Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

The best source for space news spaceflightnow.com Cape Canaveral, Florida Joined November 2008

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

9 hours ago

Liftoff! After three previous scrubs, the Starlink 15-15 mission launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 3:48 pm PT (6:48 pm ET / 2248 UTC). Watch live: youtube.com/watch?v=hANSUk…

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

10 hours ago

SpaceX will try for a 4th time this week to launch the Starlink 15-15 mission from Vandenberg. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for 3:48 p.m. PDT (6:48 p.m. EDT / 2248 UTC). Our coverage begins 30 minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live: youtube.com/watch?v=hANSUk…

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

12 hours ago

37/37 Parsons says NASA doesn't intend to test the full Sortie suit from Axiom Space during the Artemis 3, but they will fly a version of it to better understand things, like donning and doffing. As for the EVA duration on Artemis 4, there will be two spacewalks lasting a couple hours each. This ends today's briefing.

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

12 hours ago

36/ Asked whether NASA is holding options to launch Blue Moon Mk2 on another rocket if New Glenn isn't ready, Parsons and Isaacman says Blue Origin is exceeding expectations and right now there aren't plans to fly on another rocket.

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

12 hours ago

32/ Asked about how SpaceX will juggle its Human Landing System obligations to NASA with its own internal ambitions, Isaacman says "We want our partners to be as economically viable with steps like rapid reusability."

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

12 hours ago

31/ Isaacman says the return to flight for Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is going to be at the end of the year or January. Regarding the timing of the Artemis 3 mission, he says they are working to pull in from a 90-day delay that was mentioned in an internal NASA memo. Doesn't specifically say the target launch date, but says putting forward a new Artemis 3 mission half a year ago created aspirational goals for the agency to safely increase pace of work towards the mission.

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

13 hours ago

19/ Parsons says to address the hydrogen leak seen in the quick disconnect, around the late March/early April timeframe NASA brought the work to fix the issue in-house instead of outsourcing. That fix was completed and tested in "less than five months, for an absolute fraction of the cost."

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

12 hours ago

30/ As for some of the drivers that delayed the progress of the Artemis Program, Isaacman says some of that is leftover from the Constellation Program and the original plans to use the Exploration Upper Stage for the SLS rocket, both of which were cancelled. He says the work to get Orion into a low lunar orbit was shifted to the commercial landers.

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

12 hours ago

29/ Regarding the number of refueling flights that will be needed, Parsons says that the cryogenic propellant transfer demo at the beginning of 2027 will teach them a lot, but says the anticipated efficiencies should drive SpaceX closer to the high single digits when it comes to fueling the tanker for a lunar landing mission. This comes after yesterday's Aerospace Safety and Advisory Panel mentioned that there could be as many 22 refueling missions. Isaacman adds that as SpaceX ramps up launch cadence towards bi-weekly down to weekly flights of Starship, that will also help the company transition to a higher mass to LEO capability, which will drive down the number of flights as well.

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

12 hours ago

28/ Here's a look at the Blue Origin order of operations and development progress. Parsons says both landers will be preparing for landing opportunities in 2028.

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

12 hours ago

27/ Parsons shared the following slides to show the updated concept of operations for a lunar landing with Starship and flow for the future. He says the first uncrewed demo mission for Starship is the end of 2027 and the first planned crew landing is at the end of 2028.

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

13 hours ago

26/ Some schedule updates and progress made as well, Parsons shares the following slides:

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

13 hours ago

25/ Regarding the SLS rocket, Parsons says they're working on two different versions of the upper stage: the third and final Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage and a stretched Centaur 5, which is manufactured by United Launch Alliance in Decatur, Alabama. He shows a rendering of what the Centaur looks like with Orion as well as a test article that teams are putting through wind tunnel analysis.

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

13 hours ago

24/ Here are some looks at the work towards the propellant transfer mission and the cabin 1 for the first HLS version of Starship.

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

13 hours ago

23/ Talking about the propellant transfer demonstration, which will happen in early 2027, Parsons says one Starship will launch from LC-39A in Florida and the other from Starbase, Texas.

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

13 hours ago

22/ Parsons says notable improvements on SpaceX's Raptor engines will be flown on the upcoming Starship Flight 15 mission, which he says is expected in November. He says the first flight of Starship from Florida is expected "in the coming months."

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Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow

13 hours ago

21/ A Blue Origin video shared by NASA included some notable images. That included renderings of the transfer stages that are part of its HLS architecture for the Blue Moon Mk2 lander.