spacex launch vehicles
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SpaceX’s Starship Clears Crucial Hurdle in Dramatic Second Flight Test
Both stages of the megarocket exploded during the 8-minute mission, but not before the successful implementation of a novel hot-staging maneuver.
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Europe Reluctantly Chooses SpaceX to Launch Its GPS Satellites
SpaceX has reached a deal to launch four Galileo satellites next year in coordination with the European Space Agency, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Two launches on Elon Musk’s Falcon 9 rockets will add to the 28 satellites currently orbiting Earth in Europe’s global navigation system. The deal still must reach a final…
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With a Small Hop, SpaceX Rival Edges Closer to Developing the World’s First Fully Reusable Rocket
During a 15-second test flight, Stoke Space launched Hopper2 and landed the prototype upper stage in what is a major milestone in the company’s plans to develop a fully reusable rocket. The Seattle-based company pulled off a vertical takeoff and landing of its launch vehicle on Sunday at its test site in Moses Lake, Washington,…
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Latest Design Tweaks Reshape Rocket Lab’s Upcoming Neutron Rocket
California-based Rocket Lab—the company voted most likely to compete with SpaceX—appears to be tinkering with its Neutron blueprints, as new artwork suggests. Founded in 2006, Peter Beck’s Rocket Lab is emerging as one of the more serious competitors to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The company’s light-lift Electron rocket is currently performing routine flights to low Earth…