Back to Boca Chica!  SpaceX is Ready To Try It Again

Back to Boca Chica! SpaceX is Ready To Try It Again

Starship streaks into the Texas sky on OFT-2. Photo: Chris Leymarie FMN
Starship streaks into the Texas sky on OFT-2. Photo: Chris Leymarie FMN

Elon Musk is ready to give it another go, with a SpaceX post surfacing on X yesterday, announcing a potential launch date for the third Starship test flight. The company’s Starship and super-heavy booster combo is now expected to launch at 7:30AM CDT on March 14th from SpaceX’s Starbase, in Boca Chica, Texas IF regulatory approval is obtained in time.

Crew 8 Finally Launches To Orbit

Crew 8 lifts off from KSC pad 39A on Sunday, March 3, 2024  Photo: Richard Gallagher, FMN
Crew 8 lifts off from KSC pad 39A on Sunday, March 3, 2024 Photo: Richard Gallagher, FMN

After days of weather delays and last minute concerns about a cracked hatch seal, the SpaceX crew Dragon Endeavour carrying Crew 8 to the ISS launched from the Kennedy Space Center Sunday night. The successful liftoff came at 10:53 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 39A. The mission marked SpaceX’s eighth commercial crew rotation mission on behalf of NASA, and the launch of the 50th human into space by the company since 2020.

While Crew 8 Waits, SpaceX Launches Starlink 6-40

While Crew 8 Waits, SpaceX Launches Starlink 6-40

With Crew-8’s Falcon 9 sitting on Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center this morning waiting for weather to improve along its launch corridor, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying 23 more Starlink Version 2 Mini satellites to low-Earth orbit from its other launch pad on the Eastern Range at SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Weather Concerns Delay Crew 8 Launch

Weather Concerns Delay Crew 8 Launch

New Window May Not Be Much Better
Crew 8 Photo
Members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 from left to right, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, mission specialist; Michael Barratt, pilot; Matthew Dominick, commander; and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, mission specialist; are photographed inside the crew access arm at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a dress rehearsal on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in preparation for the Crew-8 mission. Photo credit: SpaceX

NASA and SpaceX announced today that they have decided to postpone the launch of the Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Initially set for Friday, the mission is now rescheduled for 11:16 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 2.

Press Briefing: Weather A Concern For Crew 8 Launch

NASA’s Crew 8 Mission is scheduled to launch to the ISS at 12:04 AM Friday. Photo: Richard Gallagher/FMN

With only one day to go before the launch of Crew 8, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson led a press briefing on Wednesday morning February 28, 2024, at Kennedy Space Center.  The 8th Commercial Crew trip to the International Space Station (ISS) remains on schedule for a launch just after midnight (12:04 am EST) early Friday morning March 1. 

Satellite Launched to Connect Indonesia

Successful liftoff of a Falcon9 carrying the HTS-113Bt satellite from LC40. Image by Richard P Gallagher

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to deploy the HTS-113BT telecommunications satellite in a geosynchronous orbit this afternoon, marking a big advancement in Indonesia’s telecommunications infrastructure. The mission launched into a beautiful blue Florida sky right on time at 3:11 pm from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Romancing The Stars: SpaceX Plans Pair Of Valentines Day Rocket Launches

A SpaceX Falcon9 rocket lifts off from LC40 at CCSFS in Florida.
A SpaceX Falcon9 rocket lifts off from LC40 at CCSFS in Florida. Image by Richard P Gallagher

This Valentines Day, SpaceX is setting hearts aflutter with not one, but two rocket launches. The Falcon 9 rockets are scheduled to take off from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

PACE Streaks To Orbit

PACE Mission Launches
NASA’s PACE Mission lifts off from Pad 40 at CCFS. Photo: Ed Cordero / FMN

In the early hours of Thursday, NASA’s latest Earth science mission began its journey to space, marking the start of a mission to better our understanding of the planet’s marine life and atmospheric conditions.

Now On Deck – Nova C: Another Moon Landing Attempt Launches In February

Nova-C Mission Patch
Nova-C Mission Patch

For 10 days in January, the Peregrine Lunar Lander, made by US company Astrobotic, kept spaceflight observers on the edge of their seat. Peregrine, the first US lunar lander in over 50 years was to mark our country’s return to the moon. More importantly, the landing was a major step in sending a manned lander to the moon in 2026 under the Artemis program.  A propellant leak cut that mission short, and eventually scuttled it with the craft making a fiery return to earth.