Covering All Things Florida
SpaceX launched the Starlink 8-11 mission into hazy skies with storms looming in the distance late this morning aboard Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
NASA’s spacecraft factory inside Kennedy Space Center’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building is set to become a very busy place in the coming months, as several pieces integral to the Artemis program, including parts for the SLS rocket, have arrived by boat and barge at the Florida facility. The new hardware will be assembled with other existing Artemis pieces already on site at KSC there and in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) in the coming months.
In anticipation of what will now be the uncrewed return of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft from the International Space Station (ISS), NASA held a pre-departure briefing on Wednesday, September 4, from its Johnson Space Center in Houston. The briefing featured Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, Dana Weigel, manager of the ISS at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and ISS Flight Director Anthony Vareha. The officials shared critical updates and a refined timeline for Starliner’s return mission to Earth, which is scheduled to take place on Friday, September 6.
Update: Wednesday’s Starlink launch attempt was called off with slightly more than two minutes left in the countdown due to weather in the booster landing zone. Florida is experiencing a rather stormy week, leading to a high degree of uncertainty in the week’s launch schedule.
SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 Thursday morning from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, carrying another group of Starlink satellites. According to SpaceX, “Liftoff is targeted for 8:35 a.m. ET, with additional opportunities available until 12:31 p.m. ET.”
SpaceX got right back to business early Saturday morning as it launched the Starlink 8-10 mission aboard Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The Federal Aviation Administration has cleared SpaceX to resume Falcon 9 launches.
Houston, TX — NASA has announced a revised crew lineup for the upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). According to a news release today,the mission, now scheduled to launch no earlier than Tuesday, September 24, will feature NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov as the primary crew members. Hague will serve as the mission commander, while Gorbunov will take on the role of mission specialist.
Fresh off of the announced delay of the Polaris Dawn’s 3:38AM launch Wednesday morning, SpaceX made the decision to continue with the launch of Starlink mission 8-6, slated for launch at 3:48 AM. While the launch went off without a hitch, it would not prove to be a great morning for SpaceX.
SpaceX has called off the Polaris Dawn launch of Falcon 9 until at least Friday, August 29th. The company announced shortly after 10 PM EDT that it was standing down for the night, and stated on its website that the next launch attempt would be no earlier than the end of the week.
SpaceX plans to launch Polaris Dawn early tomorrow morning from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, with four astronauts aboard a Crew Dragon.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced today that Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will not return to Earth on Boeing Starliner and will be aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon.
Boeing Starliner Astronauts Mark 80th Day Aboard ISS Amid Growing Concerns
As the calendar flips to the 80th day since their arrival, the crew aboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft continues its mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who launched on this expedition on June 5, 2024, have been engaged in a variety of scientific experiments and station maintenance tasks. However, with growing technical challenges and ongoing discussions about their return, the crew’s extended stay is becoming a subject of interest among space agencies and enthusiasts alike.
