It has been a busy week for SpaceX, with Crew-2 returning Monday and Crew-3 launching Wednesday. Now the company will launch its first Starlink mission from Florida since last May. SpaceX will launch 53 Starlink satellites into a 560 km (about 350 miles) orbit on this mission. The fourth shell will have 360 Starlink satellites in total.
SpaceX successfully launched and deployed its 53 Starlink satellites early Saturday morning.
Date: Saturday, November 13, 7:19 a.m. EST
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Glen de Vries, a passenger on Blue Origin’s NS-18 flight, died in a light plane accident in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon.
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Snoopy has a long history with space, and that continues with the Apple TV+ show Snoopy in Space, which sees Snoopy and gang travel the universe. Off-screen, Astronaut Snoopy is about to make a very real journey around the Moon, as a zero-gravity indicator on NASA’s Artemis I mission.
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Yesterday, a new design for a Starlink user terminal appeared on the Starlink website. This new terminal features a rectangular shape, and new router, but that router lacks an ethernet port.
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After a successful launch late Wednesday night, SpaceX’s Crew-3 is preparing to dock with the International Space Station Thursday afternoon. Read below for live updates as SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance, with Crew-3, works towards docking.
Docking to ISS: 6:33 p.m. EST
Hatch Opening: 8:45 p.m. EST
Welcome Ceremony: 9:20 p.m. EST
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Over the past few years, 5G has become a game-changing technology in the commercial sector. Included in smartphones and tablets, it can allow for fast internet speeds away from the user’s home wifi network. Now, Lockheed Martin plans to bring this technology to the Department of Defense.
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A few hours after the launch of SpaceX’s Crew-3, Rocket Lab plans to launch one of its rockets from New Zealand. The California-headquartered small satellite launcher will use its Electron rocket to place two second-generation BlackSky satellites into orbit. Electron’s launch will also sport a booster recovery. This will be Rocket Lab’s third recovery of an Electron booster and will be the first to have a helicopter nearby. While the booster will not be caught by the helicopter, instead, it will splashdown in the ocean. This is a step towards mid-air capture by a helicopter.
Date: Tuesday, November 16
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Shortly ago, SpaceX’s fifth crewed mission set off on its 20-hour journey to the International Space Station (ISS). Here’s how you can track the mission live online.
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SpaceX successfully launched Dragon Endurance, a brand new spacecraft, to space on its Falcon 9 rocket. The next stop for the crew on board will be docking with the International Space Station.
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SpaceX’s third operational mission with NASA of their Crew Dragon vehicle, Crew-3, is planning to take flight early Halloween morning. This mission will carry four astronauts, three NASA and one ESA, to the International Space Station with additional supplies and experiments. Learn more about SpaceX’s Crew-3 launch and view updates on its status below.
Date: Wednesday, November 10, 9:03:31 p.m EST
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Tuesday, NASA held a press conference to give an update on the agency’s Artemis program. During the conference, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced delays to the launches of Artemis II and III.
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This week on the Space Explored Podcast, Seth Kurkowski and Derek Wise talk about the unsurprising delays of NASA’s upcoming crewed Artemis flights and the return of SpaceX’s Crew-2 mission from the International Space Station. They also talk about the upcoming week full of launches from SpaceX, Astra, and Rocket Lab.
SpaceX conducted a successful static fire of Crew-3’s Falcon 9 booster this last Thursday making them ready for their first launch date on Halloween. However, due to weather in planned abort zones along the easter coast of the US and a “minor medical issue”, Crew-3 has been delayed to tonight. Read below how to watch SpaceX’s Crew-3 launch.
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Late Monday, SpaceX brought back Dragon Endeavour from its six-month stay at the International Space Station. Onboard were SpaceX’s Crew-2 astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide, and Thomas Pesquet.
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Virgin Galactic announced its third-quarter financial report to investors today, and in it, details of the companies spaceflight seat sales have been shared.
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LEGO and NASA made their announcement today, and sadly no, it is not a LEGO Space Launch System set, but it is something very cool!
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SpaceX and NASA are planning to undock Crew-2 and their Crew Dragon Endeavour and return to Earth today. This will conclude a six-month stay on the International Space Station for the four astronauts.
ISS Departure: Monday, November 8, 2:05 p.m. EST
Splashdown: Monday, November 8, 10:33 p.m. EST
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Spacecraft continue to advance, and one of the latest new spacecraft to enter operation is SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. As Crew-3 prepares for launch to the station, Crew-2 needs to return home, and Crew-2’s Dragon capsule is nearing the limit for continuous-time in space. But what is that limit, and why is the spacecraft limited?
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Numerous companies have filed applications to create satellite constellations in low Earth orbit. The filings come as the deadline for the FCC’s second processing round for the V-band comes tonight.
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NASA has delayed the launch of Crew-3 to no sooner than Monday, November 8, at 9:51 p.m. due to poor weather conditions locally and in abort zones. NASA also stated that they will now look at returning Crew-2 as soon as this Sunday, November 7, confirming our speculations earlier this week.
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In a new video from Relativity Space, we see the first stage of its Terran 1 vehicle receiving its paint coat. Terran 1 is expected to have its maiden launch in 2022.
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Today the federal judge overseeing the Blue Origin lawsuit against NASA and SpaceX made his decision. Blue Origin, of course, lost the lawsuit, but will this be the end?
Updated with statements from Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos.
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New information obtained from the Juno mission has unveiled the atmospheric processes behind Jupiter’s stripes, polar cyclones, and even the Great Red Spot.
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Starlink’s high internet speeds to remote areas have quickly made it an easy decision for anyone that cannot get wired high-speed internet to their home. This wireless nature and soon-to-be worldwide coverage of Starlink would seemingly make it the perfect companion for an RV or yacht; but for the time being, Geofencing makes that impossible.
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