SpaceX Launches NRO’s First Falcon Heavy Mission, Lands Two Boosters Together
SpaceX launched the National Reconnaissance Office's first Falcon Heavy mission, then returned both side boosters together after the classified NROL-97 flight.
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SpaceX launched the National Reconnaissance Office's first Falcon Heavy mission, then returned both side boosters together after the classified NROL-97 flight.
Crew-13 passed Flight Readiness Review after its Dragon oxidizer-leak delay. The four-person crew is now at Kennedy for a targeted October 1 launch.
SpaceX completed Falcon's 700th mission by deploying the final three spacecraft in SES's initial O3b mPOWER constellation after B1080 landed from its 29th flight.
NASA and SpaceX have taken Crew-13 off its September target after finding an oxidizer leak in Dragon's propulsion system. The mission is now under review with no replacement date.
SpaceX's final planned Falcon 9 Starlink mission from Florida deployed 29 satellites while booster B1067 completed a record 37th flight. California Falcon launches continue as Florida waits for Starship.
NASA and its partners have finished Crew-13's final media appearance before the four-person international crew travels to Florida for a mid-September SpaceX launch.
SpaceX sent the NRO's classified NROL-95 payload to orbit from pad 40, then returned Falcon 9's first stage to Landing Zone 2.
SpaceX is targeting Falcon 9 liftoffs from California and Florida less than six hours apart, with 53 Starlink satellites and two veteran boosters in the plan.
SpaceX turned a routine Starlink batch into another reuse record Thursday morning, flying its most-traveled Falcon 9 booster, B1067, for the 36th time on the Starlink 10-42 mission from Cape Canaveral.
On the Starlink 10-50 flight, the first stage did more than fly and land. It carried two Besxar semiconductor pods on a quick round trip to the edge of space, opening a second lane for reusable rockets.
A morning Falcon 9 sent 24 Starlink satellites toward orbit, and SpaceX queued up a 7.5-ton SiriusXM satellite from Cape Canaveral for after dark the same Sunday.
A flat, disc-shaped capsule called Starfall is set to fly from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday, and it could rewrite how cargo comes home from orbit.
Falcon 9 lifted off Friday evening from Cape Canaveral carrying a Dragon capsule packed with research experiments and cargo for the ISS Expedition 74 crew. Autonomous docking is set for Sunday morning.