Category Archives: Spacex

Police in Texas arrested a woman accused of spray-painting anti-SpaceX graffiti on a mural paid for by Elon Musk's foundation, The Texas Observer first reported.

Bekah Hinojosa, a resident of Brownsville and member of environmental group Another Gulf Is Possible, told The Observer that four police officers knocked on her door, handcuffed her in her house, and drove her to the local police station.

Hinojosa sent Insider a copy of a press release which she and her attorney, Mike Siegel, published.

The arrest was over Hinojosa allegedly spray-painting the words "gentrified" and "stop SpaceX" beneath a new mural in downtown Brownsville, South Texas, according to the press release.

Brownsville is located 20 miles west of SpaceX's launch facilities on the Gulf Coast and is known for being one of the poorest areas in the US. Some residents, including Hinojosa, told Insider last year they were concerned about SpaceX displacing locals, raising prices, and ruining nature reserves in the area.

Hinojosa didn't answer The Observer's questions about whether she graffitied the mural, under the advice of her attorney, per the report.

The mural was paid for by the Musk Foundation and painted by Los Angeles-based artist Teddy Kelly, who was given $20,000 to paint the wall, ValleyCentral reported when it was revealed in September.

The officers told Hinojosa that she couldn't change out of her pajamas before she was taken to the police station, and was threatened with a charge of resisting arrest, she told The Observer.

Hinojosa was kept in a jail cell for more than 24 hours and interviewed by police, according to the press release.

"I'm out of jail & back at home!!" Hinojosa tweeted on Thursday. She told The Observer she was released on a personal recognizance bond.

"I was singled out and publicly attacked by Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez because I am outspoken about the destructive impacts SpaceX is causing to our environment and community," Hinojosa said in the press release.

Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez posted a mugshot of Hinojosa on Facebook, saying she was "arrested and charged with a Class B misdemeanor stemming from the graffiti at the BTX mural in our historic downtown." Mendez said in the post that the incident was caught on CCTV cameras.

Texas law states that some Class B misdemeanors, such as graffiti, require a citation and not an arrest, The Observer reported.

Siegel said in the press release that he was calling on the City of Brownsville to dismiss the charges against Hinojosa, and investigate Mendez for "abuse of power."

"This is clear retaliation motivated by Rebekah's 1st Amendment protected conduct to challenge the environmental impact of SpaceX," adding that Mendez was "violating federal law."

Brownsville Police Department and Mendez didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

In an interview with Insider last year, Hinojosa said SpaceX was "littering" the ecosystems which were " the community's lifeblood."

The Brownsville Police Department declined to comment to The Observer and Mendez didn't respond to its request for comment before publication.

Are you a resident of Brownsville? What do you think of SpaceX being in the area? How has it impacted you? Get in touch with this reporter via email (kduffy@insider.com) or Twitter DM (kate__duffy).

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Woman arrested over claim she painted 'stop SpaceX' on mural in Texas - Business Insider

After three successful human suborbital flights in 2021, Blue Origin is set to boost its launches in 2022. The company hinted that it will look to double the number of people it flew into space last year.

14 humans had brief suborbital flights on Blue Origins New Shepard spacecraft last year. In a presentation at the 24th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference, Blue Origin said that it saw robust demand for suborbital flights.

The market is robust. Its very robust. The challenge for Blue at this point is that were actually supply-limited. No business ever wants to be supply-limited when theres robust demand. Its incumbent on us to go build new vehicles, get them ready and safely go fly, and also safely get our launch cadence up, Bob Smith, chief executive of Blue Origin said.

The Jeff Bezos-founded company has been in direct competition with SpaceX, which has been dominating the private commercial space-travel market with its Falcon-9 and Crew Dragon spacecraft launching not just private citizens but astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

A mural of Jeff Bezos and his brother ahead of their maiden space flight last year. (Photo: Reuters)

Blue Origin in 2021 began its commercial service by launching Jeff Bezos on a nearly 10-minute-long flight to space onboard the New Shepard spacecraft. In a bid to increase the number of flights, the company is also looking at introducing a new vehicle to launch more frequently than before.

According to SpaceNews, the company expects to bring in the new vehicle this year and quoted Smith as saying, Thats the one that we have to be thoughtful about because thats the place where spaceflight has gotten into trouble, he said. Weve spent a lot of time thinking through how methodically, to check out a reusable launch system.

Yes, there has been a demand for commercial travel, which at the moment is reserved for the millionaires and billionaires of the world. While Blue Origin has sold a flight to a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur in the latter half of 2022, SpaceX recently announced plans to launch private astronauts on a five-day mission to space.

SpaceX' Polaris Dawn mission will see four astronauts launch into space on a five-day trip to conduct scientific studies onboard Crew Dragon spacecraft. (Photo: SpaceX)

Lin had won the auction conducted by Blue Origin last year for a seat on the first crewed flight. However, he could not go at the time after winning the auction for his $28 million bid. Since then, several executives, celebrities, entrepreneurs have flown on New Shepard rockets enjoying the brief moments of zero gravity while looking at the planet from outside.

Virgin Galactic, another private spaceflight service led by Richard Branson, is also looking to ramp up flights to space this year. Company officials have said that they remain on schedule to begin commercial human suborbital missions before the end of the year. Virgin Galactic flew Branson and others on the first flight last year.

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Blue Origin to increase space tourism flights this year; SpaceX, Virgin Galactic on similar course - India Today

Together these two companies will be launching the worlds highest resolution thermal imaging satellite in early 2023.

UK space firm, Satellite Vu, has signed a launch deal with Elon Musks aerospace company, SpaceX, to launch the worlds highest resolution thermal imaging satellite in early 2023.

Satellite Vu will be part of a rideshare launch on one of SpaceXs Transporter missions aboard Falcon 9, which have proven to be the most reliable rockets to launch satellites into orbit in recent years.

The mission will launch the first of Satellite Vus seven UK built satellites into a Low Earth Orbit. Satellite Vu has been well funded, so far raising 15 million in Series A investment and receiving two grants from the UK Space Agency and a third grant from the European Space Agency (ESA).

The satellites can collect thermal data, both day and night, of the built and natural environment at any location on the planet. The full constellation will have the ability to measure the heat signature of any building multiple times a day, enabling Satellite Vu to provide near real time insights about building heat loss, giving an accurate image of where to implement energy optimization investments, offering substantial cost saving benefits to both public and private sector.

Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) are building the satellites which have been designed with a 3.5m resolution mid-wave infrared imager with video capability and a sensitivity of less than 2 degrees Celsius. The satellite video generation capability adds unique advantages over traditional imagery, allowing for the detection of highly dynamic features and the building of 3D profiles, useful for a range of applications such as alleviating the effect of heat islands in inner cities, monitoring the pollution of waterways from industrial processes, reducing the cost of heating buildings and ensuring buildings are energy efficient, and assessing the activity status of solar farms.

Anthony Baker, Founder and CEO of Satellite Vu, said, We are delighted to have agreed to launch with SpaceX which will see the first of our innovative satellites launched into space. It is a really exciting time for the UK space sector and our satellites will make a real difference to the fight against climate change.

The world is struggling to lower their carbon emissions in order to meet climate targets, but through the data provided by these satellites, governments and businesses will be able to monitor their energy wastage and take action in order to make a tangible impact as we drive towards our collective climate goals.

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Satellite Vu And SpaceX's Falcon 9 Goes Green Will Launch The World's Highest Resolution Thermal Imaging Satellite SatNews - SatNews Publishers

How much would you pay a financial advisor with a success rate of 100% on their stock picks? How much would you pay to own a space stock with a 100% success rate on space launches?

Don't worry. You don't actually have to answer either of those questions. (And the first question was a trick question. There's no such thing as a financial advisor with a 100% success rate.) But if you are a space agency like NASA or the U.S. Space Force, and in the business of sending multimillion-dollar (sometimes multibillion-dollar) satellites into orbit, there's certainly an incentive to hire the space launch contractor with the best record of success.

Image source: Getty Images.

Indeed, in the case of United Launch Alliance -- the space launch joint venture formed by Boeing ( BA -2.13% ) and Lockheed Martin ( LMT -0.59% ) in 2006 -- "success" has been a selling point, a marketing tool, and a big reason why ULA was (for a time) able to charge the U.S. government as much as $400 million for a single rocket launch.

Since its formation, ULA has racked up a record of 148 straight space launches without a single launch failure (as its CEO regularly reminds us).

By the way, most of those launches used the venerable Atlas V rocket. Designed and introduced by Lockheed Martin in 2002 (prior to the formation of ULA, in fact), Atlas V has flown 91 times without a single mission failure and helped ULA to maintain its 100% mission-success record.

Sometime later this year, ULA intends to field a replacement rocket to take Atlas V's place and, hopefully, begin a new string of successes: the Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle. When that happens, a new rocket, SpaceX's Falcon 9, will bear the title of "world's most reliable rocket" -- in fact, it appears Falcon 9 has already taken the top spot.

It turns out that sometime around the middle of last year, Atlas V ceded its crown as the nation's most reliable launch vehicle to SpaceX and its workhorse, Falcon 9. As our friends at Ars Technica pointed out earlier this month, the Falcon 9 "may now be the safest rocket ever launched," having completed a winning streak of 111 straight successful launches through early February.

I admit: SpaceX started launching so frequently last year that this news kind of snuck up on me. In 2022, the company has already recorded a half-dozen Falcon launches. And considering SpaceX launched 15 times from June to December last year (about twice per month), Falcon 9 probably surpassed Atlas V's record in June 2021.

As recently as 2019, ULA CEO Tory Bruno was able to honestly state that Atlas V "is the most reliable rocket flying."

This being the case, he could also reasonably argue that NASA should pay a premium for flights aboard Atlas V whenever a satellite absolutely, positively had to reach orbit overnight. Indeed, this argument was common knowledge in the space community.

But what does it mean now that the argument is no longer true?

Well, for one thing, it's going to put ULA's defenders in Congress and at NASA in a pickle the next time they want to pay ULA a premium on any contracts for which SpaceX is bidding a Falcon 9 to do the job. The justification for that premium has vanished.

Going forward, either SpaceX will be able to charge higher prices and collect fatter profit margins for its record of superior reliability, or ULA will have to roll back its reliability premium and cut its prices. And if ULA does cut prices, that will necessarily impact the profit margins of the company's two owners, Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Of the two defense stocks, Boeing appears likely to suffer worst when this happens. With its commercial airplanes division still struggling, Boeing has relied heavily upon its defense, space, and security division for profits of late. However, with a mere 5.7% operating profit margin, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, it's a weak reed with which to support Boeing's $124 billion market capitalization -- a reed that could snap if margins fall any lower.

Lockheed Martin, in contrast, earns higher margins from space (about 9.4%) and has three larger and more profitable businesses in aeronautics, missiles, and mission systems to fall back on if space margins begin to erode. Of the two publicly traded defense stocks that make up ULA, Lockheed is most likely to survive the shock of Falcon 9 becoming the world's most reliable rocket.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis even one of our own helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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SpaceX Has the World's Most Reliable Rocket - The Motley Fool

An unmistakable fact of SpaceXs Starship, stacked atop the Superheavyrocket, is its immensity. Therocket ship is a gleaming, stainless-steel tower the height of a skyscraper at SpaceXs South Texas Starbase facility. Its purpose is to deliver 100 metric tons of people and material anywhere in the solar system, either to Earth orbit or to the moon and Mars withrefueling. When it flies, it willrevolutionize the art and science of space travel just as the ocean-going caravel did sea travel centuries ago.

Recently, SpaceX CEO Elon MuskElon Reeve MuskElon Musk shuts down Warren claim that he doesn't pay taxes When will SpaceX's Starship fly to space? Without better space weather information, America's space aspirations will be grounded MOREgave a presentationabout the Starship to a crowd at the Starbase with the launch vehicle as a backdrop.

Of main interest, Musk says he will be able to conduct the first orbital test of the Starship this year, pending an environmental approval that he expects to happen in March. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that thereport has been delayed to March 28.

Musk does have a contingency plan to move operations to Florida if theregulators decide to throw someroadblocks in his way but a move to Florida would delay the development of Starship by six to eight months. NASA, which is depending on it to land astronauts on the moon, would not be too pleased either.

Certain parties would not be displeased if the Starship were to be delayed somewhat.Politico reportsthat SpaceXs competitors are in a panic over the implications of an operational Starship. It is bad enough, from their standpoint, that the SpaceX Falcon 9 has greatlyreduced the cost of launching things and people into space. The Starship, according to Musk, will be able to take an absurd amount of material and people, first into low-Earth orbit, then to the moon and Mars, for a few tens of millions of dollars a launch. Beyond competition at home, Russia and China, which have their own space ambitions, are also likely watching closely.

In any case, whether the Starship/Superheavyrocket is approved for launches from Texas or has to move to Florida, the first orbital test will see the Superheavy splash down in the ocean near the launch site, and the Starship will land in the ocean near Hawaii. Subsequent launches will no doubt test the two stages ability to land intact back at the spaceport launch site.

Once the Starship proves its ability to launch, conduct orbital operations and then land safely, the possibilities are almost endless. SpaceX already has plans for therocket to launch Starlink satellites, hundreds at a timerather than a few dozen that the Falcon 9 can deliver. The Starship could deliver a space telescope many times the size and capabilities of the Hubble or a complete commercial space station.

Billionaire Jared Isaacman, who already flew with a group on SpaceXs Crewed Dragon, nowplans a series of flightsculminating in the first crewed Starship. Farther in the future, billionaire Yusaku Maezawa still plans to take a group of artists on a Starship on an epic voyage around the moon.

A version of the Starship has already been chosen to be the Human Landing System that will deliver astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in decades. SpaceX has contracted to do one uncrewed test in advance of the human landing, currently scheduled to take place in 2025.

While NASA plans only one Artemis mission per year, SpaceX may be able to land material and people on the moon multiple times a year. Everything depends on whether the company can masterrapid launch, landing and turnaround, as well asreliablerefueling in low-Earth orbit. If SpaceX can establish an Earth-to-moon transportation system on their own, NASAs Orion/Space Launch System would become obsolete in short order.

Musks ultimate goal is to establish a city on Mars. He has suggested that he will need to transport a million tons of material across interplanetary gulfs, not to speak of those people who propose to become Mars colonists, to make that happen. If the Starship/Superheavy system can do that, the launch vehicle will have changed the course of history. Humankind truly will become an interplanetary civilization.

MarkR.Whittingtonis the authorofspace explorationstudiesWhy is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?as well asThe Moon, Mars and Beyond,andWhy is America Going Back to the Moon?He blogs atCurmudgeons Corner.

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When will SpaceX's Starship fly to space? | TheHill - The Hill

Update for 4 p.m. EST: SpaceX has successfully launched its Starlink 4-7 mission, with all 49 Starlink internet satellites being deployed as planned. You can read our full story and see amazing launch video here.

SpaceX is ready to send another batch of its Starlink internet satellites into orbit, and you can watch the action live.

A Falcon 9 rocket is poised to launch 49 Starlink spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at 1:13 p.m. EST (1813 GMT). You can watch it here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, or directly via the company. SpaceX launch webcasts usually start 15 to 20 minutes before liftoff.

The 49 new SpaceX craft will join more than 1,800 functional satellites in the company's Starlink constellation, according to statistics compiled by Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who also keeps close tabs on satellites and space debris.

Related: The evolution of SpaceX's rockets in pictures

This batch of Starlinks, known as Group 4-7, will lift off soon after two other batches did. Starlink groups 4-5 and 4-6 launched from KSC successfully on Jan. 6 and Jan. 19, respectively. SpaceX also performed Starlink launches during most months of 2021.

SpaceX eventually hopes to have as many as 42,000 satellites in the Starlink megaconstellation. While the company touts benefits to people living in remote areas who do not have access to traditional internet services, the constellation poses an increased risk of orbital collisions and could mar astronomical observations, critics have said.

Nevertheless, SpaceX has committed to a rapid cadence of launches for Starlink in 2022 to continue building out its constellation and expanding its service to more rural areas.

The launch of Group 4-7 was originally scheduled for last week but has been delayed multiple times due to bad weather interfering with SpaceX's launch of Italy's CSG-2 Earth-observation satellite. CSG-2 lifted off Monday (Jan. 31) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC.

Starlink 4-7 will wrap up a busy week for SpaceX. In addition to CSG-2, the company launched the NROL-87 spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from California's Vandenberg Space Force Station on Wednesday (Feb. 2).

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter@howellspace. Follow uson Twitter@Spacedotcomand onFacebook.

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Watch live as SpaceX launches more than four dozen Starlink satellites today - Space.com

If a recent SpaceX rocket photo has you seeing double, you're not alone.

A Twitter post Monday (Jan. 31) shows two Falcon 9 rockets on their pads at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, ahead of their respective launches.

One photo captures both rockets under a twilight sky of deep orange. In the foreground is a Falcon 9 atop Pad 39A at NASA's KSC, which is expected to launch no earlier than Tuesday (Feb. 1). In the background is a separate Falcon 9 rocket carrying an Italian Earth observation satellite called Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation FM2 satellite.

That rocket is set to launch tonight (Jan. 31) at 6:11 p.m. EST (2311 GMT) after four delays. It's sitting atop the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral. You'll be able to watch the launch here, courtesy of SpaceX, beginning about 15 minutes before launch time.

Related: The evolution of SpaceX's rockets in pictures

A second SpaceX photo reverses the view, with the Falcon 9 at SLC-40 in the foreground and the Starlink-packed booster in the background at KSC. That photo, apparently taken at a different time over the weekend, shows the two rockets under a pristine blue Florida sky.

While both launches have been delayed, the Starlink flight is largely waiting for SpaceX to launch the Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation FM2 satellite. The Starlink Falcon 9 rocket is going to launch 49 more Starlinks to add on to SpaceX's constellation of nearly 2,000 operational satellites. It is scheduled to launch no earlier than Tuesday at 2:17 p.m. EST (1917 GMT) from NASA's Launch Complex 39A.

Both SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets have flown several missions before. Their first-stage boosters are also expected to return to Earth for landings on either a land-based pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station or an offshore drone ship so they can be used again.

SpaceX operates its two Florida launch pads under agreements signed with the agency and Air Force earlier in the decade, as both entities sought to turn the Cape launch facility into a "multi-user spaceport for both federal and commercial customers," according to a 2014 release.

SpaceX also launches human missions using Launch Pad 39A, including Crew Dragon missions for the International Space Station and the Inspiration4 all-civilian mission of 2021 that rocketed four people to Earth orbit. The next crewed launch from KSC is expected in April 2022, for the Crew-4 mission.

SpaceX also has a third Falcon 9 launch site in California at the Vandenberg Space Force Base. There is yet another Falcon 9 rocket there awaiting its own mission, SpaceX has said.

A Falcon 9 rocket will launch the classified NROL-87 payload from Vandenberg on Wednesday (Feb. 2). That mission is scheduled to lift off at 3:18 p.m. EST (2018 GMT).

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter@howellspace. Follow uson Twitter@Spacedotcomand onFacebook.

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SpaceX double vision: These photos show two Falcon 9 rockets on their pads for back-to-back launches - Space.com

Update for 11 am ET: SpaceX's Dragon CRS-24 cargo ship has successfully undocked itself from the International Space Station's Harmony module at 10:40 a.m. EST today and will return to Earth on Monday, Jan. 24. Read our full wrap story here.

SpaceX latest Dragon cargo ship is expected to undock from the International Space Station today (Jan. 23) after two days of delays due to bad weather at its landing site and you can watch it live online.

The Dragon CRS-24 cargo ship is scheduled to undock from the space station at 10:40 a.m. EST (1540 GMT) today. You can watch it live on this page beginning at 10:15 a.m. EST (1515 GMT), courtesy of NASA TV..

The Dragon was previously scheduled to leave the station Saturday for a Monday splashdown, but bad weather at potential splashdown locations in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast prevented the departure, according to SpaceX.

"SpaceX and NASA have waived off today's planned departure of an upgraded SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft due to high winds in the splashdown zones at the Gulf," NASA spokesperson Sandra Jones said during a NASA TV update Saturday.

Related: Live updates from the International Space Station

There will be no live coverage of SpaceX's Dragon splashdown, though it is expected to occur either late Monday or early Tuesday, weather permitting. Updates on splashdown will come through NASA's space station blog and SpaceX's Twitter page.

The Dragon cargo ship will return nearly 5,000 pounds (2,267 kilograms) of science to Earth when it splashes down, including a "cytoskeleton" that uses cell signaling to understand how the human body changes in microgravity. A 12-year-old light imaging microscope that is being retired after more than a decade of use studying the structure of matter and plants in orbit is also on board.

The capsule was originally targeting Friday to undock and Saturday to splash down, but the procedure was delayed by a day due to poor weather conditions for returning. If the Dragon had undocked Saturday morning, it would have splashdown in the wee hours of Monday, according to NASA.

The Dragon spacecraft blasted off on its cargo mission, called CRS-24, Dec. 21 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and delivered both science and a set of early Christmas presents to the orbiting complex two days later.

Dragon is the only cargo ship that can fly scientific experiments back to researchers on Earth, as all other such spacecraft burn up in the atmosphere during re-entry. Dragon is often used to carry back biological samples that must be transferred to a scientific facility quickly; splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean will allow for rapid transfer of samples to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in coastal Florida, east of Orlando.

Members of the Expedition 66 crew have been packing up and organizing Dragon supplies for at least the last two weeks, according to NASA's space station blog, including swapping out science freezer components that will host the precious refrigerated science samples.

Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect the 24-hour weather delay for SpaceX's Dragon CRS-24 spacecraft undocking at the International Space Station.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter@howellspace. Follow uson Twitter@Spacedotcomand onFacebook.

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SpaceX Dragon cargo ship to depart space station today after weather delay. How to watch it live. - Space.com

Rendering of a SpaceX Starship in flight.

The US Air Force is enlisting Elon Musk's help in developing a way to deliver military supplies and humanitarian aid via SpaceX rockets.

The company has signed acontract with the US Department of Defense worth over $102 million to provide point-to-point transit for cargo via space.

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The contract, awarded Friday, falls under the Air Force Research Laboratory's rocket cargo program, which aims to take advantage of the falling price of heavy launch capabilities that SpaceX and other companies have brought to the market in recent years.

Program manager Greg Spanjers told SpaceNewsearlier this week that the military is "very interested in the ability to deliver the cargo anywhere on Earth to support humanitarian aid and disaster relief."

The contract doesn't specify which SpaceX rocket or vehicle the initiative will utilize. SpaceX has used its Falcon 9 rocket and Falcon Heavy (which is made up of three Falcon 9 boosters) for military missions in the past, but Musk has made clear that he views Starship as the vehicle of the future.

SpaceX didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Now playing: Watch this: SpaceX Starship is preparing for its first orbital flight

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NASA has contracted with SpaceX to use Starship for upcoming moon missions and Musk hopes to use the next-generation spacecraft to continue growing the Starlink broadband satellite constellation. The billionaire founder has also suggested that Starship could be used for point-to-point commercial passenger flights around the world, much like what the Air Force contract is looking for, but with humans instead of cargo.

That vision of international flights via space relies on a network of spaceports around the world to launch and land. But Spanjers told SpaceNews that the Air Force is looking to explore ways to land at more "austere sites" in potential disaster zones.

It's not clear when we might see a first demonstration flight under the program. Spanjers added that other launch providers may be awarded similar contracts down the line.

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SpaceX signs a deal to rocket military cargo around the world - CNET

Mission accomplished! On January 13, 2022, our Flock 4x, consisting of 44 SuperDove satellites, was successfully launched into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. These 44 satellites will join our existing fleet of roughly 200 satellites in orbit. We were thrilled to launch once again with SpaceX, who has now brought to orbit a total of 127 Planet satellites across eight launches. This marks our first launch with SpaceX under our new multi-year, multi-launch rideshare agreement signed in 2021.

We were able to establish contact with all of the SuperDove satellites, many within two minutes of the final deployment, upholding our record of successfully connecting with 100% of all Planet satellites launched. Our constellations provide daily insights about the Earths resources and global events. With the latest addition of 44 SuperDove satellites, our PlanetScope product will continue to offer our customers satellite data captured from the latest and strongest technology. We use just-in-time manufacturing to ensure we can continually innovate the technology onboard our spacecraft before shipment to the launch site.

To date, we have built and launched the largest fleet of Earth observation satellites in history. Our fleet of both medium- and high-resolution satellites have collected an unprecedented amount of earth observation data over the last 10 years, creating a deep stack of 1,700 images on average for every spot on the Earths landmass. This allows our customers to not only get the most up-to-date image of their preferred area of interest, but also gives them an extensive set of training data to build artificial intelligence models on.

Our teams are fast at work on the next satellites and data services to come. Stay tuned!

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44 SuperDove Satellites Successfully Launch on SpaceX Falcon... - planet.com