One year ago yesterday, SpaceX suffered a major launch failure of its Falcon 9 system with the loss of a booster carrying the a Dragon spacecraft to ISS on the CRS-7 resupply mission. The cause of the accident was traced as being most likely due to a faulty second stage support strut which buckled well […]
When the SpaceX Falcon 9 boosting the NASA CRS-7 payload exploded in the air over Cape Canaveral on June 28th, one of the first sympathetic tweets came from United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno. It seemed sincere enough, and a refreshing moment of class in what has otherwise been a bitter battle between ULA and […]
Although the conclusions are still preliminary, SpaceX engineers believe they have tracked down the cause of last month’s spectacular failure of a Falcon 9 rocket in the skies over Cape Canaveral. The accident was apparently caused by the failure of a 2 foot long steel strut which was supporting a high pressure helium bottle. The bottle, which is located inside the […]
The answer to what caused the June 28th breakup of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket may soon be forthcoming, according to a July 5th twitter post from company founder Elon Musk. “Expect to reach preliminary conclusions regarding last flight by end of week. Will brief key customers & FAA, then post on our website.” It will […]
One week after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket disintegrated in the skies over Cape Canaveral, there are far more questions than answers. Fortunately, one of the answer which has been forthcoming regards the immediate status of the International Space Station, and on that front there is some good news. The successful launch and docking of the […]
Correction: A Russian Progress is scheduled to launch to ISS on July 3rd Original story: Many had hoped it would prove to be a day that changed space history forever. Instead, it offered a major launch failure for SpaceX and its Falcon 9 booster, and the sudden realization for NASA that it now faces a significant […]
The SpaceX CRS-7 cargo mission to the International Space Station has been moved from Friday to Sunday, June 28th with a new liftoff time of 10:21 AM EDT from Cape Canaveral’s SLC-40. If liftoff, which must take place exactly on time, is delayed for any reason, a backup slot on Monday the 29th is reserved. […]
Dragon at Sunrise / Image credit NASA Update: The Dragon departed ISS on time this morning at 6:04 AM CDT as it was 250 miles over the southern coast of Australia. The SpaceX CRS-6 Dragon capsule is set to return from the International Space Station tomorrow morning, Thursday, May 21st. NASA television will provide coverage […]
Image Credit: SpaceX After first tweeting and then deleting, SpaceX founder Elon Musk confirmed Saturday night that slow response from a thruster valves was the cause of last week’s close but no cigar effort at landing a Falcon 9 first stage at sea. Cause of hard rocket landing confirmed as due to slower than expected […]
Video of the landing attempt shot from the ASDS Just Read The Instructions was posted anonymously on vidme. A YouTube version is included below. While it is perhaps silly to attribute human or even animal characteristics to mechanical hardware which is just doing its job, there is something poignant about how hard the cold gas […]
Recent Comments