Covering All Things Florida
The second stage from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 used to launch Starlink 11-4 from Vandenberg on February 1st has apparently re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, with parts of the spacecraft’s debris reaching the ground in Poland. Initially entering over the Irish Sea, the reentering body broke apart, and the debris path of the spacecraft continued over the UK, western European countries including Poland and Ukraine.
Parts of the rocket body, including a suspected pressure vessel, were found near Poznan, Poland today, prompting local investigations into the incident and public safety concerns.
At the time of this writing, SpaceX has not confirmed that the debris is theirs, but according to the FAA, the company is investigating the matter.
Cape Canaveral, Florida — SpaceX is on the brink of setting a new milestone in spaceflight reusability with its Falcon 9 booster B1067 scheduled to launch for the 26th time on February 15, 2025, during the Starlink Group 12-8 mission. This mission, taking off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, will further demonstrate SpaceX’s commitment to a sustainable present in space through reliable reuse of its booster fleet.
A Texas judge has officially signed off and approved a special election to decide if Starbase will be allowed to incorporate as a municipality. Starbase is, of course, the site of SpaceX’s Starship development, manufacturing and launch facilities.
In a news release Tuesday, NASA and SpaceX announced they are moving forward with adjusted launch and return timelines for the upcoming crew rotation missions to and from the International Space Station (ISS).
SpaceX seems to have experienced an issue with the second stage of the Falcon 9 used for the recent Starlink 11-4 launch. After lifting off on February 1st with no problems, Falcon 9 delivered its payload of Starlink satellites into their intended orbit after a brief circularization burn of the second stage, as planned. What apparently has not gone to plan is the de-orbit burn of the second stage, as it is still in orbit five days after the active part of the mission was completed.
The company has not commented on the matter.
Figuring out Starship’s next launch date is never easy, but the are early indicators you can watch, One of them came in the form of an FCC filing late last week.
President Donald Trump has called upon SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to expedite the return of NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams from the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts have been aboard the ISS since June 2024, following an extended mission due to technical issues with their original Boeing Starliner spacecraft.
Spaceflight aficionados, like many sports fans, love memorabilia. Space-related apparel, books, mission patches, stickers and other items sell at a brisk pace, and that’s just the bottom end of the market. The most valuable pieces are “flown” — meaning that they were either a part of or aboard a given mission. Many of those pieces are well out of reach for the common man – they are relatively rare and often quite expensive, at least for artifacts with certain authenticity. Others are affordable, at least to a dedicated collector, and can be bought for a few hundred dollars or less.
In the world of aerospace engineering, even the smallest miscalculation can lead to catastrophic failure. And in the past few years, a phrase has emerged as a humorous way to describe those unfortunate events: “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” often shortened to RUD. This technical-sounding euphemism, often deployed in the aftermath of rocket explosions, has become a staple in modern spaceflight jargon, is widely used when a rocket fails and has entered into common vernacular. But where did the phrase come from?
As expected, the FAA is requiring an investigation into Blue Origin’s New Glenn’s first stage failure during its descent towards an attempted landing in the Atlantic Ocean, and SpaceX’s Starship breakup over the Caribbean Seas. Both events occurred on January 16, 2025.
Space X’s Starship (L) and Blue Origin’s New Glenn (R) both had success full launches but faced challenges during Thursday’s flight tests. Images: Richard P Gallagher-FMN / Blue Origin
January 16th proved to be an emotional roller coaster for private space exploration. Both Blue Origin and SpaceX achieved notable successes tempered by huge challenges during their respective rocket launches from Florida and Texas.
