BREAKING NEWS: SpaceX Given a “Go” by the FAA For Friday Morning Starship Launch Attempt

Starship on the pad
Starship 25 sits on the pad at Starbase, Boca Chica, TX awaiting its test flight, scheduled for Friday, November 17th. Photo by : Richard Gallagher/FMN

The FAA announced on Twitter at 4:15 ET today that it has granted a launch license to SpaceX for the second orbital launch attempt of the Starship SuperHeavy rocket.

Will We See A Second Starship Launch This Week?

Starship 25 sits on the pad in Boca Chica, TX looking ready to go.
Starship25 and Booster9 Aiming for the Stars. Images by Richard P Gallagher/FMN

A second Starship launch soon? All indications suggest–maybe. The closest thing to a tentative date from SpaceX was a tweet that stated, “No Earlier Than” (NET) Friday 11-17-23. Other clues like road closures, NOTAMs and maritime restriction have tantalize space enthusiast and photographers but each has come and gone with a series of expiration dates. Maybe the strongest indication of an impending launch was an email to press and photographers to apply for remote camera setup on Thursday 11-16-23. But even this has to be taken with a grain of salt because of still pending regulatory approvals by the Federal Aviation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Administrations.

NASA’s New ISS APP is Now Out!

Spot the Station App

NASA’s new Spot the Station App. Image by: TJ Waller

The International Space Station (ISS), humanity’s celestial abode, is now even more accessible to the public thanks to NASA’s latest innovation – the Spot the Station mobile app. This easy to use app, now available for download on both iOS and Android platforms, is set to revolutionize the way we engage with the ISS, offering a unique and enhanced experience for ISS enthusiasts and photographers worldwide.

Launch Alert: SES O3b mPOWER Satellites

SES O3b mPower Satellite
OpenAI Illustration of the O3b mPOWER satellite in orbit.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AT A GLANCE:

  • Rocket: SpaceX Falcon9
  • Booster: B1076 9th flight
  • Payload: O3b mPOWER Satellites 5 and 6
  • Time: Launch Window from 4:08pm to 5:37pm
  • Date: 11-12-23
  • Location: LC40 CCAFS, Florida
  • Booster landing: on A Shortfall of Gravitas
  • Trajectory: will be to the East
  • Weather: is predicted to be mostly cloudy. 
SpaceX Delivers the Goods:

SpaceX Delivers the Goods:

An Image review of the CRS29 Mission

Yesterday evening at 8:28pm SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon9 rocket carrying a Cargo Dragon capsule to the ISS. It was loaded with about 6500 pounds of food and water and research experiments to be carried out over the next six months. Lift off occurred from LC39A at KSC in Florida.

Updated: SpaceX Set to Launch Starlink 6-27 Tonight -Everything You Need To Know

A SpaceX Falcon 9 Stands on the pad
Falcon9 rocket on LC40 during the pre-launch vent. 8-31-23 Photo: Richard Gallagher / FMN

Update

Launch occurred at 12:05am on 11-8-23 from LC40 at CCASA in Florida. SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon9 rocket caring 23 Starlink satellites. The first stage booster B1073 which has made 11 other launches and landings again successfully landed at sea on the barge Just Read the Instruction.

Video by Richard Gallagher / FMN

Join other Space Coast spectators tonight under the stars as SpaceX marks its 81st rocket launch this year with the launch of Starlink 6-27. Tonight’s mission (11/7/23) will add more Starlink satellites to the growing global satellite constellation. SpaceX is targeting a launch window between 11:01pm and 3:00am. Launch updates and photographs of this launch attempt will be added to this article when available.

SpaceX Will Deliver Supplies to ISS

A Dragon Capsule atop a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket on LC39A at KSC in Florida will deliver supplies to ISS. Image by Richard P Gallagher

Launch Alert with Sonic BOOM!

Something new! SpaceX will launch a Falcon9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo capsule. The mission, labeled CRS-2 SpX-29 (Commercial Resupply Service), is filled with supplies going to the International Space Station (ISS). It is scheduled for lift-off on November 9, 2023. The launch window is from 8:28pm to 1:28am Friday morning. It will launch from LC39A at KSC in Florida. The first stage booster will perform a boost back maneuver and return to land zone 1 at CCAFS in Florida. A sonic boom will be heard about 8 minutes after launch, depending on how far the viewing location is from LZ1.

Electric Air Taxi Takes Flight at Tampa International Airport

New Aircraft Could Revolutionize Bay Area Travel
Volocopter completes flight test
The Volocopter performs a slight dip in an acknowledgement to spectators during Thursday’s
test flight at TPA. Photo: TJ Waller/FMN

The advancement of urban mobility has taken a significant stride forward with Tampa International Airport’s landmark demonstration of the Volocopter electric air taxi. This flight test, representing the first of its kind at a major U.S. airport, heralds a potential paradigm shift in the transportation network within the Tampa Bay region.

Musk Announces That Starlink Has Reached “Breakeven”Cash Flow

A Falcon 9 carries Starlink satellites to orbit
A Space X Falcon 9 booster delivers another batch of Starlink satellites to orbit. Photo: Mark Stone/FMN

In a recent development that marks a significant fiscal milestone, Space X CEO Elon Musk announced on Thursday that the aerospace company’s internet division, Starlink, has reached a state of breakeven cash flow. This achievement signals a robust stride towards the financial viability of the project, which was previously mired in negative cash flow. Musk, who relayed the announcement via his social media platform X, lauded his team’s exceptional work but did not elaborate on the specifics of the financial marker, including whether it was calculated on an operating basis or over a certain financial period.

Major Kristin “Beo” Wolfe’s Farewell Flight Demo Wows Audiences at Orlando Air Show

Major Kristen “Beo” Wolfe Photo: TJ Waller / FMN

The skies above Sanford, Florida roared with excitement as Commander Kristin “Beo” Wolfe, a veteran United States Air Force pilot, bid an emotional farewell to her illustrious career with a spectacular flight demonstration at the Orlando Air Show on October 29, 2023.

NASA X-ray Telescopes Reveal the “Bones” of a Ghostly Cosmic Hand

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./R. Romani et al. (Chandra); NASA/MSFC (IXPE); Infared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/DECaPS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt)

Just in time for Halloween, NASA released a ghostly photo taken by it’s newest X-Ray telescope, the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer. The telescope has been observing the wind nebula MSH 15-52 for the last 17 days, and captured a image that looks like a “ghostly hand”. The Nebula is about 16,000 light years from earth.