Waspie_Dwarf Posted December 4, 2016 #1 Share Posted December 4, 2016 SpaceX sets Dec. 16 for first flight since launch pad explosion Quote he first 10 satellites in Iridium’s next-generation mobile voice and data network could head into orbit from California as soon as Dec. 16 on SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 flight since a booster exploded on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral in September, grounding the commercial launcher more than three months. Iridium said Thursday that the launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California is scheduled for Dec. 16 at 12:36 p.m. PST (3:36 p.m. EST; 2036 GMT), pending regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency responsible for overseeing commercial space launches. Read More: Spaceflight Now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted December 21, 2016 Author #2 Share Posted December 21, 2016 My apologies, I haven't been on the site much recently,so these following updates are a little bit old news now. This first is from 7th December. Quote SpaceX return-to-flight slips to early January The launch next year of a commercial communications craft jointly managed by London-based Inmarsat and the Greek satellite operator Hellas-Sat has been switched from SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket, officials said Thursday. Inmarsat said in a statement it decided with Hellas-Sat to move the satellite’s launch to an Ariane 5 rocket following a delay in SpaceX’s launch schedule. Read More: Spaceflight Now The grounding of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle is having other, knock on, consequences for SpaceX. This next update is from 9th December. Quote Citing SpaceX delays, Inmarsat moves satellite launch from Falcon Heavy to Ariane 5 SpaceX’s first mission since a rocket explosion on a Florida launch pad is now scheduled for early January, when a Falcon 9 booster is set to begin a 70-satellite deployment for Iridium’s next-generation voice and data relay network, the company announced Wednesday. Iridium said last week the launch could go off as soon as Dec. 16, but officials said Wednesday that SpaceX engineers are still wrapping up the investigation into the Sept. 1 explosion that has grounded Falcon 9 rocket flights more than three months. Read More: Spaceflight Now There are also consequences for the International Space Station and NASA's Commercial Crew Program.This last update is dated 13th December. Quote SpaceX’s first crew launch moved back to 2018 Astronauts will not fly to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship until at least May 2018, NASA said this week, missing a previous target launch date at the end of next year. The delay was expected after Boeing, which is also developing a commercial crew capsule, announced earlier this year its spaceship would not be ready for crew ferry missions until at least mid-2018, and after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a ground test on a Cape Canaveral launch pad in September. Read More: Spaceflight Now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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