Tag: launch

SpaceX Falcon 9 Set to Launch from California Wednesday Night

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon 9 rocket with another 20 Starlink satellites from California Wednesday night. The Starlink 9-11 mission will feature 13 satellites that include Direct to Cell capabilities. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base is set for 8:21 p.m. PST (11:21 p.m. EST, 0421 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

US Air Force Carries Out Dramatic Nighttime Minuteman III Test

Defense News reports, “Air Force Global Strike Command carried out a test of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile late Tuesday night. The ICBM, which was equipped with multiple targeted reentry vehicles, launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at about 11 p.m. Pacific time. It then flew about 4,200 miles, at roughly 15,000 miles per hour, to a ballistic missile test site in the Marshall Islands’ Kwajalein Atoll.”
Full Story (Defense News)

 

 

 

Video

US Air Force launches unarmed ICBM (Launch at 0:01 mark)
(VideoFromSpace); YouTube)

SpaceX Launches Cargo Dragon Spacecraft on 31st ISS Resupply Mission

Spaceflight Now reports that a SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft launched Monday evening to begin its fifth journey to the International Space Station, carrying with it “more than 6,000 pounds of cargo and science experiments to the orbiting outpost. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) happened at 9:29 p.m. EST “
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

 

 

Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Cargo Dragon from Kennedy Space Center (Launch at 1:31:11 mark)
(Spaceflight Now); YouTube)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Eutelsat Satellites from California

Reuters reports, “Eutelsat, the world’s third-biggest satellite operator by revenue, launched 20 satellites for its communications network on Sunday, using Elon Musk’s SpaceX in its first move since the merger of two European companies last year. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off with Eutelsat satellites from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 0513 GMT. ‘This is the first OneWeb launch of the satellites since the merger,’ CEO Eva Berneke told Reuters in an interview. ‘We will be launching more satellites over the coming years.’”
Full Story (Reuters)

Video

NASA’s Europa Clipper Launch (Launch at 1:06:40 mark)
(NASA; YouTube)

NASA Launches Europa Clipper Mission to Explore Jupiter’s Moon

Ars Technica reports, “NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft lifted off Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, kicking off a $5.2 billion robotic mission to explore one of the most promising locations in the Solar System for finding extraterrestrial life. The Falcon Heavy rocket fired its 27 kerosene-fueled engines and vaulted away from Launch Complex 39A at 12:06 pm EDT (16:06 UTC) Monday. Delayed several days due to Hurricane Milton, which passed through Central Florida late last week, the launch of Europa Clipper signaled the start of a five-and-a-half year journey to Jupiter, where the spacecraft will settle into an orbit taking it repeatedly by one the giant planet’s numerous moons.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
More Info (AIAA Statement)

 

Video

NASA’s Europa Clipper Launch (Launch at 1:06:40 mark)
(NASA; YouTube)

Europe’s Hera Asteroid Mission Lifts Off Ahead of Hurricane Milton

Ars Technica reports, “Two years ago, a NASA spacecraft smashed into a small asteroid millions of miles from Earth to test a technique that could one day prove useful to deflect an object off a collision course with Earth. The European Space Agency launched a follow-up mission Monday to go back to the crash site and see the damage done. The nearly $400 million (363 million euro) Hera mission, named for the Greek goddess of marriage, will investigate the aftermath of a cosmic collision between NASA’s DART spacecraft and the skyscraper-size asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, 2022.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

 

Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches ESA’s Hera asteroid mission from Cape Canaveral (Launch at 27:08 mark)
(The LaunchPad; YouTube)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 20 Starlink Satellites from California

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched its latest Falcon 9 rocket on a Starlink mission as Tropical Storm Helene pushed back the launch of the next mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the Starlink 9-8 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 9:01 p.m. PDT (12:01 a.m. EDT, 0401 UTC). This was SpaceX’s 64th Starlink launch of the year.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 20 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg (Launch at 30:30 mark)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Europe’s Galileo Satellites from Cape Canaveral

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched the latest pair of Galileo spacecraft for the European Union’s navigation satellite constellation. The mission marked the second time that Galileo satellites will launch from U.S. soil, following the so-called L-12 mission, which flew on another Falcon 9 rocket back in April 2024. Liftoff of the L-13 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 6:50 p.m. EDT (2250 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches from Florida with Europe’s Galileo Satellites (Launch at 1:00:49)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Astronauts Splash Down Ending Historic Mission

SPACE reports, “Polaris Dawn, the historic SpaceX astronaut mission — which conducted the first-ever private spacewalk, among other achievements — returned to Earth today (Sept. 15), splashing down safely in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida at 3:36 a.m. EDT (0736 GMT). ‘Polaris Dawn we are mission complete. Thanks for all the big help pulling this mission together,’ said mission commander Jared Isaacman after the crew splashed down in the ocean.”
Full Story (SPACE)

 

Video

SpaceX Polaris Dawn crew splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico (Splash down at 08:43)
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)