falcon 9

SpaceX revealed new details about its Starlink V2 Mini satellites.Photo: SpaceXSpaceX is set to launch 21 miniaturized versions of its next generation Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit later today. The V2 Mini, as SpaceX calls it, is a compact version of the one the company is hoping to launch with its upcoming Starship rocket. The company’s Starlink V2 Mini satellites will launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on Monday at 6:13p.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Ahead of the launch, SpaceX…

Launch of a Long March-2F Y12 rocket in June 2021. Photo: Associated Press (AP)In an effort to stifle Elon Musk’s Starlink, researchers in China are planning to launch their own fleet. The proposed megaconstellation has no set launch date, but is expected to consist of 12,992 satellites equipped with technologies to conduct surveillance on Starlink, among other capabilities. According to the South China Morning Post, the constellation is codenamed“GW,” which likely refers to “Guowang,” citing professor Xu Can from the…

SpaceX performed a static fire test of the Starship rocket on February 9.Photo: SpaceXAfter completing a static fire test of Starship earlier this month, SpaceX has nowhere else to go but up. A company official says it’snow in a position to perform the first orbital flight test of its much-anticipated megarocket, pending a launch license.On Tuesday, a SpaceX official stated that Starship’s first orbital flight could take place in March. Speaking at the Space Mobility Conference in Orlando, Florida, SpaceX Senior…

A time-lapse image of the Starlink 4-27 Falcon 9 launch, August 19, 2022. Photo: SpaceXIn August 2022, SpaceX violated a Federal Aviation Administration safety rule that’s meant to prevent collisions in low Earth orbit, but the proposed fine of $175,000 will hardly serve as a deterrent for a company owned by one of the richest people on Earth.And it’s not as if SpaceX violated something trivial in nature. The company failed to submit launch collision analysis trajectory data to the FAA before launching its Falcon 9 rocket…

Ex-NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, left, has previously traded barbs with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, right. Kelly told Musk he needs to allow Starlink to facilitate use of drones since ‘precision strike in defense of sovereignty is not escalatory.”Photo: Eric Kayne/Michael Gonzalez (Getty Images)This past Saturday, ex-astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted at SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, criticizing his company for planning to prevent the Ukrainian military from using Starlink to control drone strikes. With typical Muskian bluster, the…

A Starlink dish connected to a home in rural Canada.Image: The Bold Bureau (Shutterstock)Starlink, the satellite-based internet service from SpaceX, has an active presence on the continent of Africa, with the company announcing yesterday that Starlink is now available in Nigeria. SpaceX tweeted the news yesterday, announcing that the Starlink connection to Nigeria was up and running. According to Starlink’s service map, some countries in Africa, such as Zambia, Tanzania, and Morocco, are slated to receive service by the…

SpaceX removed the Starship upper stage from the booster last week in preparation for a 33-Raptor static fire test. Photo: SpaceX SpaceX continues to launch its Falcon 9 rocket at a frenetic pace, as the calendar flips over to February this week. Excitingly, the company could perform its first full static fire test of the enormous Starship, in which all 33 Raptor engines will simultaneously roar to life.SpaceX should dominate the news this week, which is par for the course these days, but otherspaceflight happenings will…

The Falcon 9, loaded with 56 Starlink satellites, at the moment of ignition, on Thursday, January 25.Screenshot: SpaceXSpaceX’s freakishly reliable Falcon 9 continues to impress. The rocket delivered 56 Starlink satellites to Earth orbit this morning, and with a collective weight around 17.4 metric tons, it’s now the heaviest payload ever lifted by a Falcon 9 rocket.Blastoff occurred at 4:22 a.m. ET Thursday, with the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 taking flight from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space…

SpaceX’s fully integrated Starship rocket during the wet dress rehearsal on January 23, 2023. Gif: SpaceX/GizmodoOn Monday, SpaceX completed its first attempt to load a fully stacked Starship rocket with propellants, and it did so with surprisingly little fanfare. The seemingly successful test marks a major milestone for the company, setting the stage for a static fire test and an eventual orbital launch. The company ran the wet dress rehearsal at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Standing 394 feet (120…

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket at the LC-2 pad in Virginia.Photo: Rocket LabObservers along the U.S. East Coast could be in for a treat this week, as Rocket Lab is set to perform the first launch of an Electron rocket from its new Virginia launch pad.Rocket Lab, SpaceX, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are all planning to perform launches in the coming days, and NASA is beginning a series of solemn events to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster. Here’s what’s happening in the…