A Delta IV Heavy Launches from CCSFS in June 2023. Photo: Mark Stone/FMN
After 64 years and 389 successful launches, United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Delta rocket family is set to retire with the launch of the last Delta IV Heavy later this week.
Space X Falcon 9, partial timelapse photo over the Indian River. Space Coast residents may recognize “Scruffy The Tug Boat” — an accidental landmark on the Indian River on FL 528 West. It’s an accidental landmark that’s been aground in the same spot for years. Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 booster carrying 23 more Starlink V2 Mini satellites to orbit Saturday night from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center after hours of weather delays. The launch finally came at 11:09 PM EDT, after two pushbacks on the planned L-0 time due to shifting weather on the Space Coast.
Soyuz MS-25 lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 23. 2024. Photo: NASA
The Russian Federation’s Roscosmos launched a Soyuz capsule on the MS-25 mission to the International Space Station Saturday morning. Three crew members including NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson successfully launched at 8:36 a.m. EDT Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station.
Boeing’s Crewed Flight Test of Starliner has pushed a little further to the right again and is now scheduled to launch no earlier than May 1st. That shift is not due to any concerns with the vehicle or its readiness, but instead, ISS scheduling, specifically docking port availability, when astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Willmore arrive at the orbiting outpost.
CRS-30 Launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday, March 21, 2024. Photo: Ed Cordero/FMN
NASA’s 30th commercial resupply mission was successfully launched Thursday, embarking on a journey to deliver a new round of scientific experiments and technology demonstrations to the International Space Station (ISS). This mission includes critical studies focusing on sea ice measurement technologies and plant growth in space, signaling a significant leap forward in our understanding of Earth and space environments.
MS-25 sits on the pad Thursday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Photo: Roscosmos
Yesterday’s planned launch of Soyuz M-25 to the International Space Station was aborted with twenty seconds left in the countdown. NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus are fine, and were evacuated from the Soyuz capsule shortly afterwards.
NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough poses aboard the International Space Station with three Astrobee robotic free-flyers. Photo Credit: NASA/Shane Kimbrough
Like many of us, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) crave their morning coffee. Consequently, that’s one of the food treats, along with fresh citrus, apples, and cherry tomatoes that are aboard the SpaceX CRS-30 mission to the ISS scheduled for launch March 21 at 4:55 pm from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
A Cargo Dragon sits atop a Falcon 9 booster. Image: SpaceX
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – SpaceX, in collaboration with NASA, is gearing up for its 30th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket, carrying an uncrewed SpaceX Cargo Dragon, is slated for Thursday, March 21, at 4:55 p.m. EDT.
After an incredibly busy week for spaceflight last week, this week promises to be equally busy. We have two Starlink launches (one from Vandenberg, another from KSC), SpaceX/NASA CRS-30 from SLC-40 sending supplies to ISS, and a Rocket Lab launch from Wallops early on the 21st. Also, a NASA astronaut is heading to ISS aboard a Soyuz on Thursday as well.
When A Telecom Agency suspects that there are citizens who violate the law by using foreign satellite services.
By now, most are familiar with SpaceX’s effort to bring internet access to every corner of the world. And they’re doing a pretty good job of it. With over 6000 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Starlink satellites already in space, and as many as 6000 more going up on future launches, one would think that the whole world would be pretty happy about it, right? Or at least the “free countries”…but maybe not.
The good folks over at Cosmic Perspective / Everyday Astronaut captured some spectacular footage of the IFT-3 launch from their multiple remote cameras last week. No doubt, it’s the best to date. Well done!
Starship IFT-3 ,surrounded by hot plasma during reentry just prior to loss of communications on March 14, 2024 Screenshot: SpaceX
It probably will come as no surprise to anyone that SpaceX’s Starship program is once again grounded pending another mishap investigation.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Thursday that it has initiated its third mishap investigation into the Starship program following an anomaly during its latest orbital test flight, IFT-3, on March 14, 2024. This inquiry marks yet another pause in the testing of the huge rocket, which reigns as the largest and most powerful rocket in history.
