VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (SpaceX PR) — SpaceX is targeting Monday, September 13 for a Falcon 9 launch of 51 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The instantaneous window is at 8:55 p.m. PDT, or September 14 at 3:55 UTC, and a backup opportunity is available on Tuesday, September 14 at 8:56 p.m. PDT, or September 15 at 3:56 UTC. The booster […]
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“Of Course I Still Love You”
by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
The United States reclaimed the top spot in launches from China last year as NASA astronauts flew into orbit from American soil for the first time in nearly nine years, SpaceX deployed the world’s first satellite mega-constellation with reused rockets, and two new launchers debuted with less than stellar results.
American companies conducted 44 launches in 2020, with 40 successes and four failures. Bryce Tech reports that U.S. companies accounted for 32 of the 41 commercial launches conducted last year. The majority of those flights were conducted by SpaceX, which launched 25 orbital missions.
China came in second with a record of 35 successful launches and four failures. The 39 launch attempts tied that nation’s previous record for flights during a calendar year.
Let’s take a closer look at what U.S. companies achieved last year.
(more…)SpaceX launched 60 Starlink broadband satellites into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Elon Musk’s company has now launched 1,565 Starlink spacecraft, with 1,498 in orbit. The Falcon 9 first stage landed on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the ninth landing for the booster, which previously supported the launches of Telstar 18 VANTAGE, Iridium-8, and […]
by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
There were 27 orbital launch attempts with 26 successes and one failure during the first quarter of 2021. The United States accounted for nearly half the total with 13 launches behind nine flights by SpaceX.
(more…)CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. — On Monday, February 15 at 10:59 p.m. EST, SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. SpaceX has now launched 1,145 Starlink satellites, with 1081 still in orbit. The company has received approval to launch nearly 12,000 satellites to provide broadband services around the globe. This was the sixth launch of this Falcon 9 booster, which […]
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. (SpaceX PR) — SpaceX is targeting Monday, February 15 for launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous window is at 10:59 p.m. EST, or 3:59 UTC on February 16. The Falcon 9 first stage rocket booster supporting this mission previously flew on five missions: Dragon’s 19th and 20th commercial resupply missions to […]
On Thursday, February 4 at 1:19 a.m. EST, SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage successfully returned to Earth and landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, completing this booster’s fifth launch and landing. SpaceX will launch a second batch of 60 Starlink […]
by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
SpaceX set a new world record on Sunday by launching 143 satellites into Earth orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
The Sunday morning polar orbit launch included 133 commercial and government spacecraft along with 10 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband communications constellation. The launch was conducted from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
(more…)SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, raising the number of spacecraft launched for the broadband Internet constellation to 775. The successful flight followed three scrubs, two for bad weather and the other due to a ground sensor issue. Falcon 9’s first stage successfully landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship. The booster previously supported launch of Crew Dragon’s first flight to […]