Global Scans · SpaceX · Weekly Summary

• Mission: The Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander carrying NASA science and commercial payloads will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Yahoo News
• Crew-8 will launch a quartet of astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft from Pad 39 A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, for a half-year International Space Station (ISS) rotation. Space
• The robotic spacecraft will be ferried to Earth orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9, after which the cryogenic propulsion system on board will be used to hop to the Moon. News9live
• With billions of dollars poured into space exploration each year by NASA and private companies like SpaceX, some researchers are concerned that a foodborne illness outbreak aboard the International Space Station could derail a mission. SciTechDaily
• Though Musk and SpaceX have grand visions for Starship, including sending the first humans to Mars, NASA also plans to use the rocket system alongside its own SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis III mission, slated to launch as early as 2025. CNN
• SpaceX plans to launch Flight 3 next month, provided the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issues a license in time. Space
• In November, SpaceX told the Federal Communications Commission that it expected to deploy 840 direct-to-cell Starlink satellites over the following six months. Innovation News Network
• SpaceX will test the Pez dispenser payload door that will be used on later flights to deploy the full-sized Starlink V2 satellites, significant larger than the V2 mini satellites currently being launched on Falcon 9. SpaceNews
• SpaceX plans to create a propellant depot in low Earth orbit, filled by a series of Starship tanker launches, that would then be used to fuel the lunar lander Starship for its trip to the moon. SpaceNews
• SpaceX's Starship will transport astronauts from the Orion spacecraft in orbit with the Moon to the lunar surface. Trend Detail News
• Texting will become available this year, with voice, data services and Internet of Things connectivity starting in 2025, though SpaceX will need to get regulatory approval before commencing commercial service. SoyaCincau
• SpaceX's Starlink broadband communications LEO satellites are probably the most famous, but Amazon has begun launching its competing Project Kuiper satellites and expects to begin service in 2024. IEEE Spectrum
• Texting will become available in 2024, with voice and data services starting in 2025 and connection for Internet of Things devices also in 2025, though SpaceX will need to get regulatory approval before commencing commercial service. TechCrunch
• Chinese launch startup LandSpace Technology plans to launch reusable rockets in 2025 in an approach that closely mirrors SpaceX, while India aims to begin a series of flight tests for an eventual crewed spaceflight in 2025. Nikkei Asia
• SpaceX plans to launch 124 rockets in 2024 a major increase over the 98 it sent to space last year: No other organization has managed more than 63 in a single year. Yahoo News
• SpaceX plans to launch about 840 more DTC-capable satellites over the next six months to achieve a critical mass of satellites for commercial service by late 2024. Interesting Engineering
• SpaceX launched its first batch of Starlink satellites that will be able to connect directly to cell phones ahead of planned testing later in 2024. TechCrunch
• If the Starship launch today is successful, it will mark the 84th time that SpaceX has sent a rocket into orbit. The Mirror
• SpaceX's official X account confirmed the successful test of the Super Heavy Booster 10, as well as a separate test of one Raptor engine on the Starship Ship 28 that will ride atop Super Heavy Booster 10 during the upcoming test flight. Interesting Engineering
• SpaceX's first launch of 2024 will see a further 21 Starlink spacecraft carried to low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket, which will lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Space
• SpaceX carried out 61 launches in 2022-60 for Falcon 9 rockets and just one Falcon Heavy launch - and achieved 31 launches in 2021 and 26 in 2020, all of which were Falcon 9 rockets. Space
• SpaceX's Starship, the rocket and spacecraft system that CEO Elon Musk envisions will carry the first humans to Mars, made two historic flight attempts in 2023. Yahoo News
• SpaceX flights set SpaceX, which has since 2020 flown up 40 people across 11 flights of four Crew Dragon spacecraft, is teeing up a record five missions in 2024. Govtech

Last updated: 05 February 2024