Lifeboat Foundation

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — SpaceX plans to remove from orbit about 100 of its older Starlink satellites because of a design flaw that could cause them to fail.

In a statement Feb. 12, SpaceX said it would perform controlled descents of about 100 “early-version 1” Starlink satellites out of concerns that the spacecraft could fail in orbit and no longer be maneuver.

“These satellites are currently maneuverable and serving users effectively, but the Starlink team identified a common issue in this small population of satellites that could increase the probability of failure in the future,” SpaceX stated. The company did not elaborate on that issue or identify the specific satellites affected.

At more than 21 days, the Ax-3 mission broke Axiom Space’s previous record from Ax-1.

When spacecraft re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, friction heats them up and creates a plasma sheath that stops communications – but SpaceX thinks its Starlink satellites could solve the problem.

By Mark Harris

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched NASA’s newest Earth-observation satellite, the PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) mission.

The rocket lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday, February 8, at 1:33 a.m. EST.

SpaceX launched an environmental research satellite for NASA early Thursday, a nearly $1 billion spacecraft that survived multiple cancellation threats and is now poised to shed new light on climate change and the complex interplay of heat-trapping carbon, aerosols and sea life on global scales.

The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission — PACE — “will dramatically advance our understanding of the relationship between aerosols and clouds, and the global energy balance,” said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth sciences division. “This is one of the biggest sources of uncertainty in our ability to model the climate.”

Continue reading “SpaceX launches billion-dollar environmental research satellite for NASA” »

SpaceX confirms to the FCC that it’s exploring using its sea-based drone ships to also act as ‘gateways’ for Starlink.

Liftoff is scheduled for 1:33 a.m. ET on Tuesday (Feb. 6).

Starlab Space has chosen SpaceX to launch the private space station, Starlab, into low-Earth orbit (LEO) in just one flight.

Starlab Space is a transatlantic collaboration between Voyager Space and Airbus.

The announcement reveals that SpaceX’s Starship vehicle would undertake a single mission to transport the entire Starlab before the International Space Station’s (ISS) retirement, scheduled for 2030. However, the company’s release did not specify the launch date of Starlab.

Departure is now scheduled for no earlier than Monday (Feb. 5)