The Edge
Rocket Lab helicopter catches but drops rocket booster in first reuse attempt
The Electron booster comes into view of the company’s helicopter for the catch. Rocket Lab Space company Rocket Lab briefly caught its Electron rocket using a helicopter after a launch for the first time on Monday, but released the booster and dropped it into the ocean before recovering it. “After the catch the helicopter pilot […]
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About 150,000 people are using SpaceX’s Starlink internet service daily in Ukraine, government official says
A shipment of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite antennas, also known as terminals, arriving in Ukraine. Fedorov Mykhailo on Twitter Elon Musk’s SpaceX continues to expand its Starlink satellite internet network in besieged Ukraine, with a government official saying that about 150,000 people use the service in the country each day. Ukraine digital minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote […]
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FAA delays environmental review of SpaceX’s Starship launches from Texas for a fourth time
SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Michael Sheetz | CNBC The Federal Aviation Administration for a fourth time delayed its environmental review of SpaceX’s Starship rocket program in Texas, pushing a decision to the end of May. SpaceX needs a license from the FAA to conduct further Starship flight tests and begin operational launches from […]
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SpaceX launches Crew-4 mission for NASA, has now sent 26 astronauts to space in under two years
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom launches the Crew-4 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 27, 2022. Aubrey Gemignani | NASA SpaceX launched a group of astronauts for NASA early on Wednesday morning, with Elon Musk’s company now having sent 26 people to orbit in less than […]
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SpaceX returns private Ax-1 astronaut crew to Earth after extended space station stay
Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean with the Axiom Space Ax-1 crew on April 25, 2022. SpaceX SpaceX safely returned its Crew Dragon spacecraft from orbit on Monday, carrying the private crew of Axiom Space’s Ax-1 mission back from the International Space Station. Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour splashed down off the […]
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Satellite imagery specialist Capella raises nearly $100 million to expand its network
The deployed reflector of the Capella-3 satellite in orbit. Capella Space San Francisco-based satellite imagery specialist Capella Space on Monday announced the close of nearly $100 million in financing, as the company looks to expand its line of analytics and data products. Capella raised $97 million through a mix of equity and debt in a round […]
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SpaceX signs first Starlink inflight Wi-Fi deal with charter airline JSX
SpaceX signed its first deal to add Starlink satellite internet to an air carrier’s fleet of planes with semi-private charter JSX, as Elon Musk’s company moves into the in-flight Wi-Fi market. CEO Alex Wilcox told CNBC on Thursday that the agreement with SpaceX covers service on up to 100 airplanes. JSX has 77 30-seat Embraer […]
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Earth-imaging specialist Planet details more powerful line of Pelican satellites
A graphic rendering of a Pelican satellite. Planet Earth-imaging and data specialist Planet Labs on Thursday unveiled details of its new line of Pelican satellites, as the company looks to further expand and improve its space-based imagery capabilities. Planet expects to begin launching the Pelican satellites in early 2023, with the constellation consisting of up […]
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U.S. commits to ending anti-satellite missile testing, calls for global agreement
A Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) launches from the U.S. Navy’s USS Lake Erie at a non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite on Feb. 20, 2008 as an anti-satellite weapons U.S. Department of Defense The United States government has committed to ending the practice of anti-satellite missile tests, Vice President Kamala Harris announced on Monday, urging other nations […]
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After his Virgin Galactic spaceflight, Richard Branson now hopes to fly with Elon Musk’s SpaceX
Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson prepares to spray champagne after flying with a crew in Virgin Galactic’s passenger rocket plane VSS Unity to the edge of space at Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, U.S., July 11, 2021. Joe Skipper | Reuters COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – Sir Richard Branson, less than a year after […]
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