SpaceX launched four astronauts bound for the International Space Station into orbit Wednesday. The Crew-3 launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center came days after the Crew-2 astronauts returned to earth after six months at ISS. The Crew-3 astronauts included NASA’s Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, as well as the European Space Agency’s Matthias Maurer, who earned the claim to being the 600th person to enter space in 60 years. The SpaceX Dragon Capsule carrying the team is scheduled to dock at ISS at 7:10 p.m. ET Thursday. During their six-month stay, they will conduct a range of ex ..read more

SpaceX brought four astronauts home Monday from the International Space Station. NASA’s Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency, and Akihiko Hoshide from Japan splashed down off the coast of Florida aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. It took about nine hours from the time the capsule left ISS until its parachutes deployed to safely return the capsule to earth.  During the six-month stay at ISS, the astronauts conducted experiments such as growing chile peppers. They also performed some maintenance on the exterior of the stati ..read more

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket company blasted William Shatner into space Wednesday afternoon. Shatner, 90, who played Captain James T. Kirk on the original Star Trek TV series, became the oldest person to go to space. Shatner and three other passengers launched from a port in West Texas and traveled 66.5 miles (107 kilometers) into the sky. About 10 minutes after liftoff, the astronauts’ capsule parachuted backed to Earth. Bezos opened the hatch and welcomed the astronauts back. Shatner called the ride a “profound experience.”  “I hope I never recover from this,” he said after the f ..read more

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule carrying four private citizen astronauts splashed down Saturday, completing the historic Inspiration4 mission. Over the years, SpaceX has proven the reliability and reusability of its Falcon9 rocket. In the past year, the company has also been successful in carrying humans into space. SpaceX has now returned astronauts from space three times.  Video from SpaceX shows the capsule being carried back to Earch via a parachute. After the capsule splashed down, it took SpaceX about an hour to bring it aboard a recovery boat. Splashdown! Welcome back to p ..read more

Astronauts conducting the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission are scheduled to make their return to Earth today. SpaceX achieved Wednesday a significant milestone in the history of spaceflight, sending the crew of citizen astronauts into orbit. After nearly three days in space, the crew is scheduled for a parachute landing in the Atlantic off Florida. SpaceX said Friday that the Crew Dragon spacecraft completed two rocket burns to lower its altitude. The splash landing is expected around 7 p.m. ET. The flight marked the highest altitude a private citizen has traveled. In fact, the mission increased th ..read more

SpaceX achieved Wednesday a significant milestone in the history of spaceflight, sending a crew of citizen astronauts into orbit. Aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragan capsule, the Inspiration4 astronauts were propelled by a Falcon 9 rocket into the sky at 8:03 p.m. above Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff of @Inspiration4X! Go Falcon 9! Go Dragon! pic.twitter.com/NhRXkD4IWg — SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 16, 2021 The flight marked the highest altitude a private citizen has traveled. In fact, the mission increased the number of private citizens reaching Earth’s orbit from 8 to 12. The Falcon ..read more

SpaceX is set for a historic launch Wednesday night for the first all-private orbital flight aboard the company’s Crew Dragon. The mission is a collaboration between SpaceX and billionaire software entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, who purchased the seats on Crew Dragon to raise awareness and funding for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The fee for the flight was not disclosed. The citizen astronauts selected for Inspiration4 are Haley Arceneaux, who was treated at St. Jude and now works at the hospital; Isaacman; geologist Sian Proctor; and Chris Sembroski, an Air Force veteran who served in ..read more

SpaceX delivered late Monday another 51 of its Starlink satellites into orbit. The mission took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 8:55 p.m. PT. The Falcon 9 rocket used in the mission made its tenth flight. SpaceX successfully recovered the rocket on one of its drone ships. SpaceX now counts some 1,800 Starlink satellites as part of its constellation beaming broadband internet back to earth. The company said last month that 100,000 terminals have been shipped to early customers, while it has received orders for around 500,000 units. Monday’s mission was the first la ..read more

SpaceX successfully launched Sunday a Falcon 9 with a loaded Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station. It had been two months since SpaceX had flown a Falcon 9. The mission was the 23rd to deliver supplies to ISS. This delivery included 4,300 pounds of equipment, science gear, food and other supplies. The rocket lifted off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center around 3:14 a.m. ET. After deploying the Dragon capsule, the Falcon 9 had a successful return to earth with a landing on SpaceX’s new droneship, “A Shortfall of Gravitas.” The landing marked the 90th boo ..read more

SpaceX’s effort to beam internet around the globe has already racked up 100,000 customers. Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted Monday that 100,000 Starlink terminals have been shipped. The terminals receive the internet signal from a constellation of satellites that SpaceX continues to build. 100k terminals shipped!https://t.co/Q1VvqVmJ2i — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 23, 2021 The first Starlink satellites were launched in February 2018. The constellation has now grown 1,740 satellites. The company has said its current operational satellites could provide global coverage as soon as September ..read more