Friday, March 29

SpaceX

Starlink launch scrubs on eve of Starship’s third flight – Spaceflight Now
SpaceX

Starlink launch scrubs on eve of Starship’s third flight – Spaceflight Now

A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to support the Starlink 6-44 launch from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on March 13, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now Update 9:45 p.m. ET: Tonight’s Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites scrubbed with about two minutes left in the countdown. Launch rescheduled for Thursday at 7:04 p.m. EDT (2304 UTC). SpaceX is busily preparing for two missions from launchpads in both Florida and Texas. It’s poised to launch the third integrated flight test (IFT-3) of its Starship rocket Thursday morning, but in the meantime, it hopes to launch a batch of Starlink satellites from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-44 mission from Launch Complex 39A is set for no earlier than 9:25 p.m. ET on Wednesday (0125 UTC on Thursday). There are 23 ...
Crew-7 begins journey home following six-month stay at the International Space Station – Spaceflight Now
SpaceX

Crew-7 begins journey home following six-month stay at the International Space Station – Spaceflight Now

A view of the Crew Dragon Endurance as it prepared to undock from the International Space Station following 197 days at the orbiting outpost. Image: NASA A journey of more than half a year orbiting around the world is coming to an end for the four-member team of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission. The Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 11:20 a.m. EDT (1520 UTC) after 197 days. Commander and NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and her crew, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov bid farewell to the rest of Expedition 70 during a ceremony on Sunday. “This has been the adventure of a lifetime. This is something I’ve dreamed ...
SpaceX launches Starlink mission, prepares to undock a Crew Dragon from ISS Monday – Spaceflight Now
SpaceX

SpaceX launches Starlink mission, prepares to undock a Crew Dragon from ISS Monday – Spaceflight Now

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the sunset launch of the Starlink 6-43 mission on March 10, 2024. Image: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now SpaceX is closing out the weekend with a pair of planned Falcon 9 launches from Florida and California while also preparing for the undocking of Crew Dragon Endurance from the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 rocket supporting the Starlink 6-43 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 UTC). It will add 23 Starlink satellites to the growing low Earth orbit constellation. A launch weather forecast from the 45th Weather Squadron shows a greater than 95 percent chance of favorable weather at liftoff with no addit...
SpaceX launches three-man one-woman crew to space station – Spaceflight Now
SpaceX

SpaceX launches three-man one-woman crew to space station – Spaceflight Now

A remotely triggered camera captures the liftoff of a SpaceX Dragon atop a Falcon 9 rocket on the Crew 8 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. Three NASA astronauts and a cosmonaut blasted off on a flight to the International Space Station Sunday, the first of two launches by NASA and the Russian space agency to replace five of the lab’s seven crew members and to deliver a fresh Soyuz ferry ship for two cosmonauts midway through a yearlong flight. After launch scrubs Friday and Saturday, Crew 8 commander Matthew Dominick, co-pilot Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin thundered away from the Kennedy Space Center atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 10:53 p.m. EST. The Falcon 9’s reusable first stage, making its maiden flight, flew itself back to a pinpoint ...
SpaceX tentatively targets March 14 for third Starship flight – Spaceflight Now
SpaceX

SpaceX tentatively targets March 14 for third Starship flight – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX performs a tanking test, called a wet dress rehearsal, on its fully integrated Starship rocket on March 4, 2024. At the same time, it was preparing to launch the Crew-8 mission for NASA from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Image: SpaceX SpaceX may be on the cusp of launching its massive Starship rocket for a third time, potentially as early as next Thursday. In an online update, the company said it is targeting Thursday, March 14 for the third flight test of Starship “pending regulatory approval.” While SpaceX didn’t publish a launch time on its website, a livestream post on X (formerly Twitter) showed a start time of 7:30 am EST (6:30 a.m. CST, 1230 UTC). Coupled with SpaceX stating that its broadcast would begin about 30 minutes prior to liftoff, that suggests a target launch...