Artemis i

It’s been a long time coming, but the first orbital test of SpaceX’s mighty Super Heavy rocket and Starship spacecraft looks to be just weeks away. Following SpaceX’s recent sharing of a video showing the Starship being stacked atop the company’s next-generation rocket, and comments by SpaceX chief Elon Musk that said the test flight could take place as soon as next month, Musk has said again that the mission is expected to take place “soon.” Additionally, in a tweet on Thursday, SpaceX said it’s about to conduct a series of all-important “wet dress rehearsals” that will put the rocket through all of the preflight procedures short of actually launching it. “Team are stepping into a series of tests prior to Starship’s first flight test in the weeks ahead, including full stack wet dress rehearsals and hold down firing of Booster 7’s 33 Raptor engines,” SpaceX said in the tweet (below). The company also released new images of the 394-foot-tall (120 meters) rocket on the … [Read more...] about SpaceX in final preps for first flight of brand new rocket | Digital Trends

SpaceX successfully launched its triple-booster Falcon Heavy rocket to orbit on Sunday evening. The Falcon Heavy lifted off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:56 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 15. The USSF-67 mission deployed payloads to orbit for the U.S. Space Force. Minutes after leaving the launchpad, the two side boosters returned to Earth, touching down at Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral, just a short distance from the launch site. The third booster continued on with the second stage and will not be recovered, as planned. SpaceX livestreamed the early stages of the mission. Here’s the rocket lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center. SpaceX chief Elon Musk also tweeted a dramatic image of the rocket’s ascent. Falcon Heavy Ascends pic.twitter.com/tXZBbuoyRr — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2023 Just over two minutes into the flight, the side boosters come away from the core booster to begin … [Read more...] about Watch key moments of SpaceX triple-booster Falcon Heavy trip | Digital Trends

SpaceX has completed the first-ever wet dress rehearsal of its stacked Super Heavy rocket and Starship spacecraft. The exercise, which involves fueling SpaceX’s next-generation rocket and working through pre-launch procedures, is an important step toward the vehicle’s first orbital test flight, which could take place in February or March. The rehearsal took place at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, on Monday. SpaceX announced the completion of the test in a tweet, but it omitted to say whether it had been a success. “Starship completed its first full flight-like wet dress rehearsal at Starbase today,” it said. “This was the first time an integrated Ship and Booster were fully loaded with more than 10 million pounds of propellant.” Starship completed its first full flight-like wet dress rehearsal at Starbase today. This was the first time an integrated Ship and Booster were fully loaded with more than 10 million pounds of propellant pic.twitter.com/btprGNGZ1G … [Read more...] about SpaceX completes key pre-flight test on most powerful rocket | Digital Trends