SpaceX launch delays one more day

Falcon 9 Horizontal at SLC-40 - Credit: Craig Vander Galien // SpaceNews

SpaceX was planning the liftoff of the Falcon 9 with Dragon to the International Space Station tomorrow (Dec. 12) at 11:46am EST from SLC-40. They have now decided to push the launch one day to December 13th for additional time on the pre-launch ground systems checks. The new time of launch will be December 13th at 11:24am EST from SLC-40. This launch includes the first time NASA has allowed the reuse of a first stage booster and the soot from its last launch (CRS-11) has not been washed off like it usually is.        

SpaceX to launch reused Dragon spacecraft on a reused Falcon 9 booster to the ISS

SpaceX's Falcon 9 standing at SLC-40 for the first time in a year
Credit: SpaceX

CRS-13
SpaceX will be launching another resupply mission to the International Space Station using a reused Dragon spacecraft under NASA's Commercial Resupply Service contract. The mission will also include a flight-proven first stage which was previously used to launch the CRS-11 mission back in June 2017 and the Dragon spacecraft was last used to support the CRS-6 mission in April of 2015. After the first stage separates, the booster will flip around and fly back towards Cape Canaveral and perform a landing at SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1). The Dragon spacecraft is filled with approximately 4,800lbs of crew supplies and experiments as well as important materials to support several science and research investigations. It will rendezvous with the ISS on December 15th and will be captured by the station's robotic arm to be berthed with the station. Dragon will stay attached to the station for about a month and will then be returned to Earth and recovered in the Pacific Ocean. The Falcon 9 will liftoff tomorrow at 11:46am EST from Space Launch Complex 40 with a backup launch for Dec. 13th at 11:24am EST. Weather is currently 90% go for the launch tomorrow.

Space Launch Complex 40
This will be the first launch from SLC-40 since the anomaly that occurred during a static fire for the launch of Amos-6 back on September 1st, 2016. The SpaceX team have been launching Falcon 9s from LC-39A in SLC-40s downtime. While launching from LC-39A, they've been working tirelessly on getting the pad functioning again as well as getting Falcon Heavy ready. Now that SLC-40 is back online, work towards the Falcon Heavy flight will start to accelerate for it's Demo flight sometime in January of 2018.

Electron rocket launch scrubbed

Rocket Lab had planned to launch their Electron rocket today on it's second test flight carrying 3 small satellites into orbit. The launch has been scrubbed for the day due to weather factors and 'orbital traffic' making the launch difficult. They're planning another launch tomorrow and have yet to announce a new launch time.

Rocket Lab gearing up for launch on Sunday

Hold down fire of the Electron Rocket
Credit: Rocket Lab

Rocket lab is currently planning to launch their Electron "Still Testing" rocket from their private launch facility in New Zealand on Sunday at 8:30pm EST. The 2 stage rocket will be launching 3 satellites into orbit around the Earth. One of the satellites is an Earth imaging Dove satellite for Planet. The other 2 are Lemur-2 satellites for Weather mapping and ship traffic tracking from the company Spire. "We're eager to to test the next crucial step - payload deployment." says Peter Beck, Founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, "No major changes to the launch vehicle hardware have been required". The first launch of the Electron rocket failed to reach orbit on May 25th, 2017 after a third-party error in the hardware that has now been corrected. Beck also stated that carrying these payloads marks a significant milestone for Rocket Lab and it enables them to gather data and test the systems used in deploying satellites safely into orbit. A livestream of the launch will be shown on Rocket Lab's website about 12 minutes before launch.

Rocket Lab's "Still Testing" launch delayed by one day

Electron 'Still Testing' at Rocket Lab LC-1

Credit: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab, a private space company, was planning the second launch of their Electron rocket today from their private launch complex in New Zealand, but has been delayed by a day. They had planned to launch Electron during a 4-hour window that stretched from 8:30pm to 12:30am EST to carry three small satellites into orbit. This was the first of the planned 10-day launch window and they will attempt the same window again tomorrow. Weather forecasts for the next few days appear unfavorable for launch until at least Monday. They will be live streaming the launch on their website about 12 minutes before the anticipated time of the launch for the first time. When launched, this will be the second of the three planned test launches of the Electron rocket before opening up to commercial customers. If everything goes well during this launch, commercial access capabilities will be accelerated. Real time updates of the launch will be posted on Twitter @RocketLab.

Falcon Heavy to launch this December

Last year on September 1st, 2016, one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets exploded on their launch pad before performing a routine static fire for the upcoming Amos-6 launch. Since then, SpaceX has recovered from that anomaly and have launched 13 missions since then. Throughout the year, they have been working hard on getting LC-40 back online for Falcon 9 launches to make room for Falcon Heavy launches from LC-39a, the launch pad they're currently using for Falcon 9. SpaceX's CRS-13 launch will be the first launch from LC-40 since the Sep. 1st anomaly early this December and the Falcon Heavy now has a tentative launch date of

Dec. 29th with a static fire on Dec. 15th. The Falcon Heavy rocket is a 3-core version of a Falcon 9 rocket that will be the most capable active rocket once launched. It will also attempt a land landing of both side boosters simultaneously back at SpaceX's Landing Zone area and possibly a core booster landing on land, but will most likely land on their droneship "Of Course I Still Love You".   

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft sends supplies to the ISS

CRS-12 launches from Historic LC-39a

On Monday August 14th, around 12:31pm EDT, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Historic LC-39a at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft sat atop the Falcon 9 carrying over 6,400lbs of supplies and payloads launched into Low Earth Orbit toward the International Space Station (ISS). This launch is the 12th of the 20 missions to the ISS that Dragon will be flying under NASA's Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) contract. On August 16th, the crew on the ISS will capture Dragon using the Station's 58ft long robotic arm and proceed with docking the spacecraft. This mission

The Falcon 9 first stage standing tall at LZ-1

also featured a "Return To Launch Site" landing of the Falcon 9's first stage. Right after separation, the first stage flipped around and began to fire up its engines and fly all the way back to LZ-1 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It then performed a series of burns to guide it through the atmosphere and stick a perfect landing to get recovered and refurbished for another launch.

"Third time's a charm" - Third attempt to launch Intelsat 35e

After standing down from a launch attempt on the 4th of July, SpaceX decided to take that day to do a full re-evaluation of the rocket and the launch pad systems to ensure everything is working how it should. SpaceX will try to launch Intelsat 35e again today at 7:37pm EDT from historic Launch Complex 39a. Live broadcasts of the launch will start about 15 minutes before launch.

Successful splashdown of CRS-11 and a second attempt to launch Intelsat 35e

Photo of CRS-10 parachuting down back in March // SpaceX

 This morning around 5:14am EDT CRS-11, SpaceX's first reused Dragon spacecraft, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after departing from the ISS later last night. Splashdown was good and it seems Dragon is in good health, becoming the first re-flight of a commercial spacecraft.
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Intelsat 35e fairing // SpaceX

The second launch attempt of Intelsat 35e will also take place today at 7:37pm EDT after yesterday's attempt was scrubbed due to a guidence control issue. Intelsat 35e will be launched into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit and no first stage recovery will occur. Given the weight of the payload, SpaceX will have to use the full power of the Falcon 9 without any recovery gear onboard. Their future Block V version of the Falcon 9 will be able to carry heavy payloads like this into orbit and be able to attempt a landing on their droneships. 

SpaceX: First reused Dragon leaves ISS

SpaceX CRS-11 Dragon leaves the Station

On Saturday, July 1st, the hatch was closed after loading SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft with nearly 1,400lbs of experiments that will be carried back to Earth. The next day, the spacecraft was unbearthed from the harmony module around 1:30pm EDT and was released from the ISS at 2:41pm EDT. After 3 consecutive burns, it moved away from the ISS and started its deorbit toward Earth where it will land in the Pacific Ocean just west of California at 8:12am EDT. After the recovery team picks up Dragon onto their recovery vessel, they'll take it back into port and will be brought back to their HQ in Hawthorne, CA. Upon arrival, the onboard samples will be unloaded immediately for analysis.

SCRUB: 24-hour recycle of the launch of Intelsat 35e

In the final seconds of the countdown, the flight computer of the Falcon 9 aborted the launch at T-10 seconds. The SpaceX team is assessing the data from the countdown and will hopefully find the issue that caused the abort and are planning on a 24-hour recycle. The next launch window opens tomorrow, July 3rd at 7:37pm EDT from Historic Launch Complex 39a.
Edit: Guidance Issue aborted the launch, The Falcon 9 and Satellite are both healthy.