Main Engine Cut OffExolaunch Signs on for SpaceX’s SSO Rideshare
Speaking of rideshares, SpaceX continues to fill that first rideshare flight to sun-synchronous orbit.
346 results for “SpaceX”
T+153: Boeing to Refly Starliner Uncrewed Test, While SpaceX Crew Plans Firm Up
A flurry of Commercial Crew news hit last week: new crew members were announced for SpaceX Crew-1, Jim Bridenstine shed some light on the DM-2 schedule, and Boeing will refly the Starliner uncrewed test flight. I break down each of those and talk through why those stories are more connected than was hinted at by NASA and others.
Farewell, Dragon
I wasn’t feeling overly sentimental, but then I read Eric Berger’s piece and started thinking back. As Eric makes clear, it’s hard not to argue that Dragon and its Falcon counterpart are the defining vehicles of this era. And boy did I have an epic day back in 2010.
Boeing to Refly Starliner’s Uncrewed Test This Fall, Potentially After SpaceX Crew-1
In a world where SpaceX was not doing as well with Dragon 2 as they are, the decision on whether or not to refly Starliner’s test might have gone differently.
NASA Wins MECO’s 2020 Good Decision of the Year Award by Bringing Back the Worm
This makes me so happy. I absolutely adore the NASA worm and it looks so damn good on SpaceX hardware. I wish it were the main logo for the agency.
T+152: SpaceX’s Dragon XL Wins Gateway Logistics Services Contract
NASA selected SpaceX and their new Dragon XL vehicle as the first Gateway Logistics Services provider. I take some time to think through why SpaceX is interested in this program, what they might want to get out of it, and what we could see Dragon XL doing in the future.
OneWeb Can’t Raise Money, Blames the Pandemic, Files for Bankruptcy
Where OneWeb goes from here is going to be a hell of a story. By some estimates, they need at least $4 billion to finish off their constellation.
From Dragon to Cygnus to an Android Phone
Cool read on a very cool development.
I’m Not Just Picking on Virgin Orbit
If it wasn’t clear in my post yesterday, I’m annoyed at California’s overly-broad definition of aerospace manufacturers that allows Virgin Orbit to keep its facilities open in any capacity.
Virgin Orbit, Who Has Been Saying Their First Launch is This Year for Nearly Three Years, Deemed an Essential Service
With all due respect to anyone reading this who works at Virgin Orbit, this is quite frankly bullshit. I’m fine with designating high-visibility, time-sensitive launch campaigns like Mars 2020 (Perseverance), Commercial Crew, or even AEHF-6 as essential services. But a company still in the development and testing phase of a launch vehicle that has been delayed for several years now with the only government flight being a Space Test Program launch?