NASA is working to resume science operations of the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope after it entered safe mode November 23rd due to an ongoing gyroscope issue. The agency is also saying that the venerable spacecraft is stable and that otherwise the instrument is “in good health.”
The US Space Force announced today that the launch of its secretive X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is now set for December 10. At this time, no specific launch time on that date has been announced. Originally planned for December 7th, the launch was delayed due to “launch delays and pad availability.”
SpaceX continued their torrid pace of Falcon 9 launches from Florida Monday evening when the company lofted another twenty-three Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is shown in a clean room at the Astrotech Space Operations facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 8, 2022. DSOC’s gold-capped flight laser transceiver can be seen, near center, attached to the spacecraft.
NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Starship OFT-2 leaps from the pad in a picture-perfect launch. Photo: Chris Leymarie/FMN
In an event that captivated space enthusiasts worldwide, SpaceX’s latest Starship vehicle, hailed as the most powerful rocket ever manufactured, encountered an unexpected conclusion in its test flight early this morning. The day began with an air of excitement and anticipation as crowds gathered at Boca Chica, Texas, with the closure of Boca Chica Blvd. at midnight.
Starship OFT -2 Launces from Space X’s Starbase in Boca Chica, TX at 7:02 AM This morning. Photo: Richard Gallagher/FMN
SpaceX’s new Starship Superheavy launch vehicle experienced it’s second Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (RUD) in as many test flights Saturday morning. (That’s space geek talk for “it blew up”).
SpaceX Starship being restacked after repairs on November 17, 2023. Photo: Chris Leymarie/FMN
Boca Chica, TX -Starbase- After a disappointing launch delay yesterday, SpaceX crews remained busy throughout the night to correct an issue with the grid fin actuators on the Starship Super Heavy.
Starship 25 sits on the pad at Starbase, Boca Chica, TX awaiting its test flight, scheduled for Friday, November 17th. Photo by : Richard Gallagher/FMN
Starship25 and Booster9 Aiming for the Stars. Images by Richard P Gallagher/FMN
A second Starship launch soon? All indications suggest–maybe. The closest thing to a tentative date from SpaceX was a tweet that stated, “No Earlier Than” (NET) Friday 11-17-23. Other clues like road closures, NOTAMs and maritime restriction have tantalize space enthusiast and photographers but each has come and gone with a series of expiration dates. Maybe the strongest indication of an impending launch was an email to press and photographers to apply for remote camera setup on Thursday 11-16-23. But even this has to be taken with a grain of salt because of still pending regulatory approvals by the Federal Aviation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Administrations.
