Commercial Space

Station astronauts prep for relocation of SpaceX crew capsule

Astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Soichi Noguchi put on their SpaceX pressure suits for a fit check last week in preparation for relocation of the Crew Dragon “Resilience” spacecraft outside the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/JAXA Commander Mike Hopkins and his three crewmates will board their Crew Dragon “Resilience” capsule Monday for …

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Final two passengers named for first all-civilian mission to orbit Earth

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Billionaire Jared Isaacman, physician assistant Hayley Arceneaux, science educator Sian Proctor, and engineer Chris Sembroski will fly into low Earth orbit on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft later this year. Credit: SpaceX The billionaire financing the SpaceX flight that will carry the first non-professional “everyday people” into orbit …

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SpaceX’s latest high-altitude Starship test flight ends in another explosion

The Raptor engines at the base of SpaceX’s Starship test rocket ignite for a landing burn at the end of Tuesday’s flight. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight apparently ended with another explosion Tuesday in South Texas, but dense fog obscured clear views of the launch and failed landing. “At least the crater is …

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Remote sensing companies share satellite views of ship stuck in Suez Canal

Maxar’s GeoEye 1 satellite took this picture of the Ever Given container ship in the Suez Canal at 11:52 a.m. local time in Egypt on Monday, March 29, as crews freed the vessel after six days blocking the Suez Canal. Credit: Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies Satellite remote sensing companies showcased their capabilities in recent …

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SpaceX readies Starship prototype for another atmospheric test flight

EDITOR’S NOTE: SpaceX will stream live video of the Starship SN11 test flight. We will embed the live stream on this page when it is available. SpaceX’s Starship SN11 test rocket at Boca Chica, Texas. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX plans to launch its next Starship test rocket as soon as Friday afternoon from the company’s South Texas …

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Soyuz launch adds 36 satellites to OneWeb’s global internet network

A Soyuz rocket lifts off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on the fifth mission to deliver OneWeb satellites to orbit. Credit: Roscosmos A Soyuz rocket took off from a cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East and deployed 36 Florida-built OneWeb internet satellites into orbit Thursday. Another batch of OneWeb satellites will launch next month, continuing the build-out …

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SpaceX launches 25th mission for Starlink internet network

Another 60 Starlink internet satellites rumbled into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket early Wednesday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the 25th mission to launch spacecraft for SpaceX’s broadband network. The Falcon 9 lifted off from pad 40 at 4:28:24 a.m. EDT (0828:24 GMT) Wednesday powered by nine kerosene-fueled Merlin 1D main …

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Starlink and OneWeb satellites ready for launch on opposite sides of the world

A Falcon 9 rocket stands on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, ready for liftoff early Wednesday. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now SpaceX and OneWeb — space industry rivals and owners of two of the largest fleets of commercial satellites — are set to add more spacecraft to their internet networks Wednesday …

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Privately-funded mission takes off to begin space debris cleanup trials

The ELSA-d mission’s servicer and chaser satellites (bottom and top) during ground testing last year. Credit: Astroscale A commercial mission developed by the Japanese company Astroscale rocketed into space on a Russian Soyuz launcher Monday with 37 other payloads, ready to kick off an orbital “dance” with two small spacecraft demonstrating how satellite sweepers might …

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SpaceX rocket rolls out to pad 39A for next Starlink mission

EDITOR’S NOTE: Launch of SpaceX’s next mission is scheduled for 6:01 a.m. EDT (1001 GMT) Sunday. Daylight saving time begins in the United States at 2 a.m. local time Sunday. The Falcon 9 rocket for SpaceX’s 22nd dedicated Starlink mission arrived at pad 39A early Saturday. Credit: Spaceflight Now For the third time in 10 days, …

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