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Air Force gives 3D-printed rocket company Cape Canaveral launch pad
Relativity Space, a startup that aspires to create 3D printed rockets, has secured a launch pad at Cape Canaveral. The company announced Thursday a five-year agreement with the US Air Force that will allow the company to operate out of Launch Complex 16 (LC-16) at the at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Falcon 9 misses landing after latest SpaceX mission to the ISS (update)
SpaceX has made sure it's got its money's worth out of the Falcon 9. On Wednesday, the rocket successfully launched for a resupply mission to the International Space Station. Unfortunately, though, the milestone was marred by a missed landing of the booster's first stage.
Blue Origin's latest rocket engine is finally complete
After six years of development, the first of Blue Origin's new BE-4 rocket engines has finally been fully assembled. The company's founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, debuted the images via a series of tweets.
SpaceX plans to launch a rocket every two weeks
SpaceX has a bold plan in place to get through its backlog. The space corporation's president Gwynne Shotwell told Reuters that SpaceX aims to send a rocket to space every two to three weeks as soon as its new launch pad in Florida opens next week. As you know, the company put its schedule on hold after a Falcon 9 exploded on its old launch pad at Cape Canaveral last year -- its comeback mission took place just a few weeks ago in mid-January at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Elon Musk seeks public footage for SpaceX investigation
Earlier this month, SpaceX lost a Falcon 9 rocket (and a Facebook satellite) on the launch pad in Cape Canaveral. Naturally, Elon Musk is not taking the explosion lightly, and the outspoken CEO has already turned to Twitter to help his company find the cause of the explosion.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket explodes on launch pad in Cape Canaveral (updated)
During a pre-launch test this morning, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft was sitting on a launchpad ahead of a scheduled launch this Saturday to take an AMOS-6 communications satellite into orbit for the Israeli company Spacecom. That satellite is a joint effort between Facebook and France's Eutelsat to provide internet connectivity to 14 African countries. Some reports indicated that the explosion shook office buildings some distance away.
SpaceX's first reusable rocket is back in its hangar
As a reminder of one of 2015's greatest accomplishments, SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted one more picture (embedded below) of the record setting Falcon 9 rocket it launched to space and then landed again at Cape Canaveral. Now the rocket is back in its hangar and after showing no damage from its trip, is "ready to fire again." That bodes well for future launches, but it's unlikely to happen for this unit. After the historic event, Musk told reporters "we will probably keep this one on the ground," and after testing will put it "somewhere." There's no word on which museum the rocket will end up in, but hopefully Musk knows our mantel is available.
Watch SpaceX's latest attempt at landing a reusable rocket
Tonight we could possibly see Elon Musk's dream of landing a reusable rocket on a hard surface come true. The test flight for the Falcon 9 is scheduled for 8:29 PM and the live-stream (embedded below, and also available on YouTube) is supposed to kick off at 8:05 PM from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Remember, last time SpaceX tested one of its rockets it failed pretty spectacularly, exploding right after it launched.
Watch SpaceX's Dragon capsule liftoff at 10:10AM ET today (update: video!)
You've no doubt seen plenty of video of SpaceX rocket launches on this very site, but let's face it, nothing compares to seeing a live launch. Great news for fans of watching things slip the surly bonds of Earth: the commercial space company's Dragon capsule is set to do precisely that atop a Falcon 9 carrier rocket at 10:10AM ET this very morning -- you know, roughly half an hour from now. The unmanned rocket will deliver supplies to astronauts aboard the International Space Station. And if you're not currently within driving distance of Cape Canaveral and in possession of the the proper clearances, you're still in luck. You can watch a livestream of the event unfold in the source link below. And for more space action, make sure to check out the latest episode of the Engadget Show. Update: We have liftoff! Update 2: While the rocket liftoff seems to have gone according to plan, the company has reported a problem with the capsule. According to a tweet from Elon Musk, there's an "issue with Dragon thruster pods. System inhibiting three of four from initializing. About to command inhibit override." Update 3: Miss this morning's festivities? No worries, just hop the break to find an embedded video of the launch.
Watch the SpaceX Dragon capsule lift off, live (video)
There's nothing like a good ol' fashion rocket launch to spice up a lazy Sunday evening -- the SpaceX Dragon capsule is ready to soar. Following a successful docking test back in May, NASA has approved Dragon for a series of delivery missions, carting a thousand pounds of cargo to astronauts on the International Space Station. Today, at 8:35PM ET, the capsule is scheduled to ride a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit -- the first of what should be a series of round-trip delivery missions. Barring bad weather or engine problems, it should be a good show -- join us after the break to enjoy the launch right here. Update: Dragon made it into orbit -- check out the instant replay after the break.
SpaceX Dragon capsule launch gets go signal from NASA
One small step in May is poised to turn into one giant leap for space capitalism as NASA approved the Sunday evening launch of SpaceX's Dragon capsule. The scheduled trip comes just a little over four months after the project successfully completed a docking test by the unmanned private spacecraft with the International Space Station. The Sunday flight -- dubbed CRS-1 -- will have the Dragon capsule piggybacking on a Falcon 9 rocket to punch through the atmosphere while carrying more than a thousand pounds of cargo. The capsule will then dock with the station for about three weeks before being sent back to Earth to deliver more than a ton of scientific samples and used hardware from the ISS. The launch is scheduled for 8:35PM ET from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station barring a tantrum from Mother Nature (we've also seen our share of aborted SpaceX Dragon launches before so we're keeping our proverbial fingers crossed). NASA says that Orbital Sciences' competing Cygnus spacecraft and Antares rocket will also make a demo flight later this year.[Image credit: Jim Grossmann, NASA]
SpaceX to start International Space Station cargo runs on October 7th, kick off routine private spaceflight
SpaceX just put a date on when private space travel becomes a seemingly everyday affair: October 7th. That's when the company and NASA expect to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station delivering the first of a dozen cargo loads to the International Space Station through the unmanned Dragon spacecraft. While we're not expecting any trouble -- SpaceX has done this before -- there's a chance for a rescheduled launch on October 8th if there are any minor setbacks. The flights won't achieve the cachet of government-funded runs with human beings onboard, but we're sure the company doesn't mind when it's taking steps towards democratizing spaceflight... and pocketing $1.6 billion in the process.
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off one last time (video)
NASA's Endeavour shuttle marked its final launch today, lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, a fortnight after an initial takeoff was scrubbed over concerns surrounding an auxiliary power unit heater. A six-member crew lead by commander Mark Kelly and some tiny satellites are on-board for the STS-134 mission, which involves the delivery of the massive cosmic ray-collecting Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and some spare parts to the International Space Station. NASA's 134th flight is the penultimate mission for the current fleet of shuttle -- Atlantis will liftoff for a final time in July. Video of the smoke-filled majesty after the break.
