This month, we traveled west to Long Beach, California, where we were invited to tour Rocket Lab Headquarters. Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab was rooted in Auckland, New Zealand. They are the first privately owned company in the Southern Hemisphere to reach space with its Ātea-1 single-stage rocket. They have additionally developed a long way from their South Pacific … [Read more...]
To Nona & Beyond: Project Kuiper
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V 501 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 on October 6. Onboard were two prototype satellites, labeled KuiperSat 1 and 2, destined for LEO (Low Earth Orbit). As a part of Project Kuiper, a project over five years in the making, future missions will eventually contribute to a constellation of more than 3,200 … [Read more...]
To Nona & Beyond: Progress at SpaceX’s Starbase
SpaceX has made a great deal of progress at Starbase since our first visit in January 2021. Back then, their launch facility was rather barren – with the pad for Starship only consisting of a couple of columns. Fast forward to today, and there is now a massive tower that exceeds the height of neighboring South Padre Island’s tallest building. The 146m (479ft) tall launch tower … [Read more...]
To Nona & Beyond: SpaceX’s 60th Launch of 2022
On Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 4:34 a.m., we witnessed SpaceX’s 60th launch of 2022. The clear conditions made for optimal viewing from Lake Nona as Falcon 9 arched over The Wave Hotel, illuminating the early morning skies. The payload included 54 Starlink satellites that were delivered to low Earth orbit. This was the first mission dedicated to the second-generation Starlink … [Read more...]
To Nona & Beyond: SpaceX’s New Drone Ship
On July 15, SpaceX’s long-awaited autonomous spaceport drone ship named “A Shortfall of Gravitas” (ASOG) arrived at Port Canaveral. A drone ship serves as an ocean-based landing platform for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster. However, unlike all previous drone ships, ASOG has the capability to autonomously navigate to the appropriate landing zone and make its way back to port! This is … [Read more...]