A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Polaris Dawn mission. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX is preparing to try once again to launch the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission, even as weather continues to prove challenging in and around Florida.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft rests in the desert of the White Sands Space Harbor following its return to Earth from the International Space Station. Image: Boeing
Leaving its crew behind in orbit, Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station Friday and chalked up a successful unpiloted return to Earth, closing out a disappointing test flight with an on-target and apparently problem-free New Mexico touchdown.
The summer-long saga of the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test is set to come to an end on Friday. Landing at the White Sands Space Harbor shortly after midnight on Saturday. Starliner will make its final journey without crew onboard. NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams will remain onboard the International Space Station as members of Expedition 71/72 before their return onboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft no earlier than February 2025.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) prior to the launch of the NROL-113 mission. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with an undisclosed number of satellites on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The spacecraft, which are believed to be Starshield satellites, make up the third batch of what the NRO calls its “proliferated architecture.”
File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands at the ready to support the Starlink 10-4 mission, which will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 28, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
SpaceX is targeting Wednesday morning for the 85th launch Falcon 9 rocket so far in 2024. The mission, dubbed Starlink 8-11, will add another 21 Starlink satellites to the company’s megaconstellation.
Sentinel-2 in the Vega launch tower. Image: ESA-CNES-ARIANESPACE/Optique vidéo du CSG–T. Leduc
Update 6:41 p.m. EDT: Arianespace announced that the mission is scrubbed for a Tuesday night launch attempt and is working towards an opportunity on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
A Falcon 9 rocket streaks across the skies above Florida’s Space Coast during the Starlink 8-10 mission. This was SpaceX’s return to flight mission, following a failed booster landing on Wednesday. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now
Update 4:04 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the mission and landed its first stage booster on its droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions.’
File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX
Update 5:06 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the mission and landed B1081 on the droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’
The crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station poses for a group photo at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Image: SpaceX.
NASA has bumped two female astronauts. including the commander, from the next SpaceX crew rotation flight to the international space station, freeing up two seats to give the agency’s Starliner astronauts a ride home next February.
A streak shot of the Starlink 8-6 mission showing the Falcon 9 rocket flying away from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Aug. 28, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration for the second time in less than two months, following the failed landing of a first stage booster, which had earlier helped launch a batch of satellites for the Starlink network.
File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands at the ready to support the Starlink 10-4 mission, which will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 28, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
Update 1:46 a.m. EDT: SpaceX pushed back the liftoff time of the mission.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft stand ready to launch the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission from Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is set for no earlier than 3:38 a.m. EDT (0738 UTC) on Aug. 27, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now
A commercial astronaut mission of historic firsts is set to launch in the predawn hours of Tuesday morning. The four members of the Polaris Dawn flight will climb aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon to embark on a roughly five-day, free-flying mission orbiting the Earth.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Launch Complex 39A, ready to support the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission. Image: SpaceX
The SpaceX and Polaris Dawn teams are working towards some of the final big tests before they are ready to launch the historic commercial mission.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, seen from a window on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. Image: NASA.
After weeks of debate, NASA has ruled out bringing two astronauts back to Earth aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule because of lingering concerns about multiple helium leaks and degraded thrusters, both critical to a successful re-entry, officials said Saturday.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, Boeing’s Crew Flight Test Commander and Pilot respectively, inspect safety hardware aboard the International Space Station. Image: NASA
NASA is at a crossroads when it comes to the conclusion of the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test. The agency is set to announce its decision on whether or not to return NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams on Starliner as originally intended or on a SpaceX Crew Dragon.
The crew of the Polaris Dawn mission pose in front of the Alpha jets they flew in on to the Kennedy Space Center. Left to right: Mission Specialist Anna Menon, Pilot Scott “Kidd” Potent, Commander Jared Isaacman, Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
The four-member crew of what is set to be an historic spaceflight arrived in Florida on Monday. Against the backdrop of clear blue skies and summertime humidity, the quartet of astronauts descended from the camouflage clad Dassault Alpha jets owned by the mission’s commander, Jared Isaacman.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stood at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of a static fire test of the first stage booster. It will be used to launch the Starlink 10-5 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
SpaceX is preparing to launch another batch of Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. A Falcon 9 rocket will carry 22 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit after launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
On Monday, SpaceX fired the nine Merlin engines on its Falcon 9 rocket ahead of the planned launch of the Starlink 10-5 mission on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. The booster, B1085, will also launch the Crew-9 mission for NASA no earlier than Sept. 24. Image: Spaceflight Now
SpaceX completed a test fire of a brand-new Falcon 9 rocket that will eventually carry the Crew 9 mission to the International Space Station. The static fire test and a “shakedown” mission were ordered for the booster after it suffered moisture intrusion on its way from SpaceX’s McGregor test facility in Texas to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
A collection of smallsats integrated ahead of SpaceX’s rideshare mission, Transporter-11, ahead of encapsulation within the payload fairings. Image: SpaceX
Update 4:25 p.m. EDT: SpaceX confirms successful deployment of the first 69 satellites out of 116 total payloads. Its third upper stage burn out of four is coming up in about 15 minutes.
The fully integrated EscaPADE satellites sit inside a clean room at Rocket Lab’s Space Systems Group facility in Long Beach, California. Image: Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab is gearing up for its first mission to another planet. In the fall, two of its spacecraft will hitch a ride onboard a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket to begin their 11-month trek to Mars.
The next two WorldView Legion satellites, which will be the company’s first spacecraft in MIO, are seen here at Maxar Space Systems’ manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, California, shortly before shipment to the launch site. Image: Maxar
SpaceX is preparing to launch a pair of Maxar Space Systems’ WorldView Legion satellites to a mid-inclination orbit Thursday morning. The 30 cm-class imaging satellites will ride to space atop a Falcon 9 rocket launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
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