SpaceX launches Maxar 3 mission, high-resolution commercial satellites
Feb. 4 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched its Maxar 3 mission, with two high-resolution commercial satellites on board, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday after Monday's launch was scrubbed.
The Maxar 3 mission, which carried both WorldView Legion satellites into mid-inclination Earth orbit, lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at about 6:13 p.m. EST.
"SpaceX has confirmed that it is now set to launch our fifth and sixth WorldView Legion satellites from Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 4," Maxar Technologies wrote earlier Monday in a post on X, along with photos of the satellites.
Approximately 47 minutes after liftoff, the first WorldView Legion satellite was to be deployed. The second satellite was to be deployed about an hour and 50 minutes into the flight.
The two WorldView Legion satellites were shipped to Florida from Maxar Space Systems' factory in Palo Alto, Calif., in early January. The satellites will complete Maxar's first block of satellites, once released into orbit.
This is the fourth flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster 1086, which will support Tuesday's launch. The first stage booster previously launched GOES-U and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation eight minutes after launch, Falcon 9 will land on Landing Zone at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which could cause a sonic boom across Central Florida.
There are currently four WorldView Legion satellites operating in mid-inclination Earth orbit and six other satellites in a sun-synchronous orbit, according to Maxar Technologies.
"With satellites now in sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits, the Maxar constellation has more capacity for tasking than ever before -- an increase of 85% over the mid-latitudes of Earth!" Maxar Technologies wrote in December in a post on X.
Earlier Tuesday, Falcon 9 launched 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The satellites, which launched at 5:15 a.m., included 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities.
Direct to Cell capabilities allow Starlink satellites to "function as space-based cell towers, providing cellular service directly to standard LTE phones," according to SpaceX. Direct to Cell will enable global data service, texting and voice calls while "enhancing connectivity in remote or underserved areas."
Tuesday morning's flight was the 21st for the first stage booster, which previously launched OneWeb 1, SES 18+19, Eutelsat HOTBIRD-F1, CRS-24 and 17 Starlink missions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Amazon-ULA launch today: What to know about Project Kuiper launch from Cape Canaveral
It's launch day! Look for a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to propel Amazon's second batch of Project Kuiper internet-beaming satellites into low-Earth orbit this afternoon. ULA is targeting 1:25 p.m. to launch the Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Bolstered by five solid rocket boosters, the Atlas V will ascend along a northeasterly trajectory. No Brevard County sonic booms should occur. The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron pegged the odds of "go for launch" weather at 75%. Cumulus clouds present the prime risk, coupled with a low-to-moderate risk of solar activity interference. Specifically, ULA announced the launch-time forecast called for scattered clouds and high-level cirrus clouds, a chance of isolated showers, good visibility, southeasterly winds of 15 to 21 mph, and a temperature near 82 degrees. Check back for live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team launch coverage updates on this page, starting about two hours before the target launch time. When ULA's live webcast begins about 20 minutes before liftoff, look for it posted below next to our countdown clock. Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, Axiom, ULA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral Countdown Timer For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter. Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Amazon satellite launch today: What to know before liftoff from Cape
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Opinion - After the Trump-Musk dustup, NASA has much to consider
The social media-driven feud between President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk may have simmered down a bit, with the rhetoric cooling and Musk even deleting some of his ill-considered posts about Trump from X and then apologizing for them. But the shockwaves generated by the tit-for-tat insults and threats still reverberate through NASA and the commercial space sector. When Trump threatened to pull all of SpaceX's government contracts and Musk responded by threatening to decommission the Dragon spacecraft, an apocalyptic scenario that would have cripped NASA loomed. Fortunately, both men have since backed off. Even so, according to the Washington Post, NASA and the Defense Department are quietly urging commercial space companies to hurry the development of hardware that can compete with what SpaceX has to offer. Encouraging competition with SpaceX is sound policy regardless of the relationship between Trump and Musk. However, that competition is months, if not years, in the future. The next flight of the Boeing Starliner, which failed so spectacularly in 2024, will be early next year at the earliest. The Blue Origin New Glenn, an answer to the SpaceX Falcon family of rockets, may launch once more this year and is a long way from achieving Falcon-level launch cadence. It is in Trump's and Musk's interests, and that of the American space effort, that both men repair their relationship and move on. One of the issues that drove Trump and Musk apart was Trump's abrupt and inexplicable withdrawal of the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and private space traveler, for NASA administrator. Musk had championed Isaacman, who is well regarded in the aerospace community, and took it to heart when Trump changed his mind about his own nominee. The resulting leadership vacuum at NASA is being filled by Congress. The Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), has offered its own ideas for a NASA budget. The Senate Commerce document is at odds with the White House proposal in one important aspect. Whereas the Trump budget eliminates the Space Launch System after Artemis III and the Lunar Gateway, Senate Commerce would retain the massive, expensive rocket at least through Artemis V and would build the Gateway to support future Artemis missions. A NASA administrator such as Isaacman would be able to argue for the White House's approach. As for Isaacman, some people in the MAGA world, no doubt stung by the near-universal outrage sparked by his treatment at the hands of the White House, have started to trash the former nominee in the media. A recent Daily Caller story quoted unnamed White House officials accusing Isaacman of not only giving money to Democrats but of supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at his companies and in his private spaceflights. But both of these facts were known when Isaacman was nominated. According to the story, the officials said, 'Isaacman would have been a black spot on an administration otherwise filled with Republican Trump supporters or, at least, individuals like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who backed the president prior to the election.' To hear these unnamed sources talk, Isaacman is no better than left-wing House members Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and their Squad. It should be noted that even if Isaacman wanted to impose DEI policies at NASA, he couldn't because of Trump's executive order prohibiting it across the federal government. Isaacman posted to X in his own defense: 'I am a moderate and donated to both parties for different reasons … my largest contribution was to President Trump — because I support many of his policies. I definitely did not like the direction this country was going over the last 4 years.' He went on to state, 'I have never spoken against the President. I have never voted against him.' It sounds like Isaacman is very loyal to Trump, remarkable under the circumstances. The suggestion of disloyalty is spurious and against the White House's interests. Isaacman's situation could provide the basis of a rapprochement between Trump and Musk. Musk has already apologized to the president for some of his posts on X, particularly the one suggesting that Trump is named in the Department of Justice's files on Jeffrey Epstein. But the president should admit fault as well. He was deceived by some of his staff about Isaacman's character. If it is not too late, he should reverse himself a second time and send his fellow billionaire's name back into nomination. NASA, the U.S., and the Trump-Musk partnership would gain as a result. Mark R. Whittington, who writes frequently about space policy, has published a political study of space exploration entitled 'Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?' as well as 'The Moon, Mars and Beyond,' and, most recently, 'Why is America Going Back to the Moon?' He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Superloop (ASX:SLC) shareholders have earned a 63% CAGR over the last three years
Generally speaking, investors are inspired to be stock pickers by the potential to find the big winners. Not every pick can be a winner, but when you pick the right stock, you can win big. Take, for example, the Superloop Limited (ASX:SLC) share price, which skyrocketed 336% over three years. It's also good to see the share price up 39% over the last quarter. Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns. This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. Superloop wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth. Superloop's revenue trended up 30% each year over three years. That's much better than most loss-making companies. And it's not just the revenue that is taking off. The share price is up 63% per year in that time. Despite the strong run, top performers like Superloop have been known to go on winning for decades. In fact, it might be time to put it on your watchlist, if you're not already familiar with the stock. The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). Take a more thorough look at Superloop's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet. It's good to see that Superloop has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 88% in the last twelve months. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 22%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Australian exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
