Next SpaceX Starship High Altitude Test Launch Coming Very Soon
Hey all you space exploration fans: SpaceX s Starship prototype SN11 is on the launch pad at Boca Chica Beach in southern Texas, undergoing work on engines and other components, getting ready for the ship s high altitude test flight which may take place this Sunday, March 21, 2021.
As always, the flight will be contingent on weather, the readiness of the raptor engines, the successful static fire testing of the powerful Raptor engines, as well as all the other components of the craft.
Some sources report that Sunday will be the earliest opportunity in the schedule for the flight, which will top-out at about 10km, or 33,000 feet, followed by the belly flop maneuver and return to the pad for a (hopefully) upright and intact landing.
AMSAT/Vanderbilt RadFXSat-2/Fox 1E Set to Launch 01/11/2021
UPDATED 2021-01-12 @ 1902 UTC: Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne has scrubbed the Wednesday launch date and now says it will launch no earlier than Sunday, January 17. The vehicle will carry the AMSAT/Vanderbilt RadFXSat-2/Fox-1E CubeSat into space. The LauncherOne vehicle will carry 10 other satellites. RadFXSat-2/Fox-1E carries an inverting linear transponder, with uplink at 145.860 MHz – 145.890 MHz, and downlink at 435.760 MHz – 435.790 MHz. Telemetry will downlink on 435.750 MHz.
More information is on the Space Launch Now website. Thanks to AMSAT News Service/
AMSAT-UK
Despite the mind-numbing stream of bad news surrounding the coronavirus, lockdowns, politics and much more, the year 2020 was full of progress in the space technology industry, and 2021 promises much more to come, and all at a rapid pace. Here s a quick roundup of just a few of the major players in space, and some of their plans for the coming months.
SpaceX is of course front and center with their reliable Falcon 9 launch system and it s rapid turnaround ability and multiple reusability of it s booster stages. Everyone said it couldn t be done, but Elon Musk s company has proven it certainly