Tag: 2024

SpaceX Sets New Launch Record at Vandenberg with Thursday’s Falcon 9 Launch

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched its latest batch of 21 Starlink satellites on a Thursday night Falcon 9 launch from California. The Falcon 9 rocket launch set a new record for Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking the first time that 31 orbital missions have taken off in a calendar year. Thirty of those launches were from SpaceX and one was from Firefly Aerospace.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

Video

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA (Launch at 27:21)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

SpaceX Polaris Astronauts Become First Private Citizens to Complete Spacewalk

The Washington Post reports, “Jared Isaacman performed the first spacewalk by a private citizen early Thursday, with a live broadcast that showed him popping his head and torso out of the hatch of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule and performing a series of maneuvers near the capsule. He was followed by Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer who is part of the four-person, all-civilian crew and also floated outside the spacecraft while tethered and holding on to handrails. The spacewalk was originally scheduled for 2:23 a.m. Eastern time Thursday but was pushed back to just before 7, when Isaacman exited the hatch. Isaacman and Gillis spent several minutes each outside the capsule.”
Full Story (Washington Post)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Payload for AST SpaceMobile, Lands Booster

SPACE reports, “AST SpaceMobile’s first five commercial satellites have reached orbit. The huge spacecraft, called BlueBirds, lifted off today (Sept. 12) at 4:52 a.m. EDT (0852 GMT) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. … Each BlueBird sports a communications antenna that covers 693 square feet (64 square meters) when unfolded — the largest such array ever deployed by a commercial spacecraft.”
Full Story (SPACE)

 

Video

SpaceX launches Polaris Dawn crew on first private spacewalk mission (Launch at 00:33 second mark)
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)

Polaris Dawn Crew Achieve Record High Orbit Above Earth

The New York Times reports, “After launching early on Tuesday, the billionaire Jared Isaacman and his crew traveled to altitudes not visited by any astronaut since the Apollo moon missions of the 1960s and ’70s. … Two of them, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, have now gone farther from the planet than any other women ever.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)

Joby Aviation Submits Application for Air Taxi Certificate in UAE

Aerotime reports, “Joby Aviation is moving forward with its plans to launch commercial eVTOL operations in the Middle East. On September 9, 2024, the Californian company announced that it has submitted an application to aviation authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to become certified as an air taxi operator. The announcement was made during the Advanced Air Mobility Symposium, organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is taking place in Montréal, Québec, Canada, between September 9-12, 2024.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Polaris Dawn Mission from Florida

The New York Times reports, “At 5:23 a.m. Eastern time, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Less than 15 minutes later, the crew of four astronauts inside the Crew Dragon capsule — that will be their home for the next five days — were in orbit. The Polaris Dawn mission will mark some milestones for private spaceflight — the first spacewalk conducted by nonprofessional astronauts, and the farthest journey from Earth by anyone since NASA’s moon landings more than 50 years ago.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)

 

Video

SpaceX launches Polaris Dawn crew on first private spacewalk mission (Launch at 00:33 second mark)
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)

Boeing Starliner’s Future Is Unclear After Returning Without Astronauts

The New York Times reports that Boeing’s Starliner “has finally come home, but the two NASA astronauts who traveled in it to the International Space Station in June remain in orbit. Because of problems with Starliner’s propulsion system during its approach to the space station in June, NASA officials decided not to put the astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, on Starliner for the return trip. They will spend an additional five months on the space station as part of the crew before coming back to Earth around February in a spacecraft built and managed by SpaceX.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)
Full Story (NYT via Yahoo News)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches On National Security Mission for NRO

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with an undisclosed number of satellites on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The spacecraft, which are believed to be Starshield satellites, make up the third batch of what the NRO calls its ‘proliferated architecture.’”  Liftoff of the NROL-113 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base took place at 8:20 p.m. PDT.
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from California on U.S. spy satellite agency mission (Launch at 00:30:29 mark)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

EasyJet and JetZero to Partner on Development of BWB Aircraft

Airways reports, “British low-cost airline EasyJet (U2) has announced a partnership with JetZero, a California-based company, to develop a Blended-Wing Body (BWB) aircraft. With a significant step towards sustainable aviation and aircraft development, U2 has become the first European airline to partner with the U.S. startup JetZero, which specializes in BWB aircraft powered by hydrogen technology.”
Full Story (Airways)

Uncrewed Boeing Starliner Set to Depart Space Station Friday Night

The New York Times reports, “Leaving behind the two NASA astronauts it took to the International Space Station three months ago, Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft is set to begin its return to Earth on Friday evening. Six hours after it undocks from the station, it is to parachute to a landing at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. If bad weather or technical issues cause a delay, Starliner’s return could happen on Sept. 10, Sept. 14 or Sept. 18.”
Full Story (New York Times)