321 Launch: Space news you may have missed over the past week (August 22)
SpaceX's latest Starlink launch lifts off from Cape Canaveral
Late Wednesday, Aug. 16, a SpaceX Falcon 9 carried more Starlink internet satellites to orbit after lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11:36 p.m. EDT. The 230-foot rocket vaulted away from Launch Complex 40 on a southeasterly trajectory over the Atlantic Ocean, skirting between the Florida coast and the Bahamas.
The rocket's first stage, which flew its 13th mission to date, completed an ocean landing aboard the Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship about eight minutes after liftoff.
NASA pushing toward Artemis II liftoff, program future in question
The four-person crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission got their first chance to visit Kennedy Space Center where, as early as next year, the Orion spacecraft that will be their home for a 10-day test flight to the moon and back is being prepared.
while officials were optimistic about the timeline for Artemis II, thrown into question was the future of the lunar-focused program, particularly Artemis III, and the key goal of returning American astronauts to the surface of the moon in 2025.
NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts arrive at KSC ahead of mission to International Space Station
Stepping out of a white-and-blue NASA jet, U.S. astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli waved to photographers and led her Crew-7 colleagues down the boarding stairs to chat with media about their upcoming half-year voyage aboard the orbiting International Space Station.
They will lift off aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft at 3:49 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 25. The Falcon 9 rocket will launch from pad 39A at KSC.
Space Perspective building balloons in Titusville to elevate tourists to the edge of space
Imagine watching dawn break from 100,000 feet above ground level, with the brilliant sun peeking above Earth's blue atmosphere into a deep-black starry sky with "incredible colors playing across the surface of the planet."
That's how Space Perspective founder and co-CEO Jane Poynter envisions the experiences of her company's future space tourists.
This sci-fi vision is taking tangible shape in Titusville. Tuesday morning, a host of officials will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Space Perspective's balloon-manufacturing facility — a 700-foot-long building — at Space Coast Regional Airport. The event starts at 11 a.m.
Upcoming launches:
August 22: SpaceX Starlink 6-11
Launch Date: Tuesday, August 22
Company / Agency: Internal SpaceX mission
Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
Location: Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Window: 8:47 p.m. until 12:46 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 23
Trajectory: Southeast
Weather: 85% "go"
Landing: Drone ship
About: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the company's latest batch of Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
August 22: SpaceX Crew-7
Launch Date: Friday, August 25
Company / Agency: SpaceX for NASA
Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
Location: Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center
Launch Time: 3:49 a.m. EDT
Trajectory: Northeast
Weather: TBD
Landing: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Landing Zone 1
About: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov on NASA's next long-duration crewed mission to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Endurance Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Contact Jamie Groh at JGroh@floridatoday.com and follow her on X.com at @AlteredJamie.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 321 Launch: Space news you may have missed over the past week (August 22)
