Author: ChrisDMarshall
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SpaceX launches Koreasat 5A, doubles previous year launch count
SpaceX continued their record settings year with the launch of the Koreasat 5A payload today from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. This was the 16th launch of the year for SpaceX doubling last years launch total with potentially three more to come and was the 13th landing with the first stage returning to the Autonomous…
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Blue Origin completes BE-4 hot fire test
Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin sent a tweet out today with the news that they had completed the first hot fire test of their BE-4 engine which will be used to power their New Glenn rocket and could also be selected by United Launch Alliance (ULA) to power their Vulcan rocket. First hotfire of our…
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SpaceX launches SES 11/EchoStar 105
SpaceX completed their 15th launch of 2017 with the delivery of the SES 11/EchoStar 105 satellite to orbit this evening, this was the 3rd launch using a flight-proven booster. Following a smooth countdown the rocket lifted off at 6:53 pm EDT and 37 minutes later delivered the payload to orbit. Following the successful launch, the…
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SpaceX completes Iriduim-3 launch
This morning SpaceX completed the third of their Iridium Next launches delivery another ten satellites to orbit. As with the previous Iridium launches the rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Vandenburg launch site at 8:37 am EDT. Once in orbit, the ten satellites were delivered to their destinations successfully. After separation, the first stage of the…
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SpaceX launches OTV-5
SpaceX completed another important milestone with the successful launch of the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 5 (OTV-5) today. Despite the weather showing only a 50% chance that it would cooperate SpaceX was able to lift off at 10:00 am EDT. Due to the secrecy of the launch, SpaceX only showed the launch…
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SpaceX launches Formosat 5
SpaceX completed another launch today with the deployment of the Formosat 5 satellite following an on-time launch from Vandenburg. Following separation of the first stage, the booster returned to land on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship “Just Read the Instructions” in the Pacific ocean. This was the 12th launch for SpaceX this year and 9th landing.…
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SpaceX launches CRS-12 mission
SpaceX resumed their 2017 launch campaign today with the successful launch of the Dragon vehicle for the CRS-12 mission to the International Space Station. As with previous CRS launches the first stage returned to land at Landing Zone 1. This launch comes after a month break to allow the 45th Space Wing to perform maintenance…
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SpaceX launches Intelsat 35e
This evening SpaceX completed it third launch in twelve days as it successfully delivered the Intelsat 35e satellite to orbit. The expendable Falcon 9 launched at 7:37 pm EDT and successfully delivered the payload to its Geostationary Transfer Orbit. The launch was originally scheduled for the 2nd but was delayed due to a GNC criteria issue…
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SpaceX Dragon completes visit to ISS
In what looks to become another busy day for SpaceX the Dragon cargo vehicle that spent a month at the station following its successful launch last month was released by the station this morning and completed a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 8:12 EDT. This was the second mission for this vehicle and…
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SpaceX launches second set of Iridium® NEXT satellites
In the second launch in two days SpaceX successfully deployed ten more Iridium® NEXT satellites. The Falcon 9 booster lifted off from Vandenberg, CA carrying the ten satellites at 4:25 PM EDT and 57 minutes later started deploying the individual satellites. The first stage landed back on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship “Just Read The…