A U.S.-French satellite that will map almost all of the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers rocketed into orbit Friday. The predawn launch aboard a SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California capped a highly successful year for NASA. Nicknamed SWOT — short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography...
Musk Wants US to Pay Tab for His Satellite Network over Ukraine
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department has gotten a request from SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk to take over funding for his satellite network that has provided crucial battlefield communications for Ukrainian military forces during the war with Russia, U.S. officials said Friday. The officials, who spoke on condition of...
1st Private Crew Paying $55M Each to Fly to Space Station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The first private space station crew was introduced Tuesday: Three men who are each paying $55 million to fly on a SpaceX rocket. They'll be led by a former NASA astronaut now working for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the trip for next January....
SpaceX Launches Starship on Highest Test Flight Before Explosive Touchdown
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched its shiny, bullet-shaped, straight-out-of-science fiction Starship several miles into the air from a remote corner of Texas on Wednesday, but the 6 1/2-minute test flight ended in an explosive fireball at touchdown. It was the highest and most elaborate flight yet for the rocketship...
Vandenberg AFB Alerts Public To Expect Sonic Booms From Spacex Launch
[aggregation-styles] Paso Robles Daily News Vandenberg Airforce Base and SpaceX are scheduled to launch the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite this Saturday at 9:17 a.m. from the base. The Sentinel-6 is the first of two identical satellites to head into Earth’s orbit five years apart to continue sea level observations for...
SpaceX Launches 2nd Crew, Regular Station Crew Flights Begin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Sunday on the first full-fledged taxi flight for NASA by a private company. The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center with three Americans and one Japanese, the second crew to be launched...
SpaceX Crew Flight Delayed; Musk Gets Mixed COVID-19 Results
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX delayed its second astronaut flight by a day because of high wind and weather conditions that could jeopardize the recovery and recycling of the rocket booster, pushing the launch to Sunday. Friday’s postponement news came after SpaceX chief Elon Musk disclosed he had gotten mixed...
Red Coating Contaminates SpaceX Rockets, Delays Crew Launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX’s second astronaut flight is off until mid-November because red lacquer dripped into tiny vent holes in two rocket engines that now must be replaced. SpaceX and NASA officials announced the discovery of the potentially damaging contamination Wednesday. The clogged holes were found after the aborted...
Astronauts Squeeze in Last Spacewalk Before SpaceX Returns to Earth
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts squeezed in one last spacewalk Tuesday before turning their attention to the all-important end to SpaceX’s first crew flight. NASA’s Bob Behnken and Chris Cassidy floated out of the International Space Station on their fourth and final spacewalk in under a month. Instead of swapping...
SpaceX Captures the Flag, Beating Boeing in Cosmic Contest
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The first astronauts launched by SpaceX declared victory Monday in NASA’s cosmic capture-the-flag game. They quickly claimed the prize left behind at the International Space Station nearly a decade ago by the last crew to launch from the U.S. “Congratulations, SpaceX, you got the flag,” NASA...