Ars Technica reports, “Two NASA satellites rocketed into orbit from California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday, commencing a $170 million mission to study a phenomenon of space physics that has eluded researchers since the dawn of the Space Age. The twin spacecraft are part of the NASA-funded TRACERS mission, which will spend at least a year measuring plasma conditions in narrow regions of Earth’s magnetic field known as polar cusps.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
Tag: launch
SpaceX Scrubs Launch of Two Communications Satellites 11 Seconds before Liftoff
SPACE reports, “SpaceX aborted the planned launch of two of SES’ O3b mPOWER communications satellites just before liftoff on Monday evening (July 21). A Falcon 9 rocket topped with two of SES’ O3b mPOWER internet spacecraft was set to launch from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:27 p.m. EDT (2127 GMT) on Monday. But it didn’t quite happen.”
Full Story (SPACE)
DoorDash Partners with Flytrex to Provide Drone Delivery in Dallas-Fort Worth
Flying Magazine reports, “On Thursday, DoorDash and Israeli provider Flytrex announced the service is available to about 100,000 residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs of Frisco and Little Elm. Customers can order food from dozens of local and national restaurants directly through the DoorDash app, delivered straight to their backyard via drone in minutes. With industry leader Zipline and Alphabet’s Wing also flying in DFW, the area is the nation’s largest drone delivery hotspot.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
Student Rockets Soar at Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition
From the Institute
On the dusty plains of West Texas, over 2,000 university students from 22 countries gathered with a shared goal: launch the rockets they spent the past year building, testing, and perfecting. From liftoff to landing, 2025 IREC, hosted by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association, offered a real-world proving ground for tomorrow’s aerospace professionals.
Full Story (Aerospace America)
NASA Set to Launch Ax-4 Mission to ISS as Soon as June 19
Space News reports, “NASA says a private astronaut mission could launch to the International Space Station as soon as June 19 as it works to understand an air leak on the Russian segment of the station. In a June 14 statement, NASA said it is working with Axiom Space and SpaceX on ‘reviewing launch opportunities’ for the Ax-4 mission, with the earliest such opportunity on June 19.”
Full Story (Space News)
NASA Delays Commercial Crew Launch to Inspect Space Station Leaks
The Washington Post reports, “NASA said Thursday it was postponing a launch of private astronauts to the International Space Station while it works with its Russian counterparts to investigate persistent leaks on the orbiting laboratory. In a statement, NASA said that Russian cosmonauts recently sealed ‘some areas of interest’ in a module on the Russia side of the space station. As a result, ‘the segment is holding pressure,’ NASA said. It added that crews also noticed a ‘new pressure signature,’ and need additional time ‘to evaluate the situation and determine whether any additional troubleshooting is necessary.’”
Full Story (Washington Post – Subscription Publication)
More Info (CBS News)
SpaceX Says Engine Hardware Failure Caused Starship Flight 8 Mishap
Space News reports, “The failure of SpaceX’s Starship on its most recent test flight had a different root cause than the previous failure, despite happening at about the same time. SpaceX released details May 23 about the cause of the Flight 8 mishap that took place March 6, when several Raptor engines on the Starship upper stage shut down and the vehicle started to tumble.”
Full Story (Space News)
Video
SpaceX Starship launches on flight 8, catches booster but loses ship again (Launch at 00:25:35 mark)
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)
Venus Aerospace Conducts Landmark 1st Launch with Potentially Revolutionary Rocket Engine
SPACE reports, “Houston-based startup Venus Aerospace has completed the first-ever test flight of a rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) in the United States. The launch took place on Wednesday (May 14) from Spaceport America in New Mexico. A small rocket equipped with Venus’ RDRE lifted off at 9:37 a.m. EDT (1337 GMT; 7:37 a.m. local time in New Mexico).”
Full Story (SPACE)
Fram2 Astronauts Launch on Polar Orbit Mission
Spaceflight Now reports, “A historic mission took flight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Monday night. Against the backdrop of an off-shore band of thunderstorms, four first-time astronauts soared off the pad at Launch Complex 39A onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and headed into a polar orbit. Malta resident Chun Wang funded the orbital polar expedition and flew alongside Norwegian cinematographer, Jannicke Mikkelsen; German arctic robotics researcher, Rabea Rogge; and Australian polar guide, Eric Philips.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Video
Fram2 Astronauts Launch on Polar Orbit Mission (Launch occurs at 2:00:17)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
Launch of NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH Missions Scrubbed Due to Spacecraft Issue and Poor Weather
Spaceflight Now reports, “Update March 11, 12:39 a.m. ET: NASA and SpaceX scrubbed the launch attempt Monday night. NASA is preparing to launch its first ride share flight in support of the Science Mission Directorate with two missions flying on the same Falcon 9 rocket. However, a last-minute issue what NASA described as “a SPHEREx ground data-flow issue” cause the mission to scrub.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)