Update: SpaceX has aced the first half of its tenth launch of 2021 and 23rd operational Starlink launch while simultaneously offering an uninterrupted live view of a Falcon 9 booster landing from the rocket’s onboard camera for the first time in months. https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1379837307587530760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw While SpaceX’s official webcast got off to a rough start with no onboard…
During the recently-held Satellite 2021 “LEO Digital Forum” virtual panel, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell revealed that the Starlink terminal’s production costs have dropped by over 50% from its initial manufacturing prices. SpaceX has launched over 1,200 Starlink satellites to orbit so far, and its beta service has been expanded to countries such as the United States, Canada,…
CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight ended with a midair explosion because a “small” leak started on one of the rocket’s three Raptor engines. As promised, the new information offers some insight into the cause of Starship SN11’s premature demise and the challenges of iteratively developing systems as complex as a…
SpaceX has begun installing the first of numerous propellant storage tanks at its first orbital South Texas launch facilities – a mostly ordinary and expected step made extraordinary by the fact that those tanks will be built out of Starship parts. Labeled “GSE” for Ground Support Equipment, the first signs of those self-built storage tanks…
To set the stage for another Dragon launch just a few weeks from now, NASA astronauts are preparing to board a SpaceX Crew Dragon for a brief flight around the International Space Station (ISS). Orbiting roughly 400 km (250 mi) above the Earth’s surface, the ISS and its crew of seven international astronauts have just two docking…
While humanity has advanced significantly in the short time it has existed on Earth, the planet is, for all intents and purposes, still invisible, at least to potential advanced civilizations that are also looking for life in the cosmos. If an intelligent civilization were to look in Earth’s direction, they would likely see very little…
Beginning almost immediately after Starship SN11’s midair explosion earlier this week, SpaceX has accelerated work on a new Starship prototype upgraded with “hundreds of improvements.” In November 2020, Musk first revealed plans to implement “major [Starship] upgrades” as early as prototype SN15, though the improvements involved in the first apparent Starship ‘block’ change were never detailed. On…
It appears that Starlink is facing a challenge in India, a country expected to receive coverage from the satellite internet system sometime next year. The opposition against Starlink was initiated by the Broadband India Forum, which has written a request to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).…
After slamming into the ground in November, SpaceX’s SN8 met its early demise, followed by SN9 in February. Earlier this month, SN10 came the closest to landing successfully, appearing to make a soft landing before exploding minutes later. SpaceX rolled out the SN11 concept onto the launchpad less than a month later. The launch Tuesday…
Jared Isaacman, a billionaire who is a SpaceX and Inspiration4 client, has announced a significant and unexpected design update to the Crew Dragon spacecraft that will take him and three guests into orbit later this year. SpaceX says it has crafted a stunning “glass dome” window add-on for Crew Dragon, identical to the beloved “Cupola”…