Next Launch to Examine Earth’s Climate: PACE Satellite Targets 1:33am Tuesday Liftoff

February 4, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News, KSC, NASA, SpaceX
PACE POSTER
Image Credit: NASA

In an era where understanding Earth’s climate dynamics is more critical than ever, NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission, aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, will be a vital asset to furthering and tracking our knowledge of the Planet. Set to launch from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40, this mission embodies the culmination of years of meticulous planning and collaboration between NASA and SpaceX, aiming to extend our comprehension of the planet’s climate system and its intricate processes. Lift is set for 1:33am Tuesday morning with the first stage booster returning to LZ 1 at CCSFS.

NASA Announces Crew-9 Roster: Who Are They?

NASA Announces Crew-9 Roster: Who Are They?

February 1, 2024Posted inISS, NASA, Space News, SpaceX, US Space Force
Crew 9 Portrait
Official NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 portrait: (L-R) Stephanie Wilson, Aleksandr Gorbunov, Nick Hague, and Zena Cardman.
NASA

NASA today announced the four astronauts that will travel aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station later this year: Zena Cardman will be the Mission Commander,  Nick Hague will be the Pilot, along with Stephanie Wilson and Russian Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov will travel to ISS no earlier than August 2024.

SpaceX Launches Northrup Grumman NG-20 From the Cape

January 31, 2024Posted inNASA, Space News, SpaceX, US Space Force
SpaceX Falcon 9 Lifts off from Pad SLC-40 at Canaveral Space Force Station on January 30, 2024.
Photo: Chris Leymarie, Florida Media Now

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Jan. 30, 2024 SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying the Northrup Grumman NG-20 mission toward ISS this afternoon. The launch was at 12:07 PM EST from the company’s launch pad at SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Once it had completed its part of the mission, Booster 1077 completed its tenth flight when it safely touched down at Landing Zone 1, about 5.6 miles to the south of where it launched a little more than eight minutes earlier.

What “Last Minute Cargo ” Will Be Loaded On The Cygnus Mission?

January 27, 2024Posted inSpace News, SpaceX
New access door for Cygnus resupply module
Northrop Grumman’s NG-20 Cygnus resupply spacecraft, named the S.S. Patricia “Patty” Hilliard Robertson, is moved in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as it is prepared for its launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

In an NG-20 pre-launch media teleconference on January, 26, 2024, Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX VP  Build and Flight Reliability, revealed that a new access door had been added to the fairing that protects the Cygnus spacecraft atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. But Why?

SpaceX Delays NG-20 Launch By One Day

January 27, 2024Posted inNASA, Space News, SpaceX
Northrup Grumman Cygnus NG-20 inside its launch fairings. Photo: NASA
Northrup Grumman Cygnus NG-20 inside its launch fairings.
Photo: NASA

The launch of Northrup-Grumman’s Cygnus NG-20 has been delayed until Tuesday, January 30th at 12:07 PM EST.

William Gerstenmaier, SpaceX’s vice president of Build and Flight Reliability, said in a news conference on January 26th that, “it’s taken a lot of modifications on our part to get this hardware ready to go fly, and we want to make sure it goes right. We think it is good to delay a little bit and make sure we get all this activity right and we’re ready to get this cargo inserted into Cygnus and get ready to fly on Tuesday.”

Axiom-3 Launches From Kennedy Space Center

January 19, 2024Posted inKSC, NASA, Space News, SpaceX
Launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 with four astronauts aboard on the Axiom-3 Mission.
Photo: Charles Boyer

Minutes before a warm front brought heavy showers to Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX launched the Axiom 3 mission on a 16 day round trip to the ISS. Four Axiom Space astronauts rode the chartered Space-X Crew Dragon module to orbit on top of a Falcon 9 booster at 4:49 PM EST this evening. The all-European crew is expected to dock at ISS in two days’ time and stay aboard the station until February 3, 2024.

SpaceX Delays Axiom-3 Launch

January 17, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News, NASA, Space News, SpaceX
Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon sitting on Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center on January 17, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer
Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon sitting on Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center on January 17, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer

Earlier today, SpaceX announced that they are delaying their planned launch of Falcon 9 carrying four astronauts to orbit aboard a Crew Dragon to the International Space Station for “teams to complete pre-launch checkouts and data analysis on the vehicle.” 

The mission on behalf of Axiom Space is dubbed Axiom-3 and will now launch NET on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 4:49 PM EST.

Ax-3 Crewed Rocket Launch and Sonic Boom Expected Tomorrow

January 16, 2024Posted inISS, KSC, NASA, SpaceX
Ax-3 on the pad
(Image credit: Axiom Space)

Axiom Space’s third commercial astronaut mission, Ax-3, is set to be a historic event as the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission underscores a new era in space travel, where access to low-Earth orbit (LEO) is becoming increasingly commercialized and international.

SpaceX Launches Ovzon 3 From Cape Canaveral

January 4, 2024Posted inSpace News, SpaceX
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 4, 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 4, 2024. The missio n is carrying a powerful telecommunications satellite for the Swedish company Ovzon
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

A SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying a telecommunications satellite for Swedish-American company Ovzon lifted off from Pad SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Station at 6:04pm EST this evening. After carrying its part of the mission, the booster used for the mission returned for a successful landing at Space-X’s Landing Zone 1 only a short distance away.

What’s In Store for the First Launch of 2024? Only the most powerful GEO satellite ever…..

January 2, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News, Space News, SpaceX
A Falcon 9 Launches from LC 40
A SpaceX Falcon9 rocket lifts off from pad LC40. Image by Richard P. Gallagher/FMN
Next Up: The Ovzon-3 mission is scheduled to launch on 1-3-2024 at 6:04pm from LC40  

The Ovzon-3 mission involves the launch of the first privately funded and developed Swedish geostationary satellite. As you can imagine, it’s quite a big deal for Sweden, as the country joins the international community of commercial spaceflight.