SpaceX releases video of Falcon 9 first stage water “landing”

Falcon 9 first stage landing

Enhanced frame from a video released by SpaceX on August 14 showing the first stage of a Falcon 9 launched in mid-July just before touching the ocean surface, the most recent test by SpaceX to make the first stage of the Falcon 9 reusable. (credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX released late Thursday a new video of […]

SpaceX facing lawsuits from former employees

Falcon 9 ORBCOMM launch

A Falcon 9 v1.1 lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on July 14. Some of the workers involved in that and other SpaceX activities are suing the company over alleged violations of state labor laws. (credit: SpaceX)

While SpaceX has gotten plenty of media attention for its lawsuit against the US Air Force regarding […]

Dream Chaser on track for November 2016 first launch

Dream Chaser in orbit

Illustration of the Dream Chaser spacecraft in orbit. (credit: SNC)

[Editor’s Note: The following report from last week’s AIAA Space 2014 conference in San Diego is by Duane Hyland.]

Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Dream Chaser spacecraft is “on track for its anticipated first launch in November 2016,” Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president of SNC […]

SpaceX’s busy week

Falcon 9 AsiaSat 8 launch

A Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 5, carrying the AsiaSat 8 satellite. (credit: SpaceX)

Early Tuesday morning, SpaceX performed the latest launch of its Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket, placing the AsiaSat 8 satellite into orbit. While the launch was originally scheduled for 1:25 am EDT (0525 GMT), […]

Will the smallsat community get charged up by Electron?

Attendees of a July 29 event unveiling the Electron rocket look at a model of it on display. (credit: Rocket Lab Ltd.)

It seems like hardly a week goes by this summer without another smallsat launch venture announcing their plans. That’s an exaggeration, but only a mild one. In early July, Firefly Space Systems […]

World View picks first research payloads for its high-altitude balloons

A view of the Earth taken from an altitude of 36 kilometers (120,000 feet) on a World View test flight June 18. The company plans to use that balloon to fly research payloads later this year. (credit: World View)

World View Enterprises, the company developing a commercial high-altitude balloon system to provide a flight […]

SpaceShipTwo returns to the skies

SS2 and WK2 taxi

SpaceShipTwo, attached to its WhiteKnightTwo carrier airplane, taxies before takeoff on its latest test flight July 29. (credit: Virgin Galactic)

For the first time in more than six months, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo flew on Tuesday, albeit not under rocket power. The vehicle made its 29th glide flight, with pilots Michael Masucci and Pete Siebold […]

Masten shows off its XS-1 design (with wings)

Masten Xephyr

An illustration by Masten Space Systems of its Xephyr design that was funded by DARPA for Phase 1 of the XS-1 program. (credit: Masten Space Systems)

Masten Space Systems, one of three companies to receive awards from DARPA for the Experimental Spaceplane 1 (XS-1) program, has revealed the design it proposes to develop for […]

Smallsat companies dominate “Lightning Pitch” NewSpace competition

The annual NewSpace Conference by the Space Frontier Foundation will get underway later today in San Jose, California. A highlight of today’s events is the “Lightning Pitch Competition” for NewSpace startups. This takes the place of full-fledged business plan competition that has taken place at some previous conferences. Instead of submitting a detailed business plan […]

SpaceX shows off Falcon 9 landing video

Falcon 9 reentry burn

A still from a SpaceX video reeled July 22 shows the Falcon 9 first stage performing a reentry burn after its July 14 launch. (credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX provided an update Tuesday on last week’s test of a Falcon 9 v1.1 first stage landing during the launch of six ORBCOMM satellites. The company released a […]