Category Archives: Spacex

Zoom Call of the Year: Elon Musks Son X A-Xii Cutely Steals the Show in SpaceX Meeting  News18

Read more from the original source:

Zoom Call of the Year: Elon Musks Son X A-Xii Cutely Steals the Show in SpaceX Meeting - News18

'Went to space in reel life, will now do so in real life,' says actor Dev Joshi who is part of SpaceX dearMoon crew  Firstpost

Follow this link:

'Went to space in reel life, will now do so in real life,' says actor Dev Joshi who is part of SpaceX dearMoon crew - Firstpost

1. SpaceX launches lunar lander for Japanese venture ispace, which aims to create an economy around the moon  CNBC
2. SpaceX Launches Japanese Startup Ispace's Lunar Lander to Moon  Bloomberg
3. Japanese moon lander, NASA hitchhiker payload launched by SpaceX Spaceflight Now  Spaceflight Now
4. SpaceX launches Japanese robotic lander and NASA ice mapper to the moon  CBS News
5. Updates: SpaceX launches moon mission, lands booster in Florida  Florida Today
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Read more from the original source:

SpaceX launches lunar lander for Japanese venture ispace, which aims to create an economy around the moon - CNBC

1. SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, world's most powerful rocket, launches after three-year hiatus  CNN
2. SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy, the world's most powerful rocket, on Space Force mission  CNBC
3. With The SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launch A Success, Can You Invest In Elon Musk's Mission To Mars?  Forbes
4. SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket with 1st national security payload  DefenseNews.com
5. SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket on mission for Space Force  USA TODAY
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

More:

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, world's most powerful rocket, launches after three-year hiatus - CNN

A view from NOAAs GOES-16 weather satellite of Hurricane Ian making landfall in Southwest Florida on Sept. 28. Credit: NOAA

The forecast track of Hurricane Ian across Central Florida has forced SpaceX and United Launch Alliance to postpone several upcoming launches at Cape Canaveral, including the next crew flight to the International Space Station, a Starlink mission, and the liftoff of an Atlas 5 rocket.

SpaceX planned to launch two Falcon 9 rockets Sept. 30 and Oct. 3, one with the next batch of Starlink internet satellites and another with a team of four astronauts and cosmonauts to begin a five-month expedition on the International Space Station.

Both missions have been postponed, with the crew launch now tentatively rescheduled for no earlier than Oct. 5 at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT). NASA previously announced Tuesday that the mission launch of the Crew-5 mission would be delayed at least a day to Oct. 4, and the missions could be pushed back again. After Oct. 5, SpaceX has additional launch opportunities available for Crew-5 on Oct. 7, 8, and 9.

NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, both first-time space fliers, will serve as commander and pilot on the Crew-5 mission, the fifth operational flight of a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to the space station under contract with NASA. Veteran Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and rookie Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina will also launch on the Crew-5 mission.

Manns crew will replace another team of four astronauts who have been on the space station since April on the Crew-4 mission. That crew, commanded by NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, will depart the station and return to Earth for splashdown off the coast of Florida about five days after Crew-5 arrives, whenever that occurs.

SpaceX ground teams moved the Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft from the ships fueling facility to the Falcon 9 rocket hangar Sept. 23 near Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Technicians mated the capsule to the Falcon 9 rocket inside the hangar, where the launcher remains secured to ride out Hurricane Ian.

The Dragon Endurance spacecraft is currently mated to the Falcon 9 rocket and safely secured inside SpaceXs hangar at Launch Complex 39A, NASA said in a statement. Kennedy Space Center is also making preparations across the spaceport to secure other property and infrastructure. After the storm progresses, teams from NASA and SpaceX will evaluate the potential impacts to the center and determine whether to adjust the mission timeline further.

SpaceX will wait to roll the Falcon 9 rocket Dragon spacecraft the quarter-mile distance from the hangar up the ramp to pad 39A after the bad weather passes from Hurricane Ian, which made landfall on Southwest Florida Wednesday shortly after 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) as a strong Category 4 hurricane. Forecasters predict Hurricane Ian will slowly move north-northeast across Florida, potentially bringing tropical storm conditions to the Cape Canaveral spaceport.

Were ready to roll out whenever the weather is ready to go roll out, said Bill Gerstenmaier, vice president of build and flight reliability at SpaceX. But we dont want to roll out and end up with high winds and rain. Weve got the right criteria. We shared that with NASA Kennedy Space Center so they know what our constraints are.

Mann and her crewmates remain in Houston. They were scheduled to fly to Kennedy Space Center on Monday, but NASA managers decided to hold off on that milestone as Hurricane Ian threatened to move toward Florida. They will need to travel to KSC at least four days before liftoff to participate in final training activities, including a dress rehearsal at the launch pad, where the crew members will board the Dragon capsule to practice for launch day.

SpaceX also planned to launch a Falcon 9 rocket Friday from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, a few miles south of pad 39A, with another batch of Starlink internet satellites. That launch has also been postponed into October, likely after a pair of Falcon 9 missions planned from pad 40 for commercial customers Intelsat and Eutelsat set for Oct. 5 and Oct. 13.

That shuffling in SpaceXs launch schedule would push back the next Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral until mid-October. SpaceX officials have said they prioritize missions with customer payloads.

Gerstenmaier said SpaceXs fast-paced launch schedule, primarily driven by Starlink missions, helps improve reliability for astronaut launches. SpaceX has launched 43 Falcon 9 rocket flights so far this year, already a record number of space launches by a commercial company in a calendar year.

Wve been flying a lot of missions, a lot of Starlink missions, Gerstenmaier said. I think that really helps the crew program. We learn a lot in those missions and we can carry that learning directly into crewed missions. But I will tell you crewed missions are special. They are very different to us. they are not routine in any way, shape, or form. we treat these missions with more respect than any missions we fly.

Meanwhile, United Launch Alliance has postponed the launch of an Atlas 5 rocket from pad 41 until no earlier than Oct. 4 at 5:36 p.m. EDT (2136 GMT), a four-day delay from the previous target date. The Atlas 5 rocket and its payloads are fully stacked inside ULAs Vertical Integration Facility, ready for rollout to pad 41 once the weather clears. ULA teams hoisted the rockets payload fairing, containing two commercial TV broadcasting spacecraft for the satellite operator SES, on top of the Atlas 5 rocket earlier this month.

Both satellites are integrated to the launch vehicle and safely secured within the Vehicle Integration Facility at SLC-41, ULA said in a statement.

The Atlas 5 rocket needs to roll out to the launch pad the day before liftoff to prepare for the countdown.

Hurricane Ian is also impacting other operations at the Cape Canaveral spaceport. All regular work at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station has been suspended.

NASA rolled the Artemis 1 moon rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building early Tuesday to take shelter from the hurricane, likely delaying the inaugural flight of the Space Launch System until mid-November. The agency previously hoped to launch the uncrewed Artemis 1 test flight to the moon this week, following scrubbed launch attempts Aug. 29 and Sept. 3.

Read our full story on the Artemis 1 rollback to the VAB.

Relativity Space, a commercial startup planning its first orbital launch attempt later this year, moved its Terran 1 booster off its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after a series of engine hotfire tests. Most recently, Relativity test-fired the rockets nine methane-fueled engines at Launch Complex 16 for 82 seconds on Sept. 23.

Rolling back to hangar to keep vehicle safe during impending hurricane in Florida, said Tim Ellis, Relativitys co-founder and CEO. Early data and hardware looking solid from last weeks extensive stage one testing, super happy with the results.

Other activities at the Cape Canaveral spaceport have also been affected by the threat from Hurricane Ian. A large crane supporting construction of SpaceXs new Starship launch pad at Launch Complex 39A was lowered and secured Tuesday.

Several spacecraft are also at the spaceport preparing for future launches, aside from SpaceXs Dragon Endurance crew capsule and the two SES communications satellites already attached to their rockets.

Intelsats Galaxy 33 and 34 television broadcasting satellites and Eutelsats Hotbird 13F communications spacecraft are undergoing final launch preparations at a payload processing facility at Cape Canaveral. NASAs Psyche asteroid explorer is secured at Kennedy Space Centers Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility awaiting a launch opportunity as soon as next July, following a launch delay earlier this year to resolve software concerns with the robotic science mission.

The U.S. Space Force is also believed to have a classified payload at Cape Canaveral preparing for launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket later this year.

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

Read the original:

SpaceX, ULA postpone launches as Hurricane Ian moves toward Florida Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

A NASA astronaut will make soon make a giant leap for diversity.

Nicole Mann will become the first Native American woman to fly in space when SpaceX's Crew-5 mission for NASA launches from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. That liftoff is currently scheduled for Oct. 4, though Hurricane Ian could end up pushing it back a bit.

"I feel very proud," Mann told Reuters (opens in new tab) in August. "It's important that we celebrate our diversity and really communicate that specifically to the younger generation."

Related: NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts ready for historic mission

Mann, a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in northern California, said that her community is eager for the chance for orbital representation on board Crew-5's destination, the International Space Station.

"That's really, I think, an audience that we don't get an opportunity to reach out to very often," said Mann, who is slated to spend half a year in space on the orbital complex. Mann will bring a dreamcatcher into orbit, which is a sort of protective charm in some Native American cultures, according to the Smithsonian Institution (opens in new tab) although the specific meanings and associated stories vary from group to group.

Mann's time in orbit will coincide with November's Native American Heritage Month, which celebrates the "rich histories, diverse cultures and important contributions of our nations first people," according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. (opens in new tab)

NASA has been highlighting Native American contributions to the agency in recent years, too. One example is the "hidden figure" Mary G. Ross, a member of the Cherokee Nation who contributed to Mars and Venus missions as a mathematician and engineer. The first Native American to leave Earth was John Bennet Herrington, a NASA astronaut and member of the Chickasaw Nation who reached orbit in 2002.

Related: NASA engineers, scientists and more shine bright this Native American Heritage Month

American Indians and Alaska Native populations represent roughly 3.7 million people, or 1.1% of the overall United States population, according to the United States Census Bureau (opens in new tab)'s 2020 numbers. Such figures can be quite fuzzy, however, given that many people are a combination of multiple ethnicities. ("Native Hawaiian" and "Other Pacific Islander" are counted separately in the census, too.)

Mann has emphasized that diversity in space is a good thing, as it brings more perspectives to space exploration. "We are coming together as a human race," Mann told ABC News (opens in new tab) in August, "and our mission on board the International Space Station of developing this technology and research to benefit all of humankind is really what brings us together."

The other three members of the Crew-5 mission are Anna Kikina, the first-ever Russian cosmonaut to fly with SpaceX, and NASA's Josh Cassada and Japan's Koichi Wakata.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter@howellspace (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter@Spacedotcom (opens in new tab)orFacebook (opens in new tab).

See the article here:

NASA's Nicole Mann will become 1st Native American in orbit - Space.com

If you have the X-Files theme song playing in your head you arent alone. Many North Texans were thinking the same thing Monday night after reportedly seeing what they thought was a UFO. After many captured images of the strange light anomalies in the sky, it was announced that SpaceX satellites were the source of the light pattern.

According to FOX 4, shared that many viewers were sending in photographs and videos of what they believed were lights from a UFO. The mysterious lights were visible around 9 p.m. and the display did look like something out of a sci-fi series. But the long line of lights did not belong to something out of this world.

Instead, the strange lights belonged to a SpaceX satellite. The Starlink-55 passed through the state Monday. Elon Musks creation is meant to assist in bringing high-speed broadband internet to areas where the internet is not always available. As of this month, SpaceX has over 2,300 of these satellites roaming above the sky and has many more planned to send up to space in the future.

But if your hopes and dreams of seeing a UFO in Texas were crushed, dont worry. KERA reported that the Lone Star State is actually a hot spot for reported UFO sightings. In 2013, there were three specific sightings that gained national attention. The Mutual UFO Network reported that jailers working at Johnson County Correctional Facility spotted what they thought was a UFO with an unusual triangular shape. During the same year, 7,182 speculated UFO sightings were reported in Texas.

Local Profile previously reported in 2020 that Texas has a lengthy history of UFO sightings. As writer Pamela Colloff pointed out in her 1969 Texas Monthly story, Close Encounters of the Lone Star Kind, Texans have been reporting UFO sightings since 1878 and reported the first one touching down here in 1897, more than fifty years before Roswells infamous crash landing.

If you hope to catch a glimpse of the satellite you can visit Find Starlink to see where the famous light source will be next. If you are looking for an actual UFO, keep your eyes to the sky.

Follow this link:

SpaceX Satellites Thought To Be UFO In North Texas - Local Profile

Credit: Greg T | Facebook

Two of Elon Musks companies, Tesla and SpaceX, are both warning customers in Florida about what to do before a very powerful storm, Hurricane Ian, makes landfall later tonight and into tomorrow morning.

For Tesla, they have once again utilized the connected nature of their cars to send a message directly to the vehicles main display.

According to a copy of the message shared by Greg T. on Facebook, Tesla says Hurricane Ian may impact power access at charging stations in Florida.

To avoid a low battery with no access to electricity, Tesla is recommending owners charge their vehicles to 100% ahead of the storm.

Tesla also says owners can check on the status and availability of nearby Superchargers using the vehicles navigation.

Separately, SpaceX is also advising Starlink customers to take measures to keep their satellite dishes from getting damaged during the storm.

In an email sent to Starlink customers in affected areas, SpaceX says Dishy McFlatface is capable of withstanding winds up to 65mph (105km/h). But with wind speeds estimated to exceed 130mph (210km/h) at the storms peak, SpaceX suggests customers remove and store their dish inside.

SpaceX says this will help keep the dish safe and allow them to use it and access the internet once the storm passes.

If customers are unable to remove their dish, they suggest securing it as best as possible.

Here is a full copy of the email. (via Reddit)

We are reaching out as your service area has the potential to be impacted by Hurricane Ian.

Your Starlink is designed and tested to withstand 65+ mph winds. However, over the coming days your area may experience wind speeds that exceed this specification. If possible, we recommend storing your Starlink dish inside your home to avoid damage from the storm; this will also keep it safe for use after the storm passes. You can find instructions to stow your Starlink byclicking here, or by following the button link below.

If you are not able to remove your Starlink from its installation site, we recommend ensuring that your Starlink is installed as securely as possible. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Support Team through your Starlink App or on Starlink.com.

Thank you, and stay safe!

View post:

Tesla, SpaceX warn customers in Florida of impending Hurricane Ian - Drive Tesla Canada

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has once again spoken out against the use of patents, explaining that the company generally continues to avoid using them.

In an interview with CNBC, which aired on Wednesday evening, Musk said that using patents in manufacturing is a sign of weakness.

Musk took TV host Jay Leno on a tour around SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas, showing him some of the company's Raptor engines, which are designed to fit the Starship spacecraft. He said the engines were built by SpaceX in California.

It's not the first time the billionaire has criticized the use of patents. In an interview with Wired in 2012, he said that SpaceX has "essentially no patents." He added that it would be "farcical" if the company published its patents "because the Chinese would just use them as a recipe book."

In a Tesla conference call eight years ago, Musk said patents were a sign that a company was failing to innovate fast enough.

Musk said in the CNBC interview that SpaceX used strong stainless steel to make the rocket. In response to a question about whether the company had patents for the material, Musk said no.

SpaceX doesn't "really patent things," he told the outlet. "Patents are for the weak."

Musk said in the interview that patents were normally used as a "blocking technique" and prevented other companies from progressing. "They just stop others from following you," he told Leno during the tour. "Most patents are bs."

His most recent comments about patents come at a time when SpaceX inches ever closer to launching its huge Starship spacecraft. Musk tweeted on Wednesday that it was "highly likely" the vehicle would launch in November.

Link:

Elon Musk says SpaceX avoids using patents to build rockets because they're for the 'weak' and block innovatio - Business Insider India

The first orbital test flight of SpaceX's Starship vehicle won't get off the ground in August.

SpaceX is targeting a six-month window that opens on Sept. 1 for the highly anticipated mission, according to a radio-spectrum license application (opens in new tab) that the company filed with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

That license was granted on Wednesday (Aug. 10), according to the Twitter account FCC Space Licenses (opens in new tab), which keeps tabs on such things. But this approval is not the final regulatory hurdle that Starship must clear on the way to the launch pad.

Photos: SpaceX lifts huge Super Heavy rocket onto launch stand

"Reminder, this is not the same as a launch license. It is a specific radio license for the test vehicles and does not indicate a change in status. Please do not make a YouTube video or write a 20,000 [word article] about this," FCC Space Licenses, which is not a U.S. government account, wrote in another Wednesday tweet (opens in new tab). (This article is only about 400 words long, so hopefully it's still in bounds.)

SpaceX apparently still hasn't received a launch license for the Starship orbital test flight, which will lift off from the company's Starbase facility in South Texas. Launch licenses are the purview of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which recently wrapped up a lengthy environmental assessment of Starship activities at the site.

Starship consists of a giant first-stage booster called Super Heavy and a 165-foot-tall (50 meters) upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship. Both elements are designed to be fully reusable, and both will be powered by SpaceX's next-generation Raptor engines 33 for Super Heavy and six for Starship.

The duo that will fly the coming orbital mission are Booster 7 and Ship 24. SpaceX has begun prepping both prototypes for the task; for example, the company conducted "static fire" engine tests with both vehicles on Tuesday (Aug. 9) at Starbase.

Booster 7 lit just one of its 33 engines on Tuesday, and Ship 24 fired up two of its six Raptors. So a lot of work remains before SpaceX clears the duo for an orbital flight meaning it was never likely that the mission would lift off in August, even if all the paperwork were already in order.

There is a high-profile launch scheduled for this month, however: NASA is currently targeting Aug. 29 for the liftoff of Artemis 1, the first mission in its Artemis program of moon exploration. Artemis 1 will use a Space Launch System rocket to send an uncrewed Orion capsule on a roughly six-week mission to lunar orbit and back.

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There (opens in new tab)" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).

Original post:

SpaceX's Starship won't make 1st orbital launch this month | Space