SpaceX launches first of twin Starlink missions, 45th Space Wing’s busy year continues
February 3, 2021
SpaceX launched their Starlink v1.0 L18 flight, or 19th Starlink mission, from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday, 4 February at 01:19 EST (06:19 UTC).
This is scheduled to be followed by a second Starlink mission from nearby LC-39A just under 28 hours later, keeping SpaceX on track to achieve their planned 48 launches this year while the Eastern Range and 45th Space Wing of the United States Space Force remain on target to reach their own goal of supporting at least 48 launches a year or one per week from Florida.
Media Invited to Cover Prelaunch and Launch Activities for Boeing’s OFT-2
Boeing’s Starliner crew module for the company’s second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) is lifted Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, in the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida prior to the vehicle having a weight and center of gravity test. Photo credit: Boeing/John Grant
Media accreditation now is open for prelaunch and launch activities for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station. Part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, NASA and Boeing are targeting no earlier than Thursday, March 25, for the second uncrewed launch of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.
PHOTOS: 18 years since the tragic Columbia Space Shuttle disaster
By FOX 35 News Staff
Published
18 years since Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
On February 1st, 2003, seven astronauts lost their lives as the Columbia Space Shuttle broke up during reentry.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On February 1st, 2003, seven astronauts lost their lives as the Columbia Space Shuttle broke up during re-entry.
The seven astronauts on board were Rick D. Husband, Kalpana Chawla, William C. McCool, David M. Brown, Laurel B. Clark, and Michael P. Anderson, and Ilan Ramon. They spent 16 days in space doing science experiments and research.
The Columbia Shuttle was said to be the second time the space agency lost a vehicle in a catastrophic accident. Prior to this was the Challenger tragedy in 1986.
NASA sets date for next Boeing Starliner launch
An artist s impression showing the Boeing Starliner capsule in orbit
Boeing
Boeing
Boeing/John Proferes
NASA and Boeing have set a target date for the second launch of the Starliner spacecraft, which was designed – along with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon – to return crewed launch capabilities to American soil.
Back in 2010 NASA launched the Commercial Crew Program (CCP), an initiative that sought to facilitate the creation of new human-rated spacecraft that would end America’s reliance on Russia’s ageing Soyuz capsules to transport astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
Rather than opting to construct the capsules themselves, the CCP subsidized commercial entities such as SpaceX, Boeing and the Sierra Nevada Corporation