Falcon 9 Archives

Falcon 9 Delivers Next-Gen WorldView Legion Satellites for Maxar

By Richard Gallagher FMN August 15, 2024Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX

A Falcon9 rocket carrying a pair of WorldView satellites soars above the Florida palm fronds this morning from CCSFS. Image by Richard P Gallagher

SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket today at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, carrying the WorldView Legion 3 and 4 satellites into orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, delivering the WorldView Legion 3 and 4 satellites into a sun-synchronous orbit. These satellites, developed by Maxar Technologies, are part of a next-generation constellation designed to provide high-resolution Earth imagery. The WorldView Legion satellites are expected to significantly enhance the ability to capture detailed images of the Earth’s surface, with applications ranging from environmental monitoring and agriculture to defense and intelligence.

Falcon to Deliver WorldView Satellites

By Richard Gallagher FMN August 14, 2024Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX

WorldView Legion satellite illustration. Credit: Maxar Technologies

On August 15, 2024, SpaceX is set to launch the WorldView Legion 3 and 4 satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This mission will expand Maxar Technologies’ Earth observation capabilities, which include national security, disaster response, and commercial mapping.

SpaceX Launches Starlink 10-7 Before Dawn on Monday

By Charles Boyer FMN August 12, 2024Aviation and Space News, Falcon 9, KSC, Space News, SpaceX, Starlink

As seen from Kennedy Point Park in Titusville, Starlink 10-7 rises off of LC-39A on August 12, 2024
Photo: Richard P. Gallagher / Florida Media Now

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying another group of Starlink satellites from Kennedy Space Center this morning in the predawn hours. Liftoff was at 06:37 AM EDT from Launch Complex 39A.

Cygnus Safely Docks With ISS

By Richard Gallagher FMN August 6, 2024Falcon 9, ISS, NASA, Space News, SpaceX

*Cygnus about to be captured by Canadian robot arm. Credit NASA*

Cape Canaveral, FL – August 4, 2024 — Northrop Grumman’s 21st Cygnus resupply mission, NG-21, began its journey to the International Space Station (ISS) on August 4, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, suffered a delay of about 24 hours caused by adverse weather conditions from Tropical Storm Debby as it moved up the Florida peninsula. Cygnus is part of NASA’s Commercial Resupply Service (CRS), responsible for maintaining the vital flow of supplies and scientific experiments to the ISS.

Cygnus NG-21 Successfully Deployed, Possible Engine Anomaly

By Richard Gallagher FMN August 4, 2024Falcon 9, ISS, NASA, Space News, SpaceX

A Falcon9 rocket carrying NG-21 soars toward space amidst an overcast sky. Image by: Richard P Gallagher

Cape Canaveral, FL – August 4, 2024 — The Cygnus NG-21 mission, launched earlier today from Cape Canaveral, has encountered some unexpected challenges. According to a tweet on “X” by William Harwood:

“Mission control just alerted the ISS crew to a possible issue with the Cygnus cargo ship: “Just to let you guys know, good comm with Cygnus, we’re going to have solar array deploy in about an hour. The first two burns were not performed by Cygnus, so they are reassessing what is the current state of the burn plan. We’re hoping to still keep Tuesday (for capture by ISS), but we’ll re-assess once we figure out what went wrong with the first two burns.”

SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 and NG-21 Mission

By Charles Boyer FMN August 4, 2024Aviation and Space News, Falcon 9, ISS, NASA, Space News, SpaceX, Uncategorized, US Space Force

Falcon 9 and Northrup Grumman’s NG-21 Cygnus cargo capsule lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral on August 4. 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Florida Media Now

Despite on a 10% GO forecast and storms closing in from a distance, Falcon 9 flies another perfect mission.

SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying Northrup Grumman’s Cygnus CRS-2 NG-21 (S.S. Francis R. “Dick” Scobee) to orbit this morning from Cape Canaveral. Liftoff was at 11:02 AM EDT under variable skies that showed a strong chance of storms coming in shortly afterwards.

SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from Cape Canaveral

SpaceX Hopes To Launch Northrup Grumman’s NG-21 Mission Saturday (Update: Scrubbed)

By Charles Boyer FMN August 2, 2024Aviation and Space News, Falcon 9, ISS, NASA, Space News, SpaceX

An ill-timed line of thunderstorms forces a scrub Saturday

Update: 12 PM EDT Saturday

A wave of thunderstorms passed through the Cape Canaveral area around 90 minutes before liftoff Saturday, forcing SpaceX to stand down from its launch attempt today.

Due to unfavorable weather, we are standing down from today's launch of @northropgrumman's NG-21 mission. Next launch opportunity is Sunday, August 4 → https://t.co/bsNx0Xb6I3
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 3, 2024

The company said in a latter post on X.com that they would try again tomorrow, but with a 90% Probability of Violation and an approaching tropical system off of Florida’s west coast, the chances of that don’t seem very high. Monday’s forecast is equally squirrelly as the system is forecast to arc through northern Florida, creating storm squalls and windy conditions across the state.

On the other hand, it’s Florida and the weather here can be unpredictable. So, we’ll see when SpaceX can get this launch off of the pad.

Starliner, Cygnus and Crew 9 Oh My! ISS is Full.

By Richard Gallagher FMN July 31, 2024Crewed, Falcon 9, ISS, NASA, Space News, Starliner

Cygnus spacecraft for NG-21 resupply mission. Credit: NASA

The International Space Station (ISS) is an island of international cooperation and scientific research. As of July 2024, the ISS has been hosting a variety of spacecraft, including the Boeing Starliner, SpaceX Dragon Endeavour, Soyuz MS-25, and the Russian Progress 87 and 88 resupply ships. The current mix of 5 vehicles and 12 astronauts ensures that the ISS is a bustling beehive of activity, supporting a diverse range of scientific experiments and international visitors. But soon, in the days and weeks to come two more spacecraft and four more astronauts will join the activities.

SpaceX Returns to Launch Status with Successful Mission

By Richard Gallagher FMN July 27, 2024Falcon 9, KSC, Space News, SpaceX

A long exposure streak image from last night successful SpaceX Falcon 9 return to flight rocket launch. Image by Richard P Gallagher

Cape Canaveral, FL – After a brief grounding by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket and deployed its Starlink Group 10-9 satellites early in the morning on July 28, 2024. This launch marked the company’s return to flight status following an anomaly during a mission earlier in the month.

SpaceX Starlink 10-9 Set For Early Saturday Liftoff

By Charles Boyer FMN July 26, 2024Aviation and Space News, Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX, Starlink

A Falcon 9 launching from LC-39A Photo: Charles Boyer/FMN

SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 carrying twenty-three Starlink satellites from Kennedy Space Center’s Pad LC-39A early Saturday morning. The launch window for the Falcon 9’s “return to flight” opens at 12:21 AM EDT on July 27 and extends until 04:21 AM the same day. If needed, the company has a backup launch window at the same time, twenty-four hours later, on July 28.

Falcon 9 Cleared To Return To Flight

By Charles Boyer FMN July 25, 2024Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX, Starlink

Falcon 9 launching from Pad LC-39A
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

SpaceX has been cleared to resume launching Falcon 9 by the FAA. Almost immediately afterward, the company announced a launch of the venerable rocket from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center early Sunday morning.The company stated that the Starlink 9-3 mishap in a statement on their website “The cause of the leak was identified as a crack in a sense line for a pressure sensor attached to the vehicle’s oxygen system. This line cracked due to fatigue caused by high loading from engine vibration and looseness in the clamp that normally constrains the line,” SpaceX said.

The flame plume of a Falcon 9 Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

SpaceX Performs Falcon 9 Static Fire Last Night

By Charles Boyer FMN July 25, 2024Aviation and Space News, Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX, Uncategorized

Closeup of Falcon 9’s Merlin engines as the rocket lifts off. The static fire conducted last night was testing this part of the spacecraft.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

SpaceX conducted a static-firing of the nine Merlin engines of a Falcon 9 booster first stage at SLC-40 last night as the company prepares to return to flight after a very rare in-flight failure on July 11.