SpaceQ Space news and analysis.
At 3:44 a.m. EDT a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon spacecraft successfully lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Space Station launch complex 40 for its maiden voyage to the International Space Station on its second demonstration flight as part of the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.
Read More »SpaceX Falcon 9 Problem Traced to Faulty Valve (Updated)
During inspections, SpaceX engineers traced the cause of yesterdays launch scrub to a faulty check valve on the Merlin engine. Having discovered the problem SpaceX replaced the valve last night and continue to review data from the aborted launch with the aim of trying again on Tuesday morning.
Read More »SpaceX Commercial Crew Development Proposal
SpaceX’s proposal to accelerate evolution of the Dragon spacecraft to a crew transportation system.
Read More »SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft 1st Time On-Orbit
This is a 2:46 video of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on-orbit starting at the T00:53:50 minute mark.
Read More »SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch, Dragon On-Orbit and Splashdown in Pictures
Other than watching the video of the launch there’s nothing like seeing great still images of an event. These images provided by SpaceX and Chris Thompson show the spectacular liftoff, on-orbit images and splashdown images.
Read More »NASA and SpaceX Post Falcon 9 Launch Press Conference Video
After a nearly flawless launch of Falcon 9 and recovery of the Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was almost speechless during the first part of the press conference saying “he was in semi shock” at how well the launch went. Musk said he was extremely thankful to NASA for helping get SpaceX to this point and that SpaceX had built upon decades of NASA …
Read More »SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Launches Dragon Spacecraft Into Orbit
Heading into the first demo flight of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program SpaceX and NASA were both quick to remind people that this was a test program doing something SpaceX had never done before. From the look of today’s launch it seems they needed have worried so much. The first flight of Falcon 9 carrying the Dragon spacecraft to orbit appears to have …
Read More »Old News Revisited – SpaceX to Launch CASSIOPE
Anyone reading the widely circulated Canadian Press (CP) story last week titled “Canadian Space Agency becomes third customer of commercial U.S. rocket firm” can be forgiven if thinking this was new news. In fact it wasn’t. The Canadian Space Agency through it’s contractor MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) had secured a launch for the CASSIOPE satellite almost 5 years ago.
Read More »SpaceX Falcon 9 Makes it to Orbit on First Attempt
Earlier in the day it seemed like SpaceX would have to wait another day to launch. First there were boats in the range and the safety officers would not let them launch until they had cleared, then came the launch abort with 2 seconds to go before launch. But SpaceX tried again, and at 2:45 eastern the Falcon 9 soared to lofty heights on its …
Read More »SpaceX Falcon 9 Set to Launch with Dragon Spacecraft
SpaceX has confirmed that the maiden launch of their Falcon 9 rocket is a go for sometime later this year and perhaps as early as November 29. The Falcon 9 launch was anticipated this year however what was not anticipated is that on its maiden voyage it would carry the Dragon spacecraft.
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