Tag: launches

SpaceX Conducts Third Falcon 9 Launch in Less Than 24 Hours

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX completed its third Falcon 9 launch in less than 24 hours with a launch for one of its oldest customers: Luxembourg-based communications company, SES. Liftoff of the O3b mPOWER 7 and 8 satellites from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center happened near sunset at 5:26 p.m. EST (2226 UTC), which was the close of a nearly 1.5-hour-long launch window. It was be the 90th orbital launch from the Florida spaceport comprising of Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

 

Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches pair of O3b mPOWER satellites from Kennedy Space Center (Launch at 0:59:21 mark)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Expedited GPS Mission for U.S. Space Force

Spaceflight Now reports, “The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) and the Space Operations Command (SpOC) shifted the GPS 3 Space Vehicle 07 spacecraft to a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket due to delays in Vulcan’s certification. The launch, previously known simply as ‘RRT-1,’ actually stands for “Rapid Response Trailblazer.” Onboard was the GPS 3 Space Vehicle (SV) 07 (GPS 3 SV-07). Lockheed Martin, the satellite’s manufacturer, confirmed successful signal acquisition less than two hours after the launch at 7:52 p.m. EST (0052 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

Video

SpaceX launches U.S. Space Force RRT-1 mission from Cape Canaveral on Falcon 9 rocket (Launch at 1:00:51 mark)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 23 Starlink Satellites from Cape Canaveral

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched its latest Falcon 9 shortly after midnight on Sunday, adding 23 more Starlink satellites to its growing mega-constellation. The midnight hour launch featured 13 satellites which have Direct to Cell capabilities. Liftoff of the Starlink 12-5 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 12:30 a.m. EST.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Video

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches 23 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral, December 9, at 12:12 a.m. ET (Launch at 0:59:49 mark)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

SpaceX Launches Super Heavy-Starship on Sixth Test Flight

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched the world’s most powerful rocket on its sixth test flight Tuesday, an up-and-down trip to space by a gargantuan Super Heavy-Starship to evaluate a variety of safety and performance upgrades. Shattering the afternoon calm with an ear-splitting roar, the huge 30-foot-wide, 397-foot-tall rocket blasted off from Musk’s sprawling Boca Chica, Texas, manufacturing and test facility on the Gulf Coast near Brownsville at 5 p.m. EST, the opening of a 30-minute launch window.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

Video

SpaceX launches Starship on 6th test flight, November 19, 2024 (Launch at 1:29:33 mark)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

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)

Honeywell Unveils Its SAMURAI AI-Enabled Counter-Drone Swarm System

National Defense Magazine reports, “Honeywell has launched its Stationary and Mobile UAS Reveal and Intercept system, or SAMURAI, which is designed to counter swarm drones and protect critical assets in an increasingly contested airspace, the company announced Sept. 16. The system, which can be used on vehicles and fixed-based platforms, combines ‘beyond-visual-line-of-sight communication with command-and-control capabilities’ to ‘detect, track and then counter drone swarms.’”
Full Story (National Defense Magazine)