Spaceflight Insider

News Archive / Tagged: Iridium-1

  • Next SpaceX launch may be one of the last expendable F9 boosters

    Jim SharkeyJanuary 28th, 2017

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — When SpaceX launches the EchoStar 23 satellite on Falcon 9 rocket, the company won't attempt to land the booster's first stage. The stage will consume too much fuel lifting the 12,125-pound (5,500-kilogram) satellite toward orbit to have enough in reserve for even an at-sea landing. Elon Musk stated as much in a tweet on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.

  • SpaceX’s Falcon 9 soars skyward with 10 Iridium NEXT satellites

    Curt GodwinJanuary 14th, 2017

    After a nearly week-long delay due to weather and range conflicts, SpaceX successfully launched 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO), marking the Falcon 9's first flight since the Sept. 1, 2016, AMOS-6 pad incident. As an added bonus, the first stage of the rocket successfully landed downrange on a drone ship.

  • SpaceX poised to return Falcon 9 to flight Saturday

    Curt GodwinJanuary 12th, 2017

    With FAA approval secured and a hold-down firing of the first stage conducted, SpaceX is continuing to move forward with preparations for the return to flight of its Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff is currently scheduled for 10:22 a.m. PST (1:22 p.m. EST / 18:22 GMT) Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, at SLC-4E on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

  • SpaceX Falcon 9 RTF postponed to Jan. 14

    Derek RichardsonJanuary 8th, 2017

    The return to flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will have to wait another week. According to a report appearing in NoozHawk, industry sources say the company is now working toward a launch at 9:54 a.m. PST (12:54 p.m. EST / 17:54 GMT) Jan. 14, 2017. This has been confirmed by the customer, Iridium Communications, on Twitter.

  • SpaceX Falcon 9 return to flight pushed into 2017

    Derek RichardsonDecember 7th, 2016

    The return-to-flight launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has been delayed to early January. The NewSpace firm said it needs more time to finalize the investigation into the Sept. 1, 2016, pad explosion, which caused the loss of the rocket and its $195 million Amos-6 payload.