Covering All Things Florida
CAPE CANAVERAL SpaceX plans to launch Falcon 9 this evening from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, carrying another group of Starlink satellites. The launch window extends from 6:52 PM EDT to 10:14 PM.
Note: this article has been updated to reflect a day/time change for the launch.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Sometimes it seems like you can’t catch a break…or at least it must seem that way to a space station full of astronauts who find themselves away from home a lot longer than planned.
For Richard Gallagher, a tenacious photographer from Merritt Island, Florida, the pursuit of documenting rocket launches has always been more than just a hobby—it’s a calling. So, when SpaceX announced that their fifth integrated test flight (IFT-5) would attempt the first-ever catch of the Super Heavy Booster, Richard knew this was a moment in history he had to capture. The only problem? The launch site was nearly 1400 miles away, and the drive there would be anything but easy.
SpaceX and Falcon 9 lofted another twenty Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral into low Earth orbit tonight. Liftoff was at 7:31 PM EDT.
In September, FMN reported on an ambitious plan to bring the SS United States to Florida as an artificial reef. At the time, the move seemed almost a certainty, and after one final legal challenge, it has become a reality. The SS United States, a symbol of maritime innovation and American excellence since its 1951 launch, is set to begin its final journey—not across the Atlantic, but toward an extraordinary new life beneath the waves. In a quiet ceremony on October 12, 2024, the SS United States Conservancy transferred ownership of the ship to Okaloosa County, Florida, marking the end of a long and contentious legal battle over the vessel’s future.
SpaceX’s fifth flight test of a complete Starship was a resounding success. After watching that launch, it is hard not to be inspired by what is coming for SpaceX and humanity.
Houston-based Axiom Space unveiled the flight design of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit for the first time today at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan. This new suit is a critical part of the Artemis program — it is what the Artemis astronauts will don to walk on the lunar surface.
Prada, the Italian fashion house, partnered with Axiom to design and construct the AxEMU suit.
NASA’s Commercial Crew office released its high-level plan for 2025 today. It has few surprises, with two SpaceX Commercial Crew missions, and offers the slightest of updates for Boeing’s Starliner program and holds out the possibility of a Starliner flight next year.
NASA and SpaceX began Europa Clipper’s journey to Jupiter and its moon Europa aboard a Falcon Heavy this afternoon from Kennedy Space Center. Launch was at 12:06 PM EDT under blue skies and pleasant temperatures.
SpaceX launched its Starship Super Heavy rocket from Texas today in a flight that was seen as a complete success.
The Federal Aviation Administration, the agency responsible for commercial spaceflight, has announced that SpaceX may resume regular launches of Falcon 9.
Ever the masters of threading the weather needle, SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 on its way to orbit and the Hera probe on its way to the Didymos binary asteroid system that was impacted by NASA’s DART probe on September 26, 2022.
