Page 12 - Spacex

SpaceX's Starship survives return to Earth, achieves landing on 4th try

Much is riding on SpaceX's development of Starship, relied upon by NASA as it aims to return astronauts to the moon in 2026 in a rivalry with China, which plans to send its astronauts there by 2030

Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore test unique Starliner piloting capability

On the way to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore tested out a unique capability of the spacecraft on orbit manual piloting. Williams flew to space for the third time on Wednesday along with Wilmore, scripting history as the first members aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on a 25-hour flight to the International Space Station (ISS). Williams, 58, is the pilot for the flight test while Wilmore, 61, is the commander of the mission. Although the spacecraft is usually autonomous, the crew used the hand controller to point and aim the spacecraft during about two hours of free-flight demonstrations. During a far-field demo, they pointed Starliner's nose toward the Earth so that its communications antenna on the back of the Service Module was pointed at the Tracking and Data Relay satellites. They then moved the Starliner so that its solar array pointed at the sun to show they cou

AgniKul fires up reusable rocket dream, orbital launch next target

Agnibaan is a two-stage launch vehicle capable of carrying up to 100 kilograms of payload to an extent of around 700 km to low earth orbit

Japan billionaire cancels moon trip due to uncertainty over SpaceX rocket

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa on Saturday canceled his planned flight around the moon on a SpaceX vehicle because of uncertainty about when it may be possible. The tycoon in 2018 launched plans for the lunar flyby voyage. He bought seats for eight traveling companions in 2022 for what would be his second space journey after his 12-day trip to the International Space Station (ISS) on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2021. Maezawa was aiming the moon trip for 2023, a target seen by most space observers as overly optimistic given the progress of SpaceX's Spaceship mega-rocket project. would have been the first private flight around the moon. That project became unfeasible, said the mission organizer on Saturday in a statement posted on its website. Without clear schedule certainty in the near-term, it is with a heavy heart that Maezawa made the unavoidable decision to cancel the project. To all who have supported this project and looked forward to this endeavor, we sincerely ...

Elon Musk's SpaceX in discussion to sell shares at $200 billion valuation

A $200 billion valuation would be a premium to the $180 billion valuation the company obtained through its most recent tender offer

Elon Musk predicts AI to eradicate all jobs, says it may not be a bad thing

The Tesla CEO suggested that in the future, individuals could take up jobs as a hobby, as AI robots will provide most goods and services

Strong solar storm hits Earth, disrupts Musk's Starlink satellites

Starlink owns around 60% of the roughly 7,500 satellites orbiting Earth and is a dominant player in satellite internet

Sunita Williams' 3rd space mission called off; Boeing Starliner fails again

Nasa announced there was an off-nominal condition on an oxygen relief valve, which led to the postponement; both astronauts were safe

Tensions rise in US-based Silicon Valley over sales of startup stocks

The market for shares of startups like SpaceX and Stripe is projected to reach a record $64 bn this year

SpaceX unveils cosmic tourism: Here's how to book your ticket to space

The Elon Musk-led company has started selling tickets for low-earth orbit trips and beyond as soon as the end of this year, hoping to use its Dragon and the Starship for the journeys

Private players will make space more accessible: Isro chief Somanath

Private players in space technology will certainly help speed up the research in the field, Indian Space Research Organisation chairman S Somanath has said while interacting with space enthusiasts, through the official Instagram page of ISRO. Replying to an observation that SpaceX, a private entity, has contributed more to space technology than most countries, Somanath on Saturday said America's tradition of encouraging private companies to involve themselves in building rocket engines and, in the case of SpaceX, to explore human flight vehicles can be replicated by India. He said these companies are playing a crucial role in advancing technology, reducing costs and making space more accessible. It is possible for even private companies in India to develop these kinds of capabilities, he added. However, he said this is only possible if the government supports the private entity, For instance, some of the technology that is owned by NASA is transferred to Space X so that they could

Elon Musk's undisclosed Starlink costs undercut profitability claims

Closely held companies don't have to publicly release their financials and often massage their numbers while fundraising

SpaceX's Starship successfully lifts off, but crashes before last stage

SpaceX came close to completing an hourlong test flight of its mega rocket on its third try on Thursday, but the spacecraft was lost as it descended back to Earth. The company said it lost contact with Starship as it neared its goal, a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Until then, most everything had gone well following liftoff from the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border. The ship has been lost. So no splashdown today, said SpaceX's Dan Huot. But again, it's incredible to see how much further we got this time around. Two test flights last year both ended in explosions minutes after liftoff. By surviving for close to 50 minutes this time, Thursday's effort was considered a win by not only SpaceX's Elon Musk, but NASA as well as Starship soared higher and farther than ever before. The space agency is counting on Starship to land its astronauts on the moon in another few years. The nearly 400-foot (121-meter) Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, headed o

Elon Musk has a giant charity, but its money stays close to home

Since 2020, he has seeded his charity with tax-deductible donations of stock worth more than $7 billion at the time, making it one of the largest in the Unites States

Cross connection: Starlink's India signal may take longer to connect

A satellite mega-constellation called Starlink G60 is being built in Shanghai by state owned Chinese firms

SpaceX faces hearing on engineers fired after criticising Musk over sexism

Starbucks, Amazon.com and Trader Joe's, all of which are facing nationwide union organizing campaigns, have raised similar arguments in pending board cases

SpaceX plan to provide communication svcs to Vietnam over Starlink on hold

A Vietnamese official confirmed that SpaceX and information ministry representatives had held several meetings from at least the middle of last year until November 2023

India's first spy satellite made by domestic private player set for launch

The satellite, built by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, will be used by the armed forces to get discreet information

Israeli govt approves operations of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite services

The Starlink company, owned and operated by SpaceX, operates communication services that include broadband internet via satellites and independent of communication centers located on the ground

Elon Musk pushes forward on transfer of legal home for SpaceX to Texas

Elon Musk is looking to move the legal home of SpaceX to Texas from Delaware after a judge in that state voided the billionaire's USD 55.8 billion Tesla pay package. A certificate of conversion for Space Exploration Technologies Corp. was filed to reincorporate in Texas from Delaware, which became effective on Wednesday. SpaceX has moved its state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas! If your company is still incorporated in Delaware, I recommend moving to another state as soon as possible, Musk said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The change by SpaceX comes just days after Musk's brain implant company Neuralink moved its legal corporate home from Delaware to Nevada. Musk is a co-founder of the privately held Neuralink. Most corporations set up legal shop in Delaware because state law is typically favorable to corporations and experts say the change could backfire. Last month Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick invalidated the pay package that Tesla ..