SpaceX’s latest rocket may have launched successfully – but the mission didn’t end as a win. The Zuma payload it was carrying, a mysterious classified piece of cargo for the U.S. government believed to be a spy satellite, was lost after it failed to separate from the second stage of the rocket after the first stage of the Falcon 9 separated as planned and returned to Earth.… Read More
Category: outer space
SpaceX successfully launches top-secret Zuma spacecraft
SpaceX has successfully launched its first mission of 2018, after capping a record year last year in 2017 with 18 total launches. The first launch this year carried a special payload – Zuma, a secretive spacecraft commissioned by the U.S. government for an undisclosed mission. SpaceX launched Zuma from its SLC-40 launch facility at Cape Canaveral in Florida, which was used instead of… Read More
Watch SpaceX launch the mysterious Zuma spacecraft live here
SpaceX will attempt its first launch of 2018 later today, with a two-hour launch window opening at 8 PM EST (5 PM PST), with a backup launch window set for tomorrow at the same time. The launch was originally planned for late last year, but was pushed due to SpaceX wanted to review data related to fairing used in the launch.
The payload for the launch is the ‘Zuma’ spacecraft, a… Read More
SpaceX targets January 5 launch for mystery Zuma payload
SpaceX is launching Zuma, a mystery spacecraft operated by the U.S. government for purposes unknown, thanks to it being very classified. The launch was supposed to take place last year, with a November date for the flight, but it was scrubbed, reset and then scrubbed again with no firm timeline for a follow up attempt. Zuma is now set to take off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral tentatively… Read More
SpaceX caps a record year with 18th successful launch of 2017
SpaceX has completed its 18th launch in 2017, marking a record year for the private space company. It’s the most rockets SpaceX has launched in a single year, beating its previous best by ten missions. The launch today was for client Iridium, delivering 10 satellites to low Earth orbit for its Iridium NEXT communications constellation. This is the fourth such mission that SpaceX has… Read More
Watch SpaceX’s last Falcon 9 rocket launch for 2017
SpaceX is launching its last mission of 2017 later today, with a planned launch window of 5:27 PM PST (8:27 PM EST). The mission is for client Iridium, and will send a fourth set of 10 satellites into low Earth orbit for Iridium’s NEXT constellation, which will eventually consist of 75 satellites launched by SpaceX in total.
SpaceX is launching the Falcon 9 for Iridium-4 from… Read More
SpaceX launches a reused Dragon atop a reused Falcon 9 for the first time
SpaceX has moved one step closer to its dream of affordable, efficient reusable space flight: Today for its CRS-13 resupply mission for the International Space Station it managed to launch a previously-flown Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket with a flight-proven first stage booster. That’s the first time it’s flown both types of reused equipment at the same time. The… Read More
Watch SpaceX launch its first re-flown capsule and rocket combo live here
SpaceX is taking another shot at a historic launch today, should everything go as planned. It’s targeting a launch window of 10:36 AM EST (7:36 AM PST) this morning for its CRS-13 mission, which is its 13th resupply mission for the International Space Station. The mission will deliver a payload of around 4,800 lbs of supplies and experimentation materials for ISS research. It’ll… Read More
Blue Origin flies its Crew Capsule 2.0 for the first time
Jef Bezos’ space company Blue Origin recorded a new milestone today – an inaugural flight for Crew Capsule 2.0, the latest version of the vehicle it’s creating to bring astronauts into space for its first passenger flights. The Crew Capsule 2.0 craft flew atop a New Shepard reusable booster, traveling up to an altitude of over 322,000 feet. The New Shepard rocket, which… Read More
Scientists found a new Earth-sized planet nearby…and it might be habitable
Forget Mars, scientists have discovered a new Earth-sized, possibly habitable, planet just eleven light years away. Known as Ross 128b, the newly discovered planet orbits a life friendly red dwarf star that is an estimated seven billion years old…
View More Scientists found a new Earth-sized planet nearby…and it might be habitableScientists found a new Earth-sized planet nearby…and it might be habitable
Forget Mars, scientists have discovered a new Earth-sized, possibly habitable, planet just eleven light years away. Known as Ross 128b, the newly discovered planet orbits a life friendly red dwarf star that is an estimated seven billion years old…
View More Scientists found a new Earth-sized planet nearby…and it might be habitableSpaceX Merlin rocket engine explodes during testing at Texas facility
SpaceX suffered an explosion of one of its Falcon 9 rocket engines during qualification testing at its facility in McGregor, Texas, per The Verge. The failure resulting in the explosion occurred on Sunday, and the company is now underway with inv…
View More SpaceX Merlin rocket engine explodes during testing at Texas facility