SpaceX to launch satellites from Vandenberg SFB
April 7 (UPI) -- SpaceX is to utilize a new first stage booster when it launches 27 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California Monday.
The new Falcon 9 first stage booster, which may be B1091, will be the second new booster that SpaceX introduced so far this year, after the B1092 used on the Starlink mission that launched in February.
Liftoff is slated for 3 p.m. PDT, with a window that expands out to 6:35 p.m. Should it be necessary, the mission can also launch Tuesday starting at 2:13 p.m. PDT.
The satellites are to be carried into low-Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 spacecraft, and the booster will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship after stage separation. The droneship will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean, and should everything work out as expected, this will be the 124th booster landing for the droneship and the 428th booster landing to date.
Residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, dependent on weather and other conditions.
The public can watch a live webcast of this mission on X @SpaceX, on the X TV app and the SpaceX website. The webcast will begin about five minutes before takeoff.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
6 hours ago
- UPI
Tesla begins robotaxi launch in Austin
A red Tesla is seen parked on West Executive Drive at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, June 5, 2025. File Photo by Chris Kleponis/UPI | License Photo June 22 (UPI) -- Tesla will begin its launch of robotic taxis in Austin, Texas, on Sunday afternoon, Elon Musk announced. "The @Tesla_AI robotaxi launch begins in Austin this afternoon with customers paying a $4.20 flat fee!" Musk said in a post on social media. Earlier this month, Musk had revealed Sunday as the tentative start date while cautioning that the company was "being super paranoid about safety" and that the date might shift. The electric carmaker has provided few details about the plans for the robotaxi since it was announced last year, but some information on the service can be found on the company's website. To get started using the robotaxis, users must download the Robotaxi app and use their Tesla account to log in, where it then functions like most ridesharing apps. "Our fleet will initially consist of model year 2025 Model Y vehicles," the service's FAQ section reads. "Riders are prohibited from sitting in the front-left seat, which is typically a driver's customary seating position." Tesla notes that children are not allowed to ride in the vehicles and only service animals are permitted to accompany disabled riders. "Riders may not always be delivered to their intended destinations or may experience inconveniences, interruptions, or discomfort related to the Robotaxi," the company wrote in a disclaimer in its terms of service. "Tesla may modify or cancel rides in its discretion, including for example due to weather conditions." The terms of service include a clause that Tesla will not be liable for "any indirect, consequential, incidental, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, including lost profits or revenues, lost data, lost time, the costs of procuring substitute transportation services, or other intangible losses" from the use of the robotaxis. As reported by The Guardian, Musk previously told reporters that there may be less than a dozen cars available to the public in Austin during the Sunday launch. It was not immediately clear if human drivers would be in the cars during the rollout, which has become a standard practice during launches by rival companies. Meanwhile, Tesla's robotaxis have already received some pushback from Democratic lawmakers in Texas, who penned a letter last week asking the company to delay the launch until at least September. "Next week, Tesla plans to launch robotaxis in Austin -- before Texas' new AV safety law takes effect. We're urging a delay until those safety standards are in place," Texas Sen. Sarah Eckhardt said in a post to social media. "Public trust comes from safety and transparency. We look forward to working with Tesla to achieve both."
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
川普特使籲馬斯克「1件事」伸援手 幫幫伊朗好朋友
在俄烏衝突中為烏克蘭提供了極大幫助的星鏈（Starlink），即將前進伊朗？川普特使格瑞內爾（Richard Grenell）公開請求億萬富豪馬斯克，接下來數周內在伊朗免費啟用其SpaceX公司所開發的衛星網路服務「星鏈」。 格瑞內爾在社群平台X上發文，直接向馬斯克提問，「你是否能在接下來的幾個星期內，對伊朗免費開通『星鏈』」服務？我在伊朗的朋友們目前無法正常獲取資訊」。格瑞內爾更進一步表示，他個人非常願意為此舉「捐款」，並且深信會有其他人一同響應。馬斯克目前尚未公開回應。 Can you turn on @Starlink for free in Iran for the next few weeks, @elonmusk?My friends inside Iran don't have regular access to information right now. I'll chip in a donation and I think others would, too. — Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) June 21, 2025 先前在俄烏衝突爆發後，馬斯克曾緊急授權烏克蘭軍方使用星鏈，並支援了大量星鏈通訊終端。而烏克蘭則藉此進行定位，並操控無人機等發動攻擊，取得了大量戰果。 以色列13日針對伊朗多地發動大規模空襲以來，伊朗近半的時間處於通訊中斷狀態，不僅無法與外界聯繫，也無法與全國各地的親屬聯繫。 伊朗在實施全國斷網近3天後，於當地時間21日晚上陸續恢復網路連線。伊朗政府之前聲稱，實施斷網是因為遭到以色列的網路安全威脅。監控全球上網情況的非政府組織 ⚠️ Update: Internet connectivity has again collapsed in #Iran following a brief period when residents could exchange messages with the outside world; Iran's nation-scale internet shutdown remains in effect, limiting access to information as the conflict with Israel continues — NetBlocks (@netblocks) June 21, 2025 不過以色列反控伊朗斷網是為了控制通訊，讓伊朗民眾只能單方面接受伊朗當局所聲稱的戰爭順利假象。「伊朗政權對資訊領域的控制非常非常嚴格，」數位權利組織Access Now駐柏林的政策和倡議總監Marwa Fatafta在接受美聯社採訪時表示，「我們知道伊朗政權關閉網站的原因。他們想要控制資訊。所以他們的目標非常明確」。 更多中時新聞網報導為繼承1.6億 倒賠2千萬遺產稅 卻一毛都拿不到 這個稅務炸彈「99％的人都不知道」美若轟炸伊朗 誰抖到不行？華爾街曝最慘結局 後面骨牌全倒勞工過世遺屬有4筆錢可領！「這1種」常忽略 2.4萬戶百萬退休金被充公
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Honda Now Makes VTOL Rockets and Early Tests Are Encouraging
If we needed any further indication that the 21st-century space race is heating up, Japanese car maker Honda has thrown its hat in the ring with a successful test of a reusable first-stage rocket. Said to have been under development for at least six years, the rocket flew to a height of 900 feet before returning carefully and safely to the launch pad, completely intact. Although the space shuttle pioneered the idea of reusable launch vehicles in the 1970s, it was only in the 2000s and 2010s that the idea really took off. The SpaceX Falcon 9 became the first commercial launch vehicle to nail the reusable first-stage concept, but others have followed in its wake, and many more are expected from US and Chinese aerospace firms in the 2020s. Honda just demonstrated the first potential Japanese launch vehicle that could do much the same. In this test, Honda launched a small rocket, measuring just 21 feet tall and 2.8 feet in diameter, weighing just under 2,900 pounds when fully fuelled up. The rocket took off from its launch pedestal, retracting its landing legs in the process. It then flew carefully to its intended height of around 900 feet before extending fins similar to those of the Falcon 9 and performing a controlled descent. It touched back down within just a few inches of its intended target, according to Honda. The flight lasted just under a minute. Honda said that this test represented the successful deployment of "key technologies essential for rocket reusability, such as flight stability during ascent and descent, as well as landing capability." Honda has discussed its rocket efforts before. As Ars Technica points out, in 2021 it said it had been working on a small launch vehicle for the previous two years and hoped to develope a reusable rocket design that could take a metric ton of payload into orbit. Honda hasn't suggested whether this rocket is the prototype for that design or just a way to test key technologies. It has previously said it would work on rocketry until 2025/2026 and then make a decision on whether to continue, so this test may have been an important indicator of Honda's future plans. "In this market environment, Honda has chosen to take on the technological challenge of developing reusable rockets by utilizing Honda technologies amassed in the development of various products and automated driving systems, based on a belief that reusable rockets will contribute to achieving sustainable transportation," Honda said in a statement.
