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China moved its Tianhe space station module twice this year to avoid SpaceX Starlink internet satellites, and the nation apparently isn’t too happy about it. Chinese officials filed a note with the United Nations (UN) earlier this month explaining that Starlink spacecraft had two “close encounters” with Tianhe this year, both of them occurring when … Read more
SpaceX’s latest Starship prototype has breathed fire again. The Starship SN20 vehicle performed a “static fire” test on Wednesday (Dec. 29) at the company’s Starbase site in South Texas, briefly igniting its Raptor engines while remaining anchored to the ground. The trial continued the launch-prep campaign for SN20 (“Serial No. 20”), which is scheduled to … Read more
The first two seats of the sixth full-fledged NASA crew mission launched by SpaceX have been filled. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg will both fly aboard the Crew-6 mission, which is due to blast off to the International Space Station in 2023, according to a NASA statement published Dec. 16. Bowen will serve … Read more
Beijing on Tuesday accused the United States of irresponsible and unsafe conduct in space over two “close encounters” between the Chinese space station and satellites operated by Elon Musk‘s SpaceX. Tiangong, China’s new space station, had to maneuver to avoid colliding with one Starlink satellite in July and with another in October, according to … Read more
SpaceX is just months away from its 20th anniversary of founding in 2002 and it’s headed into a new year in a stronger position than ever. In 2021, the California-based company built its strength in fields ranging from broadband communications to human launches. The steady push by SpaceX into space exploration and eventual Mars landings … Read more
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station early Wednesday (Dec. 22), carrying with it a holiday haul of science gear and Christmas treats for the astronauts living on the orbital outpost. The autonomous Dragon resupply ship docked itself at the orbital outpost at 3:41 a.m. EST (0841 GMT), … Read more
The omicron variant has apparently made some inroads at SpaceX’s Southern California headquarters, as it has in much of the rest of the country. SpaceX has reported 132 recent positive COVID-19 tests at its rocket factory near Los Angeles, according to a report published on Monday (Dec. 20) by the LA County Department of Public … Read more
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched its 31st rocket of the year early Tuesday (Dec. 21), sending a used Dragon cargo capsule toward the International Space Station before nailing the company’s 100th landing. A new two-stage Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Launch Complex 39A here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 5:07 a.m. EST … Read more
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX will launch a Dragon spacecraft packed with NASA cargo to the International Space Station early Tuesday (Dec. 21) as part of its latest resupply mission for the U.S. space agency and you can watch it live. A shiny new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will take to the skies here from … Read more
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched its second rocket in less than 24 hours on Saturday night (Dec. 18), delivering a Turkish communications satellite into orbit before capping off the successful mission with a landing at sea. A 230-foot-tall (70 meters) Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Space Launch Complex 40 here at Cape Canaveral … Read more