Aviation and Space News Archives

SpaceX’s Booster Failure Highlights Need For “Dissimilar Redundancy”

By FMN Staff July 13, 2024Boeing, Editorials and Opinions, Space News, SpaceX

KSC's Pad 39A sits empty as uncertainty looms about the Falcon 9 launch schedule. Photo: Mark Stone-FMN — KSC’s Pad 39A sits empty as uncertainty looms about the Falcon 9 launch schedule following a booster failure on July 11, 2024. Falcon 9 boosters have been grounded by the FAA pending investigation. Photo: Mark Stone-FMN

The Commercial Crew Program – All About Redundancy

SpaceX’s second-stage failure on their venerable Falcon 9 booster Thursday demonstrates exactly why NASA wants dissimilar redundancy for crewed flights. The idea is simple: if one launch provider is grounded for a technical issue or a launch failure investigation, the other can take up the slack. The duopoly of crewed launch providers is meant to assure the nation of continuous access to orbit while launching from American soil.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Experiences In-Flight Failure, 20 Starlink Satellites In Jeopardy

By Mark Stone FMN July 12, 2024Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX, Starlink

Booster 1063 safely lands on a SpaceX Droneship. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX encountered its first in-flight failure of a Falcon 9 rocket since 2015 Thursday night, resulting in 20 Starlink satellites being deployed into a lower-than-intended orbit. The incident occurred during SpaceX’s 70th orbital launch of the year. The mission, designated Starlink 9-3, initially appeared to proceed without issue after lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Thursday night at 7:35 p.m. PDT .

Starliner Not “Stuck In Space”, But No Return Date Set Yet

By Charles Boyer FMN July 10, 2024Boeing, NASA, Space News

Starliner CST-100 in launch preparation, May 31, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Florida Media Now

The popular meme in a lot of space coverage these days implies that Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are stuck aboard the International Space Station. Some say that Starliner is incapacitated and unable to return them to Earth. NASA and Boeing have steadfastly stated that is not the case, but at the same time, a test flight originally scheduled for eight days has been repeatedly extended to conduct tests on faulty thrusters on the CST-100 Starliner’s service module.

NASA and Boeing officials held a press conference today and stated that no return date has yet been set for Starliner. According to the officials, engineers are continuing to investigate system failures on the spacecraft and gather data on the Starliner thruster pods.

Axiom Space Names Normanique Preston as Vice President of People and Culture

By Mark Stone FMN July 10, 2024Axiom Space, Space News

Axiom today named Normanique Preston as VP of People and Culture. Photo: Axiom Space

In a news release today, Axiom Space has announced the appointment of Normanique Preston as the Vice President of People and Culture. The role will see Preston shaping the company’s people strategy, fostering a collaborative culture, and driving employee engagement and development. As an integral member of the executive management team, she will be responsible for attracting, developing, and retaining top talent to support Axiom Space’s ambitious goals.

SpaceX Waits Out Lightning, Launches Turksat-6A

By Charles Boyer FMN July 9, 2024Aviation and Space News, Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX

Liftoff of Falcon 9 carrying Türksat-6A to orbit on July 8, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Florida Media Now

SpaceX weathered lightning in the area until skies cleared early this evening, allowing the company to launch the Turksat-6A mission aboard a Falcon 9. Originally scheduled for 5:20 PM EDT, Turksat liftoff was delayed several times until 7:30 PM when the afternoon’s storms were far away enough to allow the rocket to safely ascend towards orbit.

SpaceX Planning To Launch Turksat 6A Aboard Falcon 9 Late Monday Afternoon

By Charles Boyer FMN July 7, 2024Aviation and Space News, Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX

A Falcon 9 lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 in May 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Florida Media Now

SpaceX is planning to launch a Falcon 9 carrying a Turkish telecommunications satellite later Monday afternoon from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, weather permitting. The launch window opens at 05:20 PM EDT and extends over four hours to 09:43 PM EDT Monday.

A Look Ahead: Three “Firsts” of The Polaris Dawn Mission

By Mark Stone FMN July 6, 2024Space News, SpaceX

*Official rendering of a Polaris Dawn astronaut egressing from Crew Dragon with the help of the the Skywalker attachment (Zdroj: SpaceX)*

The upcoming Polaris Dawn mission is poised to make history as the first commercial spaceflight to include a spacewalk. Billionaire Jared Isaacman is funding the mission, which is scheduled to launch no earlier than July 31, 2024, from Florida’s Space Coast.

SpaceX Launches Starlink 8-9 Mission Early This Morning From Cape Canaveral

By Charles Boyer FMN July 3, 2024Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX, Starlink

SpaceX successfully launched another group of Starlink satellites into orbit this morning from its Space Launch Complex 40 facility to open the second half of the year. Liftoff was at 4:55 AM EDT.

SpaceX Planning Overnight Falcon 9 Launch

By Charles Boyer FMN July 2, 2024Space News, SpaceX

A Falcon 9 heads to space in 2023, as seen from Rotary Riverfront Park in Titusville
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

SpaceX plans to add more satellites to their Starlink constellation in the wee hours Wednesday morning with the Starlink 8-9 mission set to depart Space Launch Complex 40. Liftoff is currently targeted for 02:57 AM EDT with a launch window extending to 06:01:00 AM EDT the same day. If weather or technical reasons cause a scrub, an additional opportunities are also available on Sunday, July 7 starting at 12:28 AM EDT.

The booster used for the mission is Booster B1073, the same one that experienced an abort-at-ignition on its last launch attempt. After completing its boost cycle, B1073 on the company’s automated landing barge ‘A Shortfall Of Gravitas’ which is stationed at sea in the Atlantic Ocean offshore of the Carolinas. Since the booster will not be returning to the launch site, there will be no sonic booms on the Space Coast.

Public Comments on SpaceX Starship Launch Facility at LC-39A Highlight Environmental and Safety Concerns

By Mark Stone FMN June 29, 2024KSC, Space News, SpaceX

Kennedy Space Center, Florida — SpaceX’s ambitious plans to repurpose Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center for its Starship/Super Heavy launch vehicle program have sparked a wide array of concerns from various public and private stakeholders.

Axiom Continues Making Steady Progress With Spacesuit Program, Collins Aerospace Drops Out

By Charles Boyer FMN June 28, 2024Artemis, Axiom Space, ISS, NASA, Space News

Artemis III partners – NASA, SpaceX, and Axiom Space – together conducted a successful pressurized simulation and the first test of its kind since the Apollo era. Courtesy of SpaceX via Axiom Space

Vital Program for Artemis and ISS Loses One of Two Vendors

Though they are often taken for granted, spacesuits are a vital part of US space efforts, both now with the International Space Station, and also later, when astronauts from Project Artemis undertake their EVA duties on the lunar surface. Without spacesuits, many of the necessary maintenance and upgrade duties on ISS cannot be performed, and obviously, without spacesuits, no one will be walking on the moon.

Space Debris from Russian Satellite Breakup Forces ISS Astronauts to Take Cover

By Mark Stone FMN June 28, 2024Space News

The U.S. Space Command has confirmed the breakup of the decommissioned Russian satellite RESURS-P1. The satellite disintegrated into over 100 trackable pieces of debris on June 26, 2024, at approximately 10:00 a.m. Mountain Time (1600 UTC). This event added to the growing mass of space junk orbiting Earth and forced astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to take cover.