Covering All Things Florida
On September 24, 1958, the first Polaris AX propulsion test vehicle was launched from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 25. What happened next quickly became a part of local lore, with residents referring to the event for many years later as “The Banana River Ballistic Missile.”
United Launch Alliance has moved its second Vulcan Rocket from their Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 to the launch mount. Final preparations can now begin for a launch scheduled for NET (not earlier than) Friday morning. Launch time is unofficially expected to be between 06:00 AM – 009:00 AM EDT, but ULA has not yet announced an official time for T-0.
The FAA released a brief statement recognizing that the second stage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 used for the Crew 9 launch landed outside of its designated landing zone, and that they are requiring an investigation.
SpaceX successfully launched the Crew 9 mission today from Space Launch Complex 40 in the first crewed launch from that storied pad. Liftoff was at 01:17 PM EDT under broken skies and a building threat of storms.
The European Space Agency plans to launch and then let a test satellite return to Earth in an uncontrolled manner. The Destructive Reentry Assessment Container Object (DRACO) will be built by the Spanish company Deimos and is currently planned to fly to space no earlier than 2027.
Tropical Storm Helene, currently a powerful tropical system, is forecast to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane as it moves toward the Gulf Coast of Florida. As of 6AM EDT this morning, the storm was located near Cozumel, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.
NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson has returned to Earth from the International Space Station. During her 184 days in space, she orbited Earth 2,944 times and traveled approximately 78 million miles.
The NASA SpaceX Crew-9 mission, set to launch on September 26, 2024, will see NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov embarking on a six-month scientific mission to the International Space Station (ISS). For the first time, a crewed mission will be launched from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, adding a new dimension to SpaceX’s launch capabilities and enhancing operational flexibility (NASA). This mission will also formularize Starliner astronauts currently aboard the ISS with the Dragon spacecraft operations in preparation for their return flight home after the completion of the Crew 9 mission.
The creators of the popular adult party game Cards Against Humanity on Thursday filed a $15 million lawsuit against SpaceX in Cameron County, Texas. In their filing, the company alleges that SpaceX trespassed on and damaged a piece of property the game maker purchased in 2017 to protest former President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall.
SpaceX has responded to the announcement of $633,000 in fines from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for alleged safety violations during two Florida launches last year.
Space-X launched Falcon 9 early last evening from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying new European navigation satellites to orbit. The launch came at 06:51 PM EDT, just as the sun was starting to set in the west, creating a beautiful golden hue on the pad.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn crew successfully completed their five-day journey in space, capping off the historic mission with a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The Crew Dragon capsule, carrying four astronauts, landed off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida, at 3:37 a.m. ET, marking the conclusion of a mission that included the world’s first commercial spacewalk.
