Tag: Merlin 1-D

Facing Higher Odds, SpaceX Scores Second Successful Ocean Landing

Facing Higher Odds, SpaceX Scores Second Successful Ocean Landing

SpaceX achieved its second consecutive successful landing at sea overnight as a part of the JCSAT-14 satellite launch to Geostationary Transfer Orbit. Coming less than one month after the first successful drone ship landing which took place during the NASA CRS-8 resupply mission to ISS on April 8, last night’s achievement was even more challenging […]

Posted in: SpaceX
Falcon 9 First Stage “No Damage” After Hangar Inspection

Falcon 9 First Stage “No Damage” After Hangar Inspection

Following the December 21st Orbcomm 2 mission which saw a Falcon 9 first stage successfully return to Cape Canaveral, a New Year’s Eve tweet from SpaceX founder Elon Musk gave a preview of what 2016 could bring. Falcon 9 back in the hangar at Cape Canaveral. No damage found, ready to fire again. https://t.co/7w6IfJGtXM — […]

A SpaceX Solstice: Rocketry is Reborn in Historic Landing

A SpaceX Solstice: Rocketry is Reborn in Historic Landing

December 21st, 2015. It came on a night which was perhaps uniquely appropriate. Celebrated by people and cultures around the planet for a stretch of time which predates the written word, the winter solstice marks the longest night and the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. More than a curiosity of the […]

SpaceX Changes Batting Order For Return to Flight

SpaceX Changes Batting Order For Return to Flight

SpaceX has announced that it is making a change in the batting order as it prepares to return to flight following the June 28th failure of a Falcon 9 on the NASA/CRS-7 mission. Rather than loft the SES-9 satellite to geostationary transfer orbit on what will be a challenging assignment for a rocket featuring numerous […]

Posted in: SpaceX
SpaceX Fall/Spring Plans Begin to Emerge

SpaceX Fall/Spring Plans Begin to Emerge

SpaceX has been uncharacteristically, but perhaps none too surprisingly, quiet about its future plans in recent months as it has concentrated on the failure investigation of the June 28th loss of a Falcon 9 booster carrying the CRS-7 Dragon supply capsule to ISS. Based on comments made by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, as well as […]

SpaceX CRS-7 Mission Set For Sunday Morning Liftoff

SpaceX CRS-7 Mission Set For Sunday Morning Liftoff

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. […]

SpaceX Launches Dual Satellite Mission

SpaceX Launches Dual Satellite Mission

In what could be a positive sign for a busy year, a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster lifted off from Cape Canaveral Sunday evening in spectacularly uneventful fashion.  Carrying its first ever dual primary payload, ABS 3A and Eutelsat 115 West B, a pair of Boeing built all electric satellites, the Falcon 9, sans landing legs […]

Posted in: SpaceX
SpaceX Landing Sequence in Detail (Weather at 80%)

SpaceX Landing Sequence in Detail (Weather at 80%)

Falcon 9 on the pad Monday evening / Image Credit S. Money Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Space Wing are estimating an 80% change of good weather for Saturday’s 4:47 AM EST SpaceX launch attempt from Cape Canaveral. Temperature will be in the low 50’s, with the primary concern being thick clouds. In […]

SpaceX CRS-5 Launch Delayed Until January

SpaceX CRS-5 Launch Delayed Until January

2014 isn’t going to end with a historic soft landing, a bang, or even a splash for SpaceX and the Falcon 9. Following a static fire test for the booster which took place on Tuesday, SpaceX has delayed the mission due to an unspecified problem. While the company is not elaborating further at this point, […]

Posted in: NASA, SpaceX
Elon Musk MIT Interview and the Evolution of SpaceX

Elon Musk MIT Interview and the Evolution of SpaceX

On Friday, October 24th, SpaceX founder and CTO Elon Musk sat down for a one on one interview as part of MIT’s AeroAstro Centenial Symposium celebrating 100 years of that institution’s contribution to aero and astronautics. The entire wide ranging interview (here) covers SpaceX, Tesla, Hyperloop and even electric supersonic aircraft, as well as Elon’s […]

Posted in: Mars, SpaceX
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