SpaceX is setting up to launch its 50th Falcon 9 rocket, with a payload that also represents a new milestone. The two-hour launch window is set to begin at 12:33 AM EST (9:33 PM PST) so it’s a late one, but if you’re a fan of watching SpaceX make history, this is one to watch. The Falcon 9 launching tonight is carrying Hispasat 30W-6, a satellite destined for Geostationary… Read More
Category: outer space
The Altairduino is the modern Altair replica of your dreams
Anyone who fondly remembers the Altair revolution probably wasn’t there. But that doesn’t stop us nerds from romanticizing one of the coolest proto-computers ever made. Originally sold as a way to interact with the magical 8800 chip back in January 2017, the Altair is one of the first usable home computers although it had no keyboard, mouse, or screen. For early geeks it was… Read More
SpaceX misses catching Falcon 9 rocket fairing with a giant net on a big ship
SpaceX nearly succeeded in catching the fairing used in its PAZ Falcon 9 mission on Thursday, using a barge called ‘Mr. Steven’ that uses four giant arms with a net strung between them to secure the used nosecone once it floats back from space. The fairing missed the boat by just a few hundred meters, but did land intact in the water, at least. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk noted that… Read More
SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 carrying Starlink demo satellites
SpaceX has successfully launched a Falcon 9 from SLC-4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base today, its first launch since its successful Falcon Heavy test earlier this month. The launch took off early Wednesday morning, after being rescheduled a couple o…
View More SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 carrying Starlink demo satellitesWatch SpaceX launch its first broadband internet satellites to space live here
SpaceX is making a second attempt to launch its PAZ mission today, which includes the PAZ satellite from client Hisdesat, and is set for launch during an instantaneous window at 6:17 AM PST, or 9:17 AM EST. The mission was scrubbed on Wednesday d…
View More Watch SpaceX launch its first broadband internet satellites to space live hereWatch SpaceX launch a Falcon 9 carrying its first internet demo satellites live here
UPDATE: Today’s attempt has been scrubbed due to high upper atmosphere winds. The next attempt window is Thursday February 22 at the same time. SpaceX is launching a Falcon 9 with client Hisdesat’s PAZ satellite on board today, provided weather remains favorable and everything else goes according to plan. The satellite, an imaging and radar instrument with a planned lifespan of… Read More
SpaceX to use a net boat called ‘Mr. Steven’ to recover next rocket fairing
SpaceX is all about reducing the cost of launching things into space, and right now one of those costs it think it can eliminate is having to use a new fairing every time it launches a rocket. The fairing is basically the shell at the top of the rocket that protects whatever cargo’s being launched (for instance, it housed the Tesla Roadster and SpaceX’s Starman mannequin during… Read More
Here’s what it was like to be there when SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy
SpaceX made history earlier this week with its Falcon Heavy launch: The Falcon Heavy is now the largest active rocket in terms of cargo capacity, and is able to propel over 140,000 lbs of cargo to lower Earth orbit, or smaller loads all the way t…
View More Here’s what it was like to be there when SpaceX launched the Falcon HeavySpaceX’s spacesuited Starman mannequin serves a real purpose
SpaceX put a “Starman” into space today, on a path to a potential wide looping orbit of Mars and Earth — it was actually a mannequin wearing an official SpaceX crew flight suit, but it was more than just a fun payload for a rocket that stood every chance of exploding mid-flight, it turns out. Read More
Elon Musk says SpaceX to focus on BFR following Falcon Heavy launch
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said at a press event for the just-launched Falcon Heavy that SpaceX will now begin focusing in earnest on ‘BFR,’ the code name for its next big space launch vehicle. BFR (aka ‘big f*cking rocket’ in case you lack imagination) will be designed to be a vehicle capable of using a single stage to make it all the way to orbit, with fully loaded tanks.… Read More
SpaceX landed two of its three Falcon Heavy first-stage boosters
SpaceX has managed an incredible feat alongside its historic Falcon Heavy first test launch today — landing two of its boosters at once, nearly simultaneously, intact. The first-stage rockets used during today’s launch included two flight-proven Falcon 9 boosters previously used during missions for SpaceX in 2016 and then refurbished, which landed at their intended destinations… Read More
Watch the live feed from SpaceX’s Roadster-driving Starman in space
SpaceX now has a live feed of its Mars bound simulated astronaut, a dummy wearing the private space company’s new crew uniform. There are cameras mounted on the Tesla Roadster the dummy is “driving,” which was the primary payload for SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launch, which went off almost perfectly as planned by SpaceX earlier today. The livestream switches between… Read More