After standing down for a day “out of an abundance of caution” to analyze errant readings on a second stage engine actuator, SpaceX ended the week on a spectacular note, successfully lofting the Thaicom 8 communications satellite to Geostationary Transfer Orbit, and then once again landing the first stage on at sea. Sped up video […]
The automated spaceport drone ship Of Course I Still Love You sailed back into Port Canaveral yesterday evening carrying the Falcon 9 first stage booster which launched the JCSAT-14 mission welded to its deck. Meanwhile, SpaceX has released a YouTube video showing three different camera views of nighttime landing. The next launch for SpaceX is the […]
He declined to talk about his company’s plans for Mars, and seemed surprisingly apprehensive regarding the challenges in launching Falcon Heavy, but Elon Musk’s remarks at a post flight news conference for the CRS-8 mission dropped a bombshell that likely sent his competitors to bed with a stiff drink, if not stronger stuff. Having previously […]
The space age just got another red letter date added to its calendar. In what may go down as a comeback for the ages, literally, SpaceX rebounded from last year’s loss of the CRS-7 mission on June 28th, 2014 with a flawless liftoff of the CRS-8 Dragon capsule, and more importantly in the long run, […]
After delaying the launch for 24 hours to allow the maximum possible densification of super chilled liquid oxygen propellant, SpaceX is once again counting down to the launch of the SES-9 mission to geostationary orbit. The launch window opens at 6:46 PM Eastern, with the launch broadcast beginning approximately 20 minutes earlier. This will be […]
Update: Whether he is sandbagging, or really just wanted to clarify, SpaceX founder Elon Musk used Twitter to correct media reports (including this one) that cited the odds of successful first stage landing at 75-80%. \ Odds of rocket landing successfully today are still less than 50%. The 80% figure by end of year is […]
From SpaceX: “SpaceX is still tracking towards a 6:03pm ET liftoff of DSCOVR, but unfortunately we will not be able to attempt to recover the first stage of the Falcon 9. The drone ship was designed to operate in all but the most extreme weather. We are experiencing just such weather in the Atlantic with […]
This may be the most encouraging image of a rocket explosion in the history of the Space Age. A new series of tweets by Elon Musk show photos of the returning SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage hitting Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship at a 45 degree angle during its oh so close landing attempt which too […]
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