Posts Tagged ‘SpaceX’

From Atlas V to Falcon XX – Commercial suitors wanted for Pad 39A

The mothballed Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) began looking towards the future on Friday, after NASA issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) from the commercial…

McAlister Discusses Commercial Crew Certification

In a recent presentation to the human exploration and operations committee of the NASA Advisory Counsel (NAC), Phil McAlister, Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Development discussed the next…

USCV-1: NASA planners slip first ISS commercial crew mission to late 2017

The first NASA crew to ride to the International Space Station on a commercial spacecraft may have to wait until at least the end of 2017, after NASA’s…

Dragon Splashdown concludes SpaceX’s CRS-2 mission

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, following its departure from the International Space Station (ISS). Known as End Of Mission (EOM)…

CRS-2 Dragon homecoming delayed due to high seas in the splashdown zone

The planned unberthing and return of SpaceX’s CRS-2 Dragon (SpX-2) was delayed by one day due to the forecast of high seas in the splashdown zone. Dragon was scheduled to…

Falcon 9 boost as Merlin 1D engine achieves major milestone

SpaceX’s Merlin 1D engine has achieved flight qualification status during its test program at the company’s rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas. An enhanced design to the engines…

SSRMS removes payload from Dragon trunk to mark new milestone

SpaceX’s CRS-2 (SpX-2) Dragon achieved another milestone on Wednesday, as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) carefully removed a pair of grapple bars from the spacecraft’s trunk….

Resilient CRS-2 Dragon successfully berthed on the ISS

Back to full health, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft was captured and then berthed by the Canadarm 2 on the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday morning. Arriving just one day…

CRS-2: Dragon’s tantrum subdued following Falcon 9 launch

SpaceX conducted its tenth launch on Friday, sending the fourth Dragon spacecraft on a mission to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). The launch of CRS-2 (SpX-2) –…

SpaceX Dragon to make third ISS visit amid logistics schedule challenges

With less than one week now remaining until the launch of SpaceX’s second operational International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission, preparations to make the orbital outpost ready to…

SpaceX win another contract ahead of CRS-2 mission

As SpaceX prepare for their next Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission, the company is continuing to fill its order book for their Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy fleet….

Expanding on Bigelow’s inflatable module for the ISS

NASA managers are set to provide details on the deal they have signed with Bigelow Aerospace for an inflatable module to become part of the International Space Station…

SpaceX Crewed Dragon: Pressing home the advantage

With all three Commercial Crew partners providing a status update at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) this week, SpaceX have outlined their path towards launching a crew on…

SpaceX’s Grasshopper successfully conducts a 40 meter leap

SpaceX’s ambitions of creating a full reusable launch vehicle have taken another step forward via the third – and most ambitious to date – test of their Grasshopper…

SpaceX get their foot in the EELV door with double launch contract win

The United States Air Force (USAF) have awarded SpaceX with two Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV)-class missions to ride on their Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets in…

AsiaSat sign up Sea Launch as SpaceX backup option

Asia Satellite Telecommunications have signed up Sea Launch to provide the backup option of launching “a future AsiaSat satellite” on their Zenit 3SL. Currently, both AsiaSat 6 and…