Category: Commercial
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SpaceX vs NASA progress since 2010
In 2010 Senator Richard Shelby made the following statement “This request represents nothing more than a commercially-led, faith-based space program. Today, the commercial providers that NASA has contracted with cannot even carry the trash back from the space station much less carry humans to or from space safely. “These providers have yet to live up…
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SpaceX makes history with SES-10 launch
Today SpaceX once again made history with the first launch of a previously flown first stage booster. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 6:27 pm EDT today with the SES-10 payload. The booster was previously used for the SpaceX CRS-8 mission on 8th April 2016, the booster was the first to successfully land on an…
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ULA launches WGS 9
Following a delay to resolve an issue with the Delta 4 launcher ULA resolved the issue and delivered the WGS 9 satellite to orbit this evening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOk4ZbWb9dk
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SpaceX launches EchoStar 23
After several delays originally for the static fire test and then the weather SpaceX successfully completed its third launch of 2017 this morning with the delivery of the EchoStar 23 payload to orbit. Liftoff occurred at 02:00 with the ignition of the nine Merlin 1D engines that propelled the towards orbit. 35 minutes later confirmation of…
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Jeff Bezos provides update on New Glenn Rocket
This morning at the Satellite 2017 show Jeff Bezos, of Amazon and Blue Origin, provided an on the New Glenn launch system, including video below. He also announced that they had signed their first customer Eutelsat. Excited to announce we have signed our 1st #NewGlenn customer. Welcome to the launch manifest @Eutelsat_SA pic.twitter.com/fTeKKneYnJ — Jeff…
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ULA launches NROL-79 mission
Following a smooth countdown this morning United Launch Alliance launched an Atlas V 401 carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. Due to the nature of this launch the live broadcast was terminated after the payload separation occurred.
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SpaceX Moon Mission
In a stunning announcement yesterday SpaceX explained that two people had paid significant deposits for a Dragon 2 mission around the moon currently scheduled to launch in 2018. Using a free return trajectory around the moon the mission will launch from KSC LC-39A atop a Falcon Heavy and then fly around the moon taking the crew…
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SpaceX CRS-10 launches
This morning SpaceX made history once again as it made its first launch from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The pad that had previously been used by NASA for Apollo and Space Shuttle launches has been refurbished by SpaceX over the last couple of years. Designed to support the launch of Falcon Heavy,…
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ULA starts it’s 2017 launch manifest
United Launch Alliance began their 2017 launch manifest with the successful delivery of the Air Force’s Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-3 satellite. The launch was originally scheduled to launch yesterday but was delayed due to a sensor issue on the RD-180 engine the Atlas V 401 and then a fouled range with an aircraft encroaching…
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SpaceX launches first of seven Iridium Next payloads
This afternoon SpaceX successfully returned to flight operations following the September 1st anomaly with the successful launch of ten Iridium Next satellites. The launch was delayed several times due to the investigation into the anomaly, as well as the unfavorable weather around Vandenburg this week. As a result of the investigation into the anomaly, there…