SpaceX

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That Pretty Starship Explosion? A Lot of Pollution

Experts say atmosphere, ocean likely to have suffered

(Newser) - The explosion of SpaceX's Starship didn't just cause damage to islands hit by falling debris. It also likely damaged the ocean and atmosphere, Space.com reports. The rocket's stainless-steel upper stage, which weighed 85 tons without propellant, broke up at an altitude of around 90 miles, according...

Elon Musk's Astronaut Post Is a Little 'Perplexing'

He says SpaceX will bring pair home—which NASA announced in August

(Newser) - SpaceX CEO Elon Musk chided the Biden administration for leaving two astronauts "stranded" on the International Space Station in a Tuesday X post —and said President Trump had requested that SpaceX bring Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore home as soon as possible. "We will do so,"...

Turks and Caicos Reports Damage From SpaceX Debris

FAA grounds Starship during investigation of breakup

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration has joined officials in Turks and Caicos in investigating damage apparently caused by debris from the breakup of SpaceX's rocket during a test flight on Thursday. The FAA has grounded the Starship rocket in the meantime, NBC News reports. No injuries have been reported, the...

Starship Explosion Causes Chaos in the Sky

FAA scrambles to divert flights; airports also reported delays

(Newser) - Dozens of planes were forced to divert or fly holding patterns following the breakup of SpaceX's unmanned Starship rocket on Thursday. The Federal Aviation Administration said it had to "briefly" slow and divert aircraft in response to falling debris , per TechCrunch . Tracking app FlightRadar24 said its most-watched flights...

Spacecraft Breaks Up Minutes After SpaceX Launch

Giant robotic arms successfully catch first-stage booster at pad

(Newser) - SpaceX lost the upper stage of its Starship rocket on a test flight Thursday when the unmanned spacecraft apparently broke up just as it was reaching space—after a thrilling booster catch back at its Texas pad. Elon Musk's company said the spacecraft's six engines appeared to shut...

Musk's SpaceX Makes Official Push for a New Texas City

Company asks local officials to make its Starbase launch site an incorporated city

(Newser) - SpaceX is launching a new mission: making its Starbase site a new Texas city. Billionaire Elon Musk's company on Thursday sent a letter to local officials requesting an election to turn what it calls Starbase—the South Texas site where SpaceX builds and launches its massive Starship rockets—into...

SpaceX Is Worth Twice What It Was Last Year
Elon Musk
Hits a Rich
Milestone
UPDATED
Dec 12, 2024 1:30 AM CST

Elon Musk Hits a Rich Milestone

After SpaceX valued at $350B, Musk is first person to pass $400B in net worth

(Newser) - Shortly after the news that SpaceX has exploded in value came the news that Elon Musk has become the first person to surpass $400 billion in net worth. An estimate by Bloomberg News says Musk, who reportedly owns 42% of SpaceX, is now worth $440 billion. Also adding to his...

On X, a Verbal Battle of the Billionaires

Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos poke at each other over Trump election win

(Newser) - Jeff Bezos doesn't post much on X, but he emerged on Thursday morning to hit back at fellow billionaire Elon Musk, who made an allegation about the Amazon founder that he roundly refutes. "Just learned tonight at Mar-a-Lago that Jeff Bezos was telling everyone that @realDonaldTrump would lose...

SpaceX 'Chopsticks' Fail May Have Been to Protect Trump

Booster wasn't caught by launch tower's mechanical arms out of an 'abundance of caution'

(Newser) - There was no so-called booster catch during SpaceX's sixth Starship test flight on Tuesday, and some more details are now trickling out on that. A SpaceX spokesman didn't initially explain what went wrong with the plan, in which the Super Heavy booster was meant to be caught by...

With Trump Looking on, Starship Takes Off
Starship Completes
6th Test Flight
UPDATED
Nov 19, 2024 5:40 PM CST

Starship Completes 6th Test Flight

'Chopsticks' weren't used to catch booster this time

(Newser) - With President-elect Trump and Elon Musk looking on, the sixth Starship test flight took off Tuesday from SpaceX's launch site in southern Texas. The Super Heavy booster splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico minutes after the 5pm Eastern launch, the BBC reports. SpaceX had initially planned to catch...

SpaceX Dragon Is About to Give the ISS a Shove

On Friday, the spacecraft will 'reboost' International Space Station, ahead of its eventual destruction

(Newser) - As NASA continues to work with SpaceX in planning the International Space Station's eventual demise , SpaceX will on Friday aim for a big first in anticipation of that event. A Dragon cargo spacecraft will fire up its engines for 12 1/2 minutes in what's called a reboost, in...

Experimental Satellite's 'Cutting-Edge' Feature: Wood

Researchers predict renewable material could allow for sustainable societies in space

(Newser) - Japanese scientists are heralding a "cutting-edge technology" that could fuel humans' expansion into space: wood. As we look to establish a presence on the moon and Mars, renewable resources will be key, meaning metal must move to the side. There's also the matter of space pollution. According to...

SpaceX Sues California Regulators
SpaceX Sues
California Regulators
Oct 17, 2024 2:30 AM CDT

SpaceX Sues California Regulators

Lawsuit filed after commission denies its request to boost number of annual launches

(Newser) - The California Coastal Commission rejected SpaceX's request to increase the number of launches it makes every year from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, and now SpaceX is suing the regulatory agency. The Elon Musk-founded company is accusing the commission of political bias, claiming in its lawsuit...

SpaceX Pulls Off a First With Latest Launch

It catches returning booster with mechanical arms on the launch pad

(Newser) - SpaceX launched its enormous Starship rocket on Sunday on its boldest test flight yet—and caught the returning booster back at the pad with mechanical arms, per the AP . Towering almost 400 feet, the empty Starship blasted off at sunrise from the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border....

Good News for Stranded Astronauts: Your Ride Is Here

SpaceX craft arrives at International Space Station, but won't return to Earth until February

(Newser) - The two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station since June welcomed their new ride home with Sunday's arrival of a SpaceX capsule. SpaceX launched the rescue mission on Saturday with a downsized crew of two astronauts and two empty seats reserved for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who will...

NASA Sends Crew to Retrieve Stranded Astronauts

SpaceX mission leaves seats empty for Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore

(Newser) - Astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station to rescue two colleagues who have been stranded there for more than 100 days. The SpaceX mission took off Saturday afternoon from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, CNN reports. Liftoff had been postponed on Thursday because of Hurricane...

Cards Against Humanity Files $15M Suit Against SpaceX

Company says Elon Musk's spacecraft firm trespassed on 'pristine' Texas plot, caused damage

(Newser) - Cards Against Humanity is known for its politically incorrect playing cards, but the company is now itself offended about something not related to gameplay. NBC News reports that CAH filed a lawsuit this week against Elon Musk's SpaceX, claiming that the spacecraft maker has been trespassing (and mucking up)...

First Billionaire to Walk in Space: It Wasn't 'Peaceful'

Jared Isaacman describes the 'hard, very threatening environment' on Polaris Dawn mission

(Newser) - "Earth sure looks like a perfect world," billionaire Jared Isaacman proclaimed last week during the first spacewalk ever by a private citizen. But while our planet may have looked perfect, it wasn't exactly a perfect experience for Isaacman and his three Polaris Dawn spacemates. The Shift4 founder...

It's 'Mission Complete' for Billionaire, Crew

Five-day trip included the first private spacewalk

(Newser) - A billionaire spacewalker returned to Earth with his crew on Sunday, ending a five-day trip that lifted them higher than anyone has traveled since NASA's moonwalkers. SpaceX's capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida's Dry Tortugas in the predawn darkness, carrying tech entrepreneur Jared...

Billionaire Space-Walker Is a High School Dropout
Billionaire
Space-Walker
Dropped Out
of High School
the rundown
Sep 12, 2024 12:07 PM CDT

Billionaire Space-Walker Dropped Out of High School

Jared Isaacman went on to become a tech entrepreneur with a passion for space

(Newser) - The world's first commercial spacewalk took place on Tuesday morning, a private operation bankrolled by the first person who emerged from the SpaceX craft. That would be Jared Isaacman, a 41-year-old tech billionaire who is now the subject of plenty of coverage:
  • Dropout: Steve Jobs famously dropped out of
...

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