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SpaceX Targets November 13 for Starship Flight 15 with Innovative Recovery Attempt

SpaceX Targets November 13 for Starship Flight 15 with Innovative Recovery Attempt

SpaceX Targets November 13 for Starship Flight 15 with Innovative Recovery Attempt
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NASA Establishes $10 Billion Lunar Delivery Contract with Eight Companies for Moon Base Support

NASA Establishes $10 Billion Lunar Delivery Contract with Eight Companies for Moon Base Support

NASA has announced a new 10-year contract, Commercial Lunar Payload Services 2 (CLPS 2), making eight companies eligible to compete for up to $10 billion in lunar delivery work. The selected companies are Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, iSpace US, Lockheed Martin Space, Northrop Grumman Space Systems, SpaceX, and Voyager Technologies. This contract is structured as a multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity framework, meaning the $10 billion is a maximum ceiling for future task orders, not an immediate award to any single entity. Companies will earn revenue only when they win individual delivery jobs issued by NASA. The CLPS 2 contract aims to support the cargo-lander network essential for NASA's Moon Base initiative, explicitly covering the delivery of infrastructure payloads like power and communications gear, in addition to science and technology instruments. This announcement was made at the MAX POWER aerospace expo and air show at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, rei...
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Impulse Space Secures NASA Contracts for Moon Base Transportation Infrastructure

Impulse Space Secures NASA Contracts for Moon Base Transportation Infrastructure

Impulse Space, an in-space mobility company, has been awarded two task orders by NASA for its Moon Base program. These awards will utilize Impulse Space's fleet of spacecraft, including a highly throttleable lander, the Helios kick-stage, and the Mira performance maneuvering spacecraft, to establish transportation infrastructure for humanity's first permanent lunar outpost. Missions are slated to commence in 2028. The task orders fall under NASA's Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract. For the first task order, Impulse Space will act as the prime contractor, collaborating with SpaceX for a Falcon 9 rocket launch to deliver a NASA payload, with an option for Mira vehicles to transport additional payloads to cislunar space. The second task order designates Impulse Space as the prime contractor for a launch on Relativity's Terran R launch vehicle, where Impulse's Helios and lander vehicles will carry NASA payloads to their target cislunar orbits and test cargo de...
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AST SpaceMobile to Develop 'Blacklift' Reusable Heavy-Lift Rocket for Satellite Deployment

AST SpaceMobile to Develop 'Blacklift' Reusable Heavy-Lift Rocket for Satellite Deployment

AST SpaceMobile to Develop 'Blacklift' Reusable Heavy-Lift Rocket for Satellite Deployment
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SpaceX Launches Classified USSF-432 Mission for U.S. Military, Deploying Suspected Starshield Satellites

SpaceX Launches Classified USSF-432 Mission for U.S. Military, Deploying Suspected Starshield Satellites

SpaceX successfully launched a classified mission, designated USSF-432, for the U.S. military on November 6. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carrying a mysterious payload into orbit. While official details about the mission remain undisclosed by both SpaceX and the U.S. Space Force, experts speculate that the payload consists of Starshield satellites. These satellites are believed to be part of the U.S. Space Force's Space-Based Sensing and Targeting program and are largely based on SpaceX's Starlink spacecraft platform, but designed for military applications. The Falcon 9's first stage booster, making its eighth flight, successfully landed on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean after launch. This mission marks the 119th Falcon 9 launch in 2026 and the 14th for national security purposes this year, with a significant portion of SpaceX's launches dedicated to its Starlink megaconstellation.
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SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Classified U.S. Space Force Mission from California

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Classified U.S. Space Force Mission from California

SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on November 6, 2026, carrying a classified payload for the U.S. Space Force. The mission, designated USSF-432 and also identified as R-4, lifted off from pad 4E at 4:48 p.m. PST. This launch marks the fourth in a series of 'R' missions, which began on August 16 with USSF-366, followed by USSF-153 (R-2) on September 10, and USSF-385 (R3) on September 26. Each of these 'R' launches has deployed 23 satellites into orbit. These satellites are believed to be based on SpaceX’s Starshield platform, which is the government version of the Starlink satellite system. The Falcon 9 first stage booster, B1095, completed its eighth flight and landed on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' in the Pacific Ocean. The flight was initially scheduled for November 1 but experienced multiple delays.
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SpaceX Targets November 13 for Starship Flight 15, Aims for First Upper-Stage Catch

SpaceX Targets November 13 for Starship Flight 15, Aims for First Upper-Stage Catch

SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13, for Starship Flight 15, a mission that aims to achieve the first-ever catch of the upper-stage Starship vehicle with its launch tower. This target date was announced by SpaceX VP of Launch Kiko Dontchev at the UP.Summit. The company plans for both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage to return to the launch site for tower catches. This follows Flight 14 in late September, which successfully put Starship into orbit and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. While SpaceX has successfully caught the Super Heavy booster multiple times, catching the Starship upper stage, which returns from orbital velocity, presents a more significant recovery challenge. The hardware for Flight 15, including Booster 22 and Ship 42, has undergone static fire testing and catch rehearsals. The primary remaining hurdle is regulatory approval, as the FAA's Starship page has not yet listed a license for Flight 15, though SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell anticipates the license wil...
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Elon Musk Suggests SpaceX Could Acquire Legacy Telco for Enhanced Spectrum Utilization

Elon Musk Suggests SpaceX Could Acquire Legacy Telco for Enhanced Spectrum Utilization

Elon Musk Suggests SpaceX Could Acquire Legacy Telco for Enhanced Spectrum Utilization
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NASA Accelerates Artemis Moon Missions, Targets 2027 Test Flight and 2028 Lunar Landing

NASA Accelerates Artemis Moon Missions, Targets 2027 Test Flight and 2028 Lunar Landing

NASA has announced an accelerated strategy for its Artemis program, aiming for an Artemis III test flight in 2027 and a crewed lunar landing with Artemis IV in 2028. This revised timeline, detailed in a November 4 update, emphasizes the critical role of integration among separately built vehicles, flight software, ground teams, and equipment. The Artemis III mission is planned as a 14-day Earth-orbit mission involving four astronauts, serving as an integration test for rendezvous, docking, habitation, and operational procedures before a lunar landing attempt. The agency is pursuing lunar landers from both SpaceX and Blue Origin, with their differing approaches to lunar transport. The commercial aerospace industry is closely watching how this ambitious exploration transitions into a repeatable service, requiring hardware to move from development to dependable production and individual demonstrations to become scheduled operations.
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SpaceX Starship Program Advances with Flight 15 Preparations and Cape Canaveral Launch Site Development

SpaceX Starship Program Advances with Flight 15 Preparations and Cape Canaveral Launch Site Development

SpaceX's Starship program is making significant progress, with Flight 15 hardware ready for launch and the development of a second launch site at Cape Canaveral nearing completion. Booster 22 and Ship 42, components for Flight 15, have successfully cleared static fire tests, indicating a consistent operational rhythm for SpaceX. This flight also marks the beginning of a permanent Raptor 3 engine reliability upgrade program, integrating lessons from previous flights into the production baseline. The first Starship launch from Cape Canaveral's LC-39A is anticipated in the coming months, with construction progressing on the tank farm, SLC-37 tower, and other infrastructure. Additionally, Starbase is now processing multiple vehicles simultaneously, stacking Ships 43 through 45 and Booster 24 in parallel, demonstrating an increased cadence in production.
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Rocket launches surge in 2026 in California. What happened to Florida?

Rocket launches surge in 2026 in California. What happened to Florida?

Florida will not even come close to setting a new launch record in 2026 as SpaceX, Blue Origin and others slow down cadences. Here's what's happening.
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US proposes space launch rule changes in potential boost for SpaceX

US proposes space launch rule changes in potential boost for SpaceX

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The US Federal Aviation Administration proposed on Thursday streamlining regulations for commercial space launches and re-entries and said it plans to overhaul its space licensing framework next year, a potential boost for Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff