13th launch of Sirius XM’s newest radio satellite while...
- SpaceX launches SiriusXM satellite SpaceNews · 13 Dec 2020 A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a new spacecraft for satellite radio company SiriusXM Dec. 13 as the company nears the end of a record-setting year.