falcon 9

The spiral structure appeared over Maunakea on January 18,Screenshot: Gizmodo/Subaru TelescopeLast week, astronomers at a Hawaiian observatory spotted a spiral-like structure over Maunakea. A SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage is the likely source of the strange atmospheric feature, as this sort of thing has happened before.The spiral was seen during the early morning hours of January 18, the same day that a Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. A tweet from…

SpaceX is yet again teasing the possibility of a Starship orbital launch test, stacking the huge rocket on top of its launchpad at the company’s Starbase site in Texas.This week, the company posted a short video on Twitter showing Starship 24 being carefully placed on top of the Super Heavy Booster using Mechazilla, located on the rocket’s launch tower at Starbase in Boca Chica. The 22-second clip features an aerial view of Mechazilla’s Tyrannosaur-like arms lifting Starship 24 to the top of the 469-foot-tall tower (142 …

Falcon 9 launching earlier today.Photo: SpaceXWith only a small handful of days left in the year, SpaceX achieved a major milestone by pulling off its 60th orbital launch of the year—a goal that CEO Elon Musk had been targeting for the space company. A Falcon 9 rocket launched during the early hours of Wednesday morning, lifting off at 4:34 a.m. ET from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The rocket carried 54 Starlink satellites, which may have been the first batch of SpaceX’s next generation satellites…

Last month, SpaceX announced that Starlink is now available across Alaska and Canada.Photo: SpaceXSpaceX is trying to squeeze in the debut of its second generation Starlink satellites by the end of the month, hoping the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will grant it temporary authority to loft its heftier broadband satellites. The aerospace company filed a request with the FCC this week, asking for a 60-day special temporary authority to connect Starlink terminals already in use to the new satellites it plans to…

Falcon 9 launching a pair of communication satellites on December 17.Photo: SpaceXSpaceX is finishing off the year strong, flying its Falcon 9 rocket three times in less than 34 hours to deliver various payloads to low Earth orbit.So far this year, the company has successfully completed 59 orbital launches. SpaceX still has two more launches scheduled before the end of the year, which would fulfill CEO Elon Musk’s goal of 60 launches for 2022. In June, SpaceX performed three Falcon 9 launches in 36 hours and 18 minutes,…

SpaceX July launch of its Falcon 9 rocket carried a new payload of Starlink satellites to add to the growing number of bodies covering Earth’s upper atmosphere, but now the company wants to consider even more military applications to both its existing and future space infrastructure.Photo: Chris McGrath (AP)As much as SpaceX has become a force of nature in the deployment of commercial space infrastructure, the company’s work assisting nations’ attempts to militarize space has sat simmering on the back burner. Now,with a…

The OneWeb satellites attached to the dispenser ahead of their launch to low Earth orbit.Photo: OneWebBritish company OneWeb and its largest internet satellite competitor SpaceX have gone from enemies to friends. Well, sort of. OneWeb, in the wake of a canceled deal with Russia, was forced to source new launch providers—leading them to SpaceX and a ratherunlikely agreement. The launch is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, December 6 at 5:37 p.m. ET from Launch Complex 39A in Florida, with 40 OneWeb satellites tucked…

Falcon 9 was propped up on Pad 40 ahead of the launch.Photo: SpaceXThe launch of a Falcon 9 rocket has been delayed for the second time due to an unspecified issue, postponing a private Japanese mission that is poised to make history should it safely reach the Moon’s surface. SpaceX had originally planned to launch its rocket on Wednesday morning, but initially pushed it to Thursday to “allow for additional pre-flight checkouts.” Later on Wednesday, the company announced that it was delaying the launch indefinitely…

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon Capsule to the ISS on July 14 for the 25th commercial resupply mission.Photo: SpaceXNASA is gearing up to launch a cargo mission to the International Space Station, delivering supplies and a new batch of experiments aboard a brand new SpaceX Dragon capsule.Update 4:00 p.m. ET: Due to unfavorable weather conditions, Tuesday’s launch has been scrubbed. The next launch attempt for the cargo mission is on Saturday, November 26 at 2:20 p.m. ET, with a backup opportunity on Sunday, November…

The launch of a Long March-2F Y12 rocket on June 17, 2021.Photo: Ng Han Guan (AP)Reusable rockets, whether large or small, are the future, and as a newly unveiled model of a Long March 9 launch vehicle suggests, Chinese rocket scientists are coming around to the idea. Star Wars: Shatterpoint Announcement Trailer02:27The First Things To Do In VR, Part 3Today 9:39AMA team in China presented its updated model at the ongoing Zhuhai Airshow, as reported in SpaceNews. The new Long March 9 design, with its grid fins and…