Tag: launches

SpaceX Launches 250th Starlink Satellite Mission on Falcon 9

SPACE reports SpaceX launched its 250th dedicated Starlink mission on Sunday night (April 27), sending 23 of the broadband satellites to low Earth orbit.  Liftoff took place “from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday at 10:09 p.m. EDT (0209 GMT on Monday, April 28). It was the 250th time SpaceX had sent a batch of Starlink craft skyward, the company noted via X shortly after launch.”
Full Story (SPACE)



Video

SpaceX launches dedicated Starlink mission for 250th time (Launch occurs at 00:13)
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)

SpaceX Marks 300th Orbital Flight from Cape Canaveral’s Pad 40 with Launch of Bandwagon-3 Mission

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX completed its third Falcon 9 rocket launch in less than 48 hours with a rideshare mission carrying payloads to a mid-inclination orbit. Liftoff of the Bandwagon-3 mission happened at 8:48 p.m. EDT (0048 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the 245th orbital launch for SpaceX from SLC-40 and the 300th total orbital flight from this pad … Update 9:38 p.m. EDT: The Falcon 9 first stage booster successfully landed at Landing Zone 2.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)



Video

Launch of SpaceX Bandwagon-3 ride-share mission (Launch occurs at 59:55)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

SpaceX Launches 32nd Space Station Resupply Mission for NASA

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched an uncrewed Cargo Dragon to the International Space Station early Monday on a resupply mission with increased importance after a transportation mishap derailed a flight by another U.S. cargo ship. Liftoff from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center happened on Monday, April 21, at 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)



Video

SpaceX Space Station Cargo Launch (Launch occurs at 59:44)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

Blue Origin Launches All-Woman Crew on NS-31 Mission

Space News reports, “Blue Shepard launched six women, including a pop star and TV show host, on a suborbital flight of the company’s New Shepard vehicle April 14. New Shepard lifted off at 9:30 a.m. Eastern from the company’s Launch Site One in West Texas after a problem-free countdown. The vehicle’s capsule, RSS Kármán Line, reached a peak altitude of 106 kilometers before landing 10 minutes and 21 seconds after liftoff.”
Full Story (Space News)
More Info (AIAA Statement)

 

 

 

 

Video

Blue Origin’s launch with Katy Perry and Gayle King
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)

SpaceX Launches its 450th Falcon 9, Sets New Record for Booster Turnaround Time

Spaceflight Now reports, “The National Reconnaissance Office launched its eighth batch of satellites to support its proliferated architecture constellation. The mission includes a number of notable milestones for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket program, including a record-fast turnaround time for its booster. The rocket carried an unspecified number of satellites that are believed to be Starshield, a government variant of the Starlink satellites that are built by SpaceX in partnership with Northrop Grumman. This was SpaceX’s 450th Falcon 9 launch to date.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)



Video

SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 for 450th time (Launch occurs at 32:38)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 70+ Payloads in Transporter-13 Mission

Space News reports, “A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched more than 70 payloads in the latest in its series of dedicated rideshare missions that have reshaped the small satellite industry. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:43 a.m. Eastern March 15 on the Transporter-13 mission. SpaceX said Transporter-13 carried 74 payloads, including hosted payloads and satellites that will be deployed later from an orbital transfer vehicle by D-Orbit. SpaceX’s website listed 47 separate deployments planned over 90 minutes.”
Full Story (Space News)

 

Video

SpaceX Transporter 13 Launch
(The Launch Pad; YouTube)

SpaceX Launches NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH Missions

The New York Times reports, “Two NASA missions launched from the California coast and soared toward the stars late Tuesday night, overcoming a week of delays to get to orbit. Both aim to unravel mysteries about the universe — one by peering far from Earth, the other by looking closer to home. The rocket’s chief passenger is SPHEREx, a space telescope that will take images of the entire sky in more than a hundred colors that are invisible to the human eye. Accompanying the telescope is a suite of satellites known collectively as PUNCH, which will study the sun’s outer atmosphere and solar wind.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)

 

Video

SpaceX launches NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions (Launch at 58:01 mark)
(NASA; YouTube)

SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Disrupts Florida Airports With Unsuccessful Test Flight

The New York Times reports, “Starship — the huge spacecraft that Elon Musk says will one day take people to Mars — failed during its latest test flight on Thursday when its upper stage exploded in space, raining debris and disrupting air traffic at airports from Florida to Pennsylvania. It was the second consecutive test flight of the most powerful rocket ever built where the upper-stage spacecraft malfunctioned. It started spinning out of control after several engines went out and then lost contact with mission control.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)

 

 

 

 

Video

SpaceX Starship launches on flight 8, catches booster but loses ship again (Launch at 00:25:35 mark)
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)

Blue Origin Successfully Launches New Shepard on NS-30 Mission

Space News reports, “Blue Origin conducted the tenth crewed flight of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle Feb. 25, carrying six people. The New Shepard vehicle lifted off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas at 10:49 a.m. Eastern. The vehicle’s crew capsule reached a peak altitude of 107 kilometers above sea level before making a safe landing 10 minutes and 8 seconds after liftoff. The booster made a powered landing about two and a half minutes earlier.”
Full Story (Space News)
More Info (AIAA Statement)

 

 

 

 

Video

New Shepard Mission NS-30 Webcast
(The Launch Pad; YouTube)

Japan’s H3 Rocket Launches Michibiki 6 Navigation Satellite

Space News reports, “Japan’s flagship H3 rocket successfully launched the Michibiki 6 navigation satellite early Sunday, enhancing the country’s regional GPS capabilities. The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) H3 rocket lifted off at 3:30 a.m. Eastern (0830 UTC) Feb. 2 from Tanegashima Space Center. Aboard was the 1,900-kilogram Michibiki 6 satellite, also known as the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZS-6), for Japan’s navigation satellite system.”
Full Story (Space News)

 

Video

Japan’s flagship H3 rocket launches Michibiki 6 aboard H3-22S (Launch at 0:45:57 mark)
(The Launch Pad; YouTube)