Home News Spaceflight SpaceX’s Starship SN9 prototype performs a static-fire test, its fifth overall, on Jan. 22, 2021. (Image: © Elon Musk via Twitter) SpaceX’s latest Starship prototype may now be cleared for takeoff.The Starship SN9 vehicle performed its fifth static fire test Friday morning (Jan. 22), briefly lighting its three Raptor engines at 9:59…Continue Reading
Home News Spaceflight SpaceX’s Starship SN8 launches on its first high-altitude flight from the company’s Boca Chica site in South Texas on Dec. 8, 2020. (Image: © SpaceX) SpaceX had a pretty good year.Elon Musk’s company launched 26 missions in 2020, breaking its previous calendar-year record of 21, which was set in 2018. This year’s…Continue Reading
Home News Spaceflight SpaceX dropped an early Christmas present for space fans everywhere this week with an amazing video recap of its first major test launch of a Starship rocket.The video, which SpaceX unveiled Wednesday (Dec. 23), shows the company’s first high-altitude launch of its giant Starship SN8, a rocket prototype for a fully reusable…Continue Reading
Home News Spaceflight A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station today (Dec. 7) to deliver vital supplies for NASA and try something brand-new: park itself without the help of astronauts.The private spaceflight company used a Falcon 9 rocket to launch CRS-21, the first flight to use the upgraded version of its…Continue Reading
Home News Spaceflight Artist’s illustration of SpaceX Starship vehicles on the surface of Mars. (This scene shows carbon-composite Starships; SpaceX has since decided to build the vehicles out of stainless steel.) (Image: © SpaceX) SpaceX’s first crewed mission to Mars could be just four years away.Company founder and CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday (Dec.…Continue Reading
Home News Spaceflight While en route to the International Space Station, the four astronauts of NASA’s Crew-1 mission — along with special passenger Baby Yoda — showed viewers around their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.The brief tour on NASA TV was webcast live Monday (Nov. 16) at 4:48 p.m. EST (2148 GMT) as NASA astronauts Michael…Continue Reading
The four astronauts now on their way to the International Space Station are marking several firsts—the SpaceX Dragon’s first flight after being officially certified by NASA to fly humans, the first international astronaut onboard a commercial spacecraft, and the first time NASA has packed four people in a space capsule.It’s also the first time the…Continue Reading
There were some delays, but SpaceX and NASA are (hopefully) ready to make Crew Dragon a regular part of American spaceflight. The two are expected to launch the capsule’s first operational mission, Crew-1, at 7:27PM Eastern, with NASA TV offering livestreamed coverage starting at 3:15PM. You can also watch SpaceX’s own stream close to the…Continue Reading
Users of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite-internet service said how impressed they were with download speeds in snow and high-speed winds on the Reddit Starlink community. One user reported speeds reaching 175 Mbps in the colder air, which is 20 Mbps faster than usual. The Starlink terminal even withstood a user’s 175 mph leafblower. The terminal –…Continue Reading
On Sunday, four astronauts will embark on a six-month mission aboard the Falcon-9 rocket and “Resilience” spaceship. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will not be at the launch after announcing that he tested positive for the coronavirus.Nov. 14, 2020Continue Reading
Home News Spaceflight SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speak with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken prior to a scrubbed launch on May 27, 2020. Hurley and Behnken successfully launched on their next attempt, on May 30, and spent two months at the International Space Station. (Image: © NASA TV)…Continue Reading
