SpaceX Archives - Defence Monitor

04 Sep

Gujarat leaders congratulate ISRO on successful GSLV-F17 launch, EOS-05 deployment

Gandhinagar, Sep 4 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Friday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), following the successful launch of the GSLV-F17 carrying the EOS-05 Earth observation satellite and described the mission as a "significant achievement" for India’s space programme. The GSLV-F17 lifted off from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 2:55 a.m. on Friday and successfully placed EOS-05 into a sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit. ISRO said the mission marks the first time India has placed an imaging Earth observation satellite in a geosynchronous orbit.…

11 Mar

SpaceX aces double launch of 46 Starlink satellites under 6 hours

New Delhi, March 11, Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX on Monday aced double launches of 46 Starlink internet satellites in low-Earth orbit -- all under just six hours. The satellites lifted onboard the company’s reusable, two-stage Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the company said, in a statement. The first set of 23 satellites lifted off at 4:35 am on Monday (India time). “This was the 11th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-5, GPS III Space Vehicle 06, Inmarsat I6-F2, CRS-28, Intelsat G-37,…

05 Jan

Musk’s SpaceX sues US labour agency after being accused of illegally firing workers

San Francisco, Jan 5, Elon Musk-run SpaceX has sued the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) after the agency filed a complaint against SpaceX, saying it illegally fired eight employees for criticising its CEO. In a lawsuit filed in federal court late on Thursday, SpaceX claimed that the NLRB's actions are unconstitutional. "This action stems from an unlawful attempt by the NLRB to subject SpaceX to an administrative proceeding whose structure violates Article II, the Fifth Amendment, and the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of the US," read the lawsuit filed in the US state of Texas. It claimed that…

04 Jan

US labour agency accuses SpaceX of illegally firing workers who criticised Musk

San Francisco, Jan 4, The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed a complaint against SpaceX, saying it illegally fired eight employees for criticising its CEO Elon Musk. The labour agency also alleged that SpaceX interrogated, surveilled and threatened workers. The NLRB will now seek to reach a settlement with SpaceX and if it fails, the aerospace company will face a court hearing in March. The labour agency claimed SpaceX “created an impression of surveillance” by reading and showing screenshots of messages between employees. Last year, a group of SpaceX employees wrote an open letter to express concerns about…

02 Sep

Apple-backed Globalstar signs $64 mn launch pact with SpaceX

San Francisco, Sep 2, Apple-backed satellite network operator Globalstar has bought launches from Elon Musk-run SpaceX worth $64 million. Apple is reimbursing Globalstar for 95 per cent of the capital expenditures related to the satellites, including the launch costs, reports TechCrunch, citing regulatory filings. The tech giant would use 85 per cent of Globalstar’s network capacity to provide emergency satellite connectivity for iPhones outside of cellular networks. The Globalstar launches are scheduled for 2025 and will send at least 17 new satellites to the low-Earth orbit. Globalstar entered into a $327 million purchase agreement with MDA for those satellites in…

12 Jul

China launches methane-powered rocket ahead of SpaceX

New Delhi, July 12, China on Wednesday became the first country to successfully launch a new methane-powered carrier rocket into space, beating Elon Musk's SpaceX. Chinese private aerospace company LandSpace's Zhuque-2 carrier rocket blasted off at 9 a.m. Beijing Time (6.30 a.m. IST) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert in China, and completed the flight mission according to the procedure, Xinhua news agency reported. This was the second flight mission of the Zhuque-2 carrier rocket, after an unsuccessful launch on December 14, last year. With the successful launch, LandSpace is now at the forefront for the race…

21 Jun

PM Modi discusses spirituality with Elon Musk

New Delhi, June 21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that apart from discussing energy with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, they also touched upon the topic of spirituality. Modi met Musk on Tuesday as part of his three-day state visit to the US, where he met several prominent personalities from across the spectrum. "Great meeting you today @elonmusk! We had multifaceted conversations on issues ranging from energy to spirituality," the prime minister said in a tweet. Musk reacted: "Great conversation" with Modi. The Tesla CEO also posted about his meeting with Modi in New York: "It was an…

21 Jun

I’m a fan of Modi, plan to visit India next year: Elon Musk

New York, June 21 (IANS) Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the US on a three-day state visit, and said that he is a fan of Modi and plans to visit the country next year. Musk, who is yet to bring his electric car-maker Tesla to India, said the country is great for solar energy investment. "I am a fan of Modi. India is great for solar energy investment. We are also hoping to bring Starlink internet to India," the outgoing Twitter CEO told reporters here late on Tuesday. "I am incredibly excited…

19 Jun

SpaceX deploys Indonesia’s SATRIA-1 communications satellite in orbit

San Francisco, June 19 (IANS) Elon Musk's SpaceX has successfully deployed Indonesia's new communications satellite into orbit, the company said on Monday. The SATRIA-1 telecommunications satellite lifted off on a Falcon 9 rocket at 6:21 p.m. EDT (3:51 a.m. IST) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday. SATRIA-1 (short for "Satellite of the Republic of Indonesia") will be operated for the Indonesian government by the Indonesian company PSN. "Deployment of PSN SATRIA confirmed," SpaceX wrote on Twitter. The PSN SATRIA mission marked the 12th launch and landing for the Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched CRS-22,…

15 Jun

Musk says SpaceX will launch Starship in about 2 months

San Francisco, June 15 (IANS) SpaceX will again launch its huge Starship vehicle for an orbital test flight in about 2 months time, company founder and CEO Elon Musk has said. On Twitter Musk was requested for an update on Starship. The next test would be in "6 to 8 weeks", the SpaceX chief replied. A similar timeline was laid out by Musk in late April, where on Twitter Spaces he stated that the launch pad and the next Starship vehicle should be ready to launch in six to eight weeks. On April 20, the first flight test of SpaceX's fully…