Mediaboss Marketing

https://aviationweek.com/themes/custom/particle/dist/app-drupal/assets/awn-logo.svg

Credit: SpaceX

CAPE CANAVERALA SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship to the International Space Station (ISS) on Jan. 30, enabling its competitor to maintain cargo runs for NASA while development of a new first stage for Northrops Antares rocket is in work. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 12...

SpaceX Launches Northrops Cygnus Cargo Ship To ISS is published in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) Market Briefing and is included with your AWIN membership.

Already a member of AWIN or subscribe to Aerospace Daily & Defense Report through your company? Loginwith your existing email and password.

Not a member? Learn how you can access the market intelligence and data you need to stay abreast of what's happening in the aerospace and defense community.

Apple app store ID

6447645195

Apple app name

apple-itunes-app

App argument URL

https://shownews.aviationweek.com

See the original post here:

SpaceX Launches Northrops Cygnus Cargo Ship To ISS - Aviation Week

SpaceX, Elon Musk's spacecraft and satellite company, has acquired a B737-800 through its Falcon Aviation Holdings unit.

N154TS (msn 30515) was registered to the company in August 2023, having been retired by previous operator Air China (CA, Beijing Capital) in July 2022. The 21.6-year-old aircraft was parked at Lake Charles Chennault through mid-December 2023. Although it has been blocked from ADS-B data tracking websites, the aircraft was subsequently seen at Washington Dulles, Orlando International, Los Angeles International, Victorville, and Brownsville airports, the last of which serves the SpaceX manufacturing and launch site at Boca Chica, TX.

Falcon Aviation Holdings has the same registration address as SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA.

The company's Gulfstream Aerospace executive jets are registered to Falcon Landing, a sister SPV with the same corporate address.

SpaceX did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment. It is unclear whether the aircraft will be used as a corporate shuttle or a testbed for the company's products.

Read more:

SpaceX acquires a B737-800 - ch-aviation

WASHINGTON SpaceX launched Axiom Spaces third private astronaut mission Jan. 18, sending a veteran former NASA astronaut and three astronauts from European governments to the International Space Station.

A Falcon 9 lifted off at 4:49 p.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and placed the Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom into orbit. Freedom separated from the upper stage about 12 minutes after liftoff.

The launch had been scheduled for Jan. 17 but was delayed less than six hours before the scheduled liftoff when SpaceX announced it would take an additional day to complete pre-launch checkouts and data analysis on the vehicle.

SpaceX did not offer specifics on the delay, but both Axiom Space and NASA later said the delay was to provide more time to review parachute straps known as energy modulators in the Crew Dragon. SpaceX said in a Jan. 16 prelaunch briefing that they found issues with those straps, intended to regulate the load on the main parachutes when extracted from the capsule, during the return of the CRS-29 cargo Dragon mission in December. SpaceX said that may have been caused by twists in the straps, and technicians untwisted the energy modulators in the parachutes on this Crew Dragon before launch.

The spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the ISS Jan. 20 at 4:19 a.m. Eastern. It will remain docked to the station for about two weeks before returning to Earth with its four-person crew.

The Ax-3 mission is the third such mission organized by Axiom Space, which is using them to gain experience in spaceflight operations as it prepares to install commercial modules on the station that will later form the core of a standalone commercial space station upon the retirement of the ISS. Axiom flew Ax-1 in April 2022 and Ax-2 in May 2023.

Ax-3 is commanded by former NASA astronaut Michael Lpez-Alegra, who also commanded Ax-1. It is the sixth flight for Lpez-Alegra, who flew on three shuttle missions and one long-duration ISS mission while with NASA.

The other three members of the crew represent European governments. The pilot of Ax-3 is Walter Villadei, an Italian Air Force officer who trained as the backup pilot for Ax-2 and flew on Virgin Galactics first commercial flight of its VSS Unity suborbital spaceplane in June 2023.

The two mission specialists on Ax-3 are Alper Gezeravc of Turkey and Marcus Wandt of Sweden. Gezeravc is a pilot in the Turkish Air Force and is the first person from that country to fly to space. Wandt, a former Swedish Air Force pilot, is the second Swede to fly to space.

Wandt was selected a reserve astronaut by the European Space Agency in November 2022 and is the first person from that class to go to space. ESA and the Swedish space agency arranged for his flight as ESAs first short-term project astronaut. A second project astronaut, Polands Sawosz Uznaski, is expected to go the ISS as soon as later this year, also through Axiom Space.

Those missions are different from long-duration ISS missions and future Artemis missions flown by ESAs permanent astronaut corps. Its a fixed-term contract he has with the agency, while career astronauts have permanent contracts, said Daniel Neuenschwander, ESAs director of human and robotic exploration, of Wandt during a Jan. 11 media briefing. ESAs five new career astronauts will complete their training in April and some could be assigned to their first ISS missions as soon as May.

Derek Hassmann, chief of mission integration and operations at Axiom Space, said at the Jan. 16 prelaunch briefing that Axiom plans to continue flying short-duration private astronaut missions to the ISS at a pace of two a year through the launch of its first commercial module, now planned for late 2026. Ax-4 is tentatively planned for launch in the fall of 2024, but neither Axiom nor NASA have announced firm plans for missions beyond Ax-4.

NASA is supporting private astronaut missions as part of its broader strategy to stimulate development of commercial space stations intended to succeed the ISS when it is retired at the end of the decade. NASA awarded a contract to Axiom in 2020 giving it access to a docking port on the station for its commercial modules and has funded Space Act Agreements with Blue Origin and Voyager Space to support work on those companies station concepts.

I am certainly hopeful that they are going to be successful, said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson of private space station ventures on Axioms webcast of the Ax-3 launch. NASA, he noted, is counting on one or more commercial stations to be successful to support NASAs needs as well as other customers, so that NASA can focus on its lunar and Mars exploration ambitions.

Ax-3 featured the third flight of Freedom and the fifth of the Falcon 9 booster. Benji Reed, senior director of human spaceflight programs at SpaceX, said at the prelaunch briefing that while SpaceX plans to be able to fly Dragon spacecraft up to 15 times each, it is currently only using Falcon 9 boosters on crewed missions that have flown no more than five times, even as SpaceX pushes to extend the lives of those boosters to up to 40 missions.

When we feel comfortable expanding that envelope as well, well continue to work that with all of our customers, he said of booster reuse on crewed flights.

After the Crew Dragon reached orbit, Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceXs vice president of build and flight reliability who is also chief engineer for the mission, called the crew. I think youre demonstrating the ultimate in reuse: a reused commander, a reused Dragon and a reused Falcon, he said. Or maybe flight-experienced is a better word.

See more here:

SpaceX launches third Axiom mission to ISS - SpaceNews

Update for Jan. 18: SpaceX is on track to launch Axiom Space's Ax-3 mission to the International Space Station at 4:49 p.m. EST (2149 GMT) today after delaying it by a day.

Watch it live here at Space.com; coverage will begin at 2:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT) on Jan. 18.

SpaceX will launch an astronaut crew to the International Space Station Thursday (Jan. 18) on the private Ax-3 mission for Axiom Space, but if you're hoping to watch it live online, you'll need to know where and when. And for that, space fans, we've got what you need.

The Ax-3 mission, Axiom Space's third commercial spaceflight with SpaceX, will launch four astronauts to the ISS from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon spacecraft Freedom. Liftoff is scheduled for 4:49 p.m. EST (2149 GMT).

The Ax-3 mission is commanded by former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria of Axiom Space, with Walter Villadei of the Italian Air Force serving as pilot. Turkey's first astronaut, Alper Gezeravc, and European Space Agency reserve astronaut Marcus Wandt round out the crew as mission specialists. Together, the four men will spend at least two weeks in space on their ISS mission. Here's how and when to watch them launch and dock at the orbiting lab.

Related: Meet the 4 astronauts of SpaceX's Ax-3 launch for Axiom Space

Currently, SpaceX aims to launch the Ax-3 astronauts into orbit on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 4:49 p.m. EST (2149 GMT) from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Current weather forecasts call for a 80% of good conditions at launch time, according to the 45th Weather Squadron of the U.S. Space Force.

SpaceX has what it calls an "instantaneous window" in which to launch the Ax-3 mission. That means if the company cannot launch at that exact time, it will have to stand down until its next opportunity in order to reach the International Space Station. SpaceX's backup launch day may be possible on Friday, Jan. 19.

SpaceX and Axiom Space initially hoped to launch the Ax-3 mission in November 2023, but the flight slipped to January 2024 and then to mid-January as weather issues delayed a series of other SpaceX flights ahead of the mission. A planned Jan. 17 launch date was delayed to allow additional systems checks, SpaceX said.

Yes, you will be able to watch SpaceX's Ax-3 astronaut launch online for free. In fact, you have a few options. Space.com will simulcast the livestream live here starting at 2:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT) and on our YouTube channel, as well.

SpaceX and Axiom Space will host their own joint webcast of the launch beginning at 2:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT) on Jan. 18. You can follow those webcasts at the Axiom Space YouTube channel and on the SpaceX X account (formerly Twitter).

NASA's livestream will broadcast on NASA TV and NASA+. The agency will broadcast the SpaceX/Axiom Space program at 3:45 p.m. EST (2045 GMT). NASA's launch coverage will end about 15 minutes after liftoff.

SpaceX, Axiom Space and NASA will also offer live views of the Ax-3 Dragon spacecraft's docking at the International Space Station, which is scheduled to occur on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 5:15 a.m. EST (1015 GMT).

NASA's livestream of the docking will begin at 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 GMT) and run through docking itself. At about 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT), the four Ax-3 astronauts will join the seven astronauts currently living on the International Space Station during a hatch opening ceremony.

Finally, at 7:35 a.m. EST (1235 GMT), the joint Ax-3 and station crew will host some welcome remarks before beginning their time together.

While SpaceX's launch of the Ax-3 astronauts will last just over 12 minutes from liftoff to its final event, the Axiom Space mission will last at least two weeks.

After liftoff, it should take about 2.5 minutes for the Falcon 9 rocket to reach stage separation, after which its first stage will return to Earth while the upper stage continues upward with the Dragon spacecraft. The first stage should land just under 8 minutes after liftoff at SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, according to a mission description.

The Dragon capsule will separate from the Falcon 9 upper stage about 12 minutes after liftoff, deploying its nose cone to expose its docking port less than a minute later.

SpaceX had at least one backup day set up in case it cannot launch the Ax-3 astronaut mission to the International Space Station on Jan. 17 as initially planned. Now the company is using that backup day with its latest launch target. A second backup day on Jan. 19 may also be available.

If a Jan. 18 launch isn't possible, SpaceX could potentially try again on Friday , Jan. 19, depending on the nature of any delay. The company has not officially announced Jan, 19 as another backup day, however. Like with the Jan. 17 date, SpaceX is expected to have an instantaneous window for a Jan. 18 launch attempt. There is a 80% chance of good weather for launch on Jan. 18, according to the 45th Weather Squadron.

If SpaceX is still unable to launch the Ax-3 mission on Jan. 18, then its next option will likely be on Friday, Jan. 19. Weather conditions are expected to be about the same, according to Space Force officials. The main concerns that day are thick cumulus clouds and the potential for SpaceX's Falcon 9 to fly through precipitation, the Space Force said. If SpaceX opts to target a potential Jan. 20 liftoff, weather forecasts predict a 95% chance of good weather.

More:

What time is the SpaceX Ax-3 astronaut launch for Axiom Space? How to watch it live today - Space.com

SpaceX's Crew Dragon Freedom arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) early Saturday with four astronauts of the private Ax-3 mission aboard to begin a two-week stay on the orbiting laboratory.

Ax-3 launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday (Jan. 18), kicking off a roughly 36-hour orbital pursuit. That chase ended today (Jan. 20) at 5:42 a.m. EST (1042 GMT), when Freedom docked at the forward port on the station'sHarmony module as the two spacecraft sailed 262 miles above the South Pacific. Ax-3 is SpaceX's third private human spaceflight for the company Axiom Space, which has flown nine people to the station since since 2022.

"This is an incredibly exciting time for human spaceflight with the third private mission, which is allowing many more countries to participate in the scientific research and technology development that we do onboard this orbiting laboratory.," said Andreas Morgensen, commander of the station's seven-person Expedition 70 crew who represents the European Space Agency. "We have doubled the number of nationalities onboard the space station going from four to eight, which I think is a great testament to the international collaboration which underpins this marvelous space station."

Related: Live updates from the Ax-3 private astronaut mission

Ax-3 carries Axiom's first all-European crew, including the first astronaut from the nation of Turkey, mission specialist Alper Gezeravc. He is joined by Ax-3 mission commander and former NASA astronaut Michael "L.A." Lpez-Alegra (who has dual U.S. and Spanish citizenship), mission pilot and Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei, and mission specialist Marcus Wandt of the European Space Agency, who hails from Sweden.

The four men are joining a truly international crew on the ISS, which includes Morgensen (of Denmark), NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara of the U.S., Japan's Satoshi Furukawa and Russian cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub. The hatches between the ISS and the Freedom capsule opened at 7:13 a.m. EST (1213 GMT), allowing the Ax-3 quartet to float aboard the orbiting lab.

"This is really a symbol of how axiom in conjunction with NASA and other partners is working to expand human access to low Earth orbit," Lopez-Alegria said during a televised welcome ceremony on the ISS. "We've got, as Andy said, so many nationalities represented on board and this is really symbolic of what we're trying to do to open it up not only to other nations, also to individuals to researchers to continue the great work that's been going on onboard the ISS for the last two decades plus."

Lopez-Alegria, a former ISS commander who flew on three NASA shuttle flights, presented his three Ax-3 crewmates with Universal Astronaut Pins to mark their spaceflight feat. While the flight is the first for Gezeravc and Wandt, Villadei has flown on a suborbital flight aboard Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Unity, though it is his first trip to orbit.

While aboard, Ax-3 crewmembers will live and work alongside the station's current residents, performing experiments for a variety of research investigations. Much of the science included on Axiom's first two crewed missions focused on human spaceflight and habitability in microgravity environments, and this latest mission continues that trend.

"I would like to thank for everybody for their great effort for us to be able to make it over here, in the last eight months training period as well as all the counterparts for their contribution for our safe travels," Gezeravc said. "To make it over to ISS, we are happy as Turkey to [take this] step for the first time in our history."

RELATED STORIES:

Meet the 4 astronauts of SpaceX's Ax-3 launch for Axiom Space

Axiom Space's 3rd private mission will conduct pioneering microgravity experiments on ISS

Private space station: How Axiom Space plans to build its orbital outpost

Ax-3 research includes robotics experiments with high-strength alloys, with implications for in-space construction and assemblies; an experiment from Turkey called Vokalkord, which uses artificial intelligence algorithms to diagnose several dozen diseases by analyzing a cough or someone's speech; and many other investigations into physics, biology and microgravity.

The Ax-3 crew are scheduled to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbital laboratory, after which the astronauts and their SpaceX capsule will depart the ISS and come back to Earth with a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida.

"I want to thank all of you guys again for welcoming us aboard," Lopez-Alegria told the ISS crew. "I know that it's tough to have guests in your house and we promise not to spill any red wine on your white carpet."

Editor's note: This story was updated on Jan. 20 to include the successful docking and welcome ceremony of the four Ax-3 astronauts to the International Space Station.

Original post:

Watch SpaceX's Ax-3 astronaut mission arrive at ISS early Jan. 20 - Yahoo News