Falcon 9 Starlink 4-16 Launch, Photo Courtesy Carleton Bailie/Spaceline
Falcon 9 Launches 53 Starlink Satellites
April 29, 2022 | Reported by Cliff Lethbridge
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched 53 Starlink satellites at 5:27 p.m. EDT today from Launch Pad 40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The first stage booster employed today was being flown for the sixth time, having previously supported the GPS III SV-04, GPS III SV-05, Inspiration4, one Starlink and the Axiom-1 missions. The booster was successfully recovered today with a landing on the "Just Read the Instructions" drone ship positioned on the Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral. With just 21 days between launches, today's launch represented the fastest turnaround of previously flown boosters. The mission, designated Starlink 4-16, was the 43rd dedicated Starlink flight and brings to a total of 2,441 Starlink satellites launched to date, although not all of these are operational or still in orbit. Starlink is a SpaceX-owned and operated constellation of broadband Internet satellites, intended to provide space-based Internet service to unserved or underserved areas throughout the world.
Falcon 9 Starlink 4-16 Launch, Photo Courtesy Carleton Bailie/Spaceline
Falcon 9 Crew-4 Launch, Photo Courtesy Carleton Bailie/Spaceline
Falcon 9 Launches Crew-4 Mission To ISS
April 27, 2022 | Reported by Cliff Lethbridge
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) at 3:52 a.m. EDT today from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The first stage booster employed today was being flown for the fourth time, having previously supported the CRS-22, Crew-3 and Turksat-5B missions. The booster was successfully recovered today with a landing on the "A Shortfall of Gravitas" drone ship positioned on the Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral. The mission featured a brand new Crew Dragon spacecraft named "Freedom" by the Crew-4 crew.
Falcon 9 Crew-4 Streak Shot, Photo Courtesy Carleton Bailie/Spaceline
Crew-4 consists of a crew of four astronauts, including Mission Commander Kjell Lindgren, Pilot Bob Hines and Mission Specialist Jessica Watkins. All three are NASA astronauts. The crew also includes Mission Specialist European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. Crew-4 is the first space flight for Hines and Watkins and the second space flight each for Lindgren and Cristoforetti, both of whom served previous missions to ISS. The Crew-4 crew will all act as Flight Engineers as members of the ISS Expedition 67 mission. They are expected to spend about six months aboard ISS conducting a plethora of scientific investigations. "Freedom" is expected to autonomously dock to the space-facing port of the ISS Harmony module at about 8:15 p.m. EDT tonight. Hatch opening and a welcome ceremony should occur about 90 minutes after docking.
Crew-4 Crew Arrives At KSC, Photo Courtesy Carleton Bailie/Spaceline
Falcon 9 Starlink 4-14 Launch, Photo Courtesy SpaceX
Falcon 9 Launches 53 Starlink Satellites
April 21, 2022 | Reported by Cliff Lethbridge
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched 53 Starlink satellites at 1:51 p.m. EDT today from Launch Pad 40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Launch was originally set for 11:14 a.m. EDT today but was postponed to wait for improving weather at the launch site. The first stage booster employed today was being flown for the twelfth time, having previously supported the GPS III SV-03, Turksat-5A, Transporter-2 and eight Starlink missions. The booster was successfully recovered today with a landing on the "Just Read the Instructions" drone ship positioned on the Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral. This was the 115th booster recovery in the history of the Falcon program. It was also the 42nd dedicated Starlink launch. Designated Starlink 4-14, the mission's payload of 53 Starlink satellites brings to a total of 2,388 launched to date, although not all of these are operational or still in orbit. Starlink is a SpaceX-owned and operated constellation of broadband Internet satellites intended to provide space-based Internet service to unserved or underserved areas throughout the world.
Falcon 9 Starlink 4-14 Launch, Photo Courtesy SpaceX
Falcon 9 Axiom-1 Launch, Photo Courtesy Carleton Bailie/Spaceline
Falcon 9 Launches Axiom-1 Manned Flight To ISS
April 8, 2022 | Reported by Cliff Lethbridge
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the Axiom-1 manned flight to the International Space Station (ISS) at 11:17 a.m. EDT today from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The first stage booster employed today was being flown for the fifth time, having previously supported the GPS III SV-04, GPS III SV-05, Inspiration4 and one Starlink mission. The booster was successfully recovered today with a landing on the "A Shortfall of Gravitas" drone ship positioned on the Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral. The Crew Dragon spacecraft launched today, named Endeavour, is being flown for the third time, having previously supported the manned DM-2 and Crew-2 missions.
Falcon 9 Axiom-1 Launch, Photo Courtesy Carleton Bailie/Spaceline
Axiom-1 is the first fully commercial dedicated manned launch to ISS, contracted by Houston, Texas-based Axiom Space. The Endeavour spacecraft carried former NASA astronaut now Axiom Space employee Michael Lopez-Alegria as mission commander, plus three astronauts who have paid to be included in this historic flight. These include mission pilot Larry Connor and mission specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy, from Israel and Canada respectively. The mission is expected to last ten days with the four astronauts spending at least eight days aboard ISS, where they will be performing a variety of scientific experiments, philanthropic and educational activities. Docking with ISS is expected to occur at about 7:45 a.m. EDT tomorrow, followed by hatch opening and a welcome ceremony about two hours later.
Falcon 9 Axiom-1 Launch, Photo Courtesy Carleton Bailie/Spaceline
Falcon 9 Transporter-4 Launch, Photo Courtesy Carleton Bailie/Spaceline
Falcon 9 Launches Transporter-4 Payload
April 1, 2022 | Reported by Cliff Lethbridge
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the Transporter-4 payload at 12:24 p.m. EDT today from Launch Pad 40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The first stage booster employed today was being flown for the seventh time, having previously supported the Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE and one Starlink mission. The booster was successfully recovered today with a landing on the "Just Read the Instructions" drone ship positioned on the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas and Cuba. Transporter-4 was the fourth dedicated smallsat rideshare mission and carried 40 spacecraft, including cubesats, microsats, picosats, non-deploying hosted payloads and an orbital transfer vehicle carrying spacecraft to be deployed at a later time. The spacecraft were deployed beginning about 15 minutes after launch and completed about 90 minutes after launch.
Falcon 9 Transporter-4 In Flight, Photo Courtesy Carleton Bailie/Spaceline
