Satellite communications provider Iridium placed eight of its new satellites launched in January into active service after a complex ballet of orbital moves to position the new additions in the 66-satellite constellation while spiraling retiring satellites down from their operational orbits.
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SpaceX’s Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship was towed into the Port of Los Angeles in the early hours on Tuesday, marking the triumphant return of the first Falcon 9 booster to stick a sea-based landing in the Pacific Ocean.
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket made an impressive Return to Flight on Saturday, blasting off from California and earning double check-marks by achieving a flawless delivery of ten Iridium-NEXT communications satellites and successfully landing the rocket’s first stage at sea for the first time after a West Coast launch.
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket made an impressive Return to Flight on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 17:54 UTC with ten Iridium-NEXT Satellites.
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 is standing tall atop its West Coast launch pad in California, working towards a Saturday morning liftoff on its long-awaited Return to Flight mission following the September 1st testing accident and subsequent grounding of the rocket.
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SpaceX’s Return to Flight mission has been shifted from a Monday launch target to No Earlier Than Saturday, January 14, officials confirmed Sunday.
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The Federal Aviation Administration – the government body responsible for licensing all U.S.-operated space launches – granted a launch license to SpaceX covering upcoming missions from California, including next week’s Iridium-NEXT flight that will mark SpaceX’s return to flight mission after the dramatic September 1st explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket in Florida.
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket fired up its nine first stage engines on Thursday in a critical Static Fire Test carried out at Vandenberg Air Force Base in preparation for the rocket’s Return to Flight mission planned for Monday – coming back from a four-month stand-down following the dramatic September 1st testing accident at Cape Canaveral.
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All Photos: Iridium/Thales
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