All articles tagged with #launch pad
SpaceX has moved its Super Heavy booster to the launch pad at Starbase in South Texas in preparation for the upcoming Starship Flight 11 test flight scheduled for October 13, featuring a fully reusable rocket with 33 Raptor engines, and plans for the booster to return to Earth after launch.
Rocket Lab has opened a new launch complex in Virginia for its reusable Neutron rocket, which is designed for medium-sized satellite launches and could have its first flight by the end of 2025. The Neutron rocket features a fully reusable first stage, a novel design with the second stage inside the first, and aims to fill a market gap for heavier payloads. The launch site at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility marks a significant milestone for Rocket Lab and U.S. space access.
SpaceX has moved a Starship first stage, the Super Heavy booster, to the launch pad at its Starbase site in South Texas in preparation for the fourth Starship test flight, which could launch as soon as early May. The booster is likely being positioned for a static fire test before the upcoming mission. SpaceX is developing Starship, a fully reusable vehicle intended for missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond, and has conducted three test flights to date, with the most recent flight lasting nearly 50 minutes and achieving several milestones before breaking apart during reentry.
SpaceX has tested emergency chutes at the Kennedy Space Center, which could save astronauts in case of a launch emergency. The company is working on opening a second launch pad to increase flexibility for upcoming crew missions. The tests involved deploying new emergency chutes along wires, allowing astronauts to escape before liftoff in case of a serious anomaly. Before crewed missions, SpaceX will conduct an uncrewed flight from the pad, which will be the company's 30th cargo mission to the ISS.
SpaceX is preparing for the third test flight of its Starship rocket in Texas, with the launch scheduled for March 14th. The company has been conducting last-minute tests, including a successful water deluge system test at the launch pad. Upgrades to the rocket and launch site have been made, including a new engine control system and improvements to minimize leaks and reduce the chances of fires. The upcoming test will also involve propellant transfer testing for NASA's Moon lander missions.
SpaceX is planning to take over Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37) at Cape Canaveral from United Launch Alliance (ULA) to use as a launch pad for its Starship rocket. The environmental review process is underway, and if approved, SpaceX will modify the existing infrastructure to support Starship-Super Heavy launch and landing operations. This move indicates SpaceX's serious commitment to developing a second base for Starship on Florida's Space Coast, as it aims to expand its launch and landing capabilities for future missions, including potential lunar and Mars exploration.
SpaceX rolls out the Starship Super Heavy prototype, Booster 10, to the launch pad in South Texas for testing ahead of its third test flight. The company shared photos of the milestone, showing the two stages of the rocket being stacked atop the orbital launch mount. SpaceX aims to launch the third test flight in the coming weeks pending FAA approval, following the investigation into the explosion of the previous flight. The Starship rocket is designed for fully reusable space travel and is part of SpaceX's goal to expand humanity's presence in the solar system, particularly on Mars.
SpaceX has yet to decide whether the upcoming Axiom Space private astronaut mission, Ax-3, will launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center or nearby Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch is scheduled for January 9, 2023, and will use the same Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 booster as a previous mission. SpaceX has been building a tower at SLC-40 to support cargo and crew launches and is nearing completion. A decision on the launch pad is pending, as LC-39A is scheduled for another Falcon 9 launch on January 12.
SpaceX's Starship launch pad at the Starbase site in South Texas withstood the second-ever test flight of the Starship vehicle, thanks to the installation of a water-spouting steel plate. The pad had previously suffered damage during the first test flight, but the new plate prevented any further damage. Elon Musk confirmed that no refurbishment is needed for the next launch and praised the SpaceX team for engineering and building such a robust system. The Starship vehicle is being developed for missions to the moon and Mars, with the goal of being fully reusable. The third test flight is expected to take place in three to four weeks, pending a launch license from the FAA.
SpaceX has installed a new Crew Access Arm on the recently built Crew Launch Tower at Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida, providing additional infrastructure to support its increasing launch cadence. The new tower aims to alleviate pressure on Launch Complex 39A, the only active launch pad in the US for crewed missions. Despite being under construction, SLC 40 remains the world's busiest launch site, with 46 launches from this pad alone this year. The upcoming launch schedule for LC-39A is busy, prompting SpaceX to potentially use SLC-40 for the Axiom 3 mission, which would mark the first crewed launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in over 50 years. These developments are crucial for SpaceX to achieve its target of over 100 launches in 2024.
SpaceX is preparing to use its new crew access tower at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) in Cape Canaveral for its first Crew Dragon launch with astronauts, potentially in January. Axiom Space's third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is likely to be the debut mission for the new tower, as Launch Complex-39A has a packed schedule. The mission will be commanded by former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría and will send three European astronauts to the ISS for up to 14 days. The new tower will provide SpaceX with an additional launch pad option and help accommodate the increasing demand for ISS missions.
SpaceX has begun tests on the Starship rocket, loading its first and second stages with propellants as part of preparations for a potential second orbital test flight. This marks the first time that fuel and liquid oxygen have been loaded on the rockets at the launch pad at such a scale. The tests are crucial to ensure that the rocket and its launch pad can handle operational missions and that the tanks are up to specification. SpaceX's Starship is a unique rocket design that also serves as a propellant depot in orbit, which is a key component of the company's plans for NASA's Artemis program.
NASA built a network of tunnels and bunkers below the launch pads at the Launch Pad 39 Complex in Florida to provide a safe escape route for crews in the event of a Saturn V explosion. The escape process involved a nine-story waterslide, a high-speed elevator, and a rubber tunnel. The crew would then enter the Rubber Room, a domed bunker designed to withstand high levels of force. Thankfully, the rubber room was never needed, and the launch pad is now abandoned.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, Endurance, has arrived at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of its upcoming mission, Crew-7. The capsule, which has previously flown on the Crew-3 and Crew-5 missions, will carry four astronauts from NASA, the European Space Agency, Roscosmos, and Japan to the International Space Station. The astronauts will spend approximately six months aboard the ISS, while the Crew-6 astronauts currently on the station will depart soon.
NASA has rolled out the mobile launch platform (MLP) to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center for testing. The 380-foot-tall tower will connect to NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) for the Artemis 2 mission, which aims to send a crew of four astronauts around the moon by the end of 2024. The MLP underwent repairs after the launch of Artemis 1, and now it will undergo outfitting, upgrading, and testing before supporting the assembly and stacking operations for the Artemis 2 SLS rocket.