Tuesday, March 19

SpaceX

SpaceX launches Starship on the third flight test of the program – Spaceflight Now
SpaceX

SpaceX launches Starship on the third flight test of the program – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX’s Starship rocket launches for a third time in program history on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now SpaceX’s Starship rocket took to the skies over Texas for a third time Thursday morning. The launch, approved on Wednesday afternoon by the Federal Aviation Administration, managed to navigate some tricky weather on its ascent. Liftoff of the world’s tallest rocket currently flying took place at 8:25 a.m. CT (9:25 a.m. ET, 1325 UTC), towards the back end of a 110-minute window. The vehicle was stacked for launch late last week at SpaceX’s Starbase launch and manufacturing site in southern Texas near Brownsville. The mission represents the shortest time between second and third flights for a commercial, orbital rocket. Both the Falcon 1 and the Falcon 9 s...
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 ...