Heena Sharma Blog

  SpaceX will launch the " DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon " in the first quarter of next year, with Elon Musk's commercial rocket company accepting the meme-inspired cryptocurrency dogecoin as payment. "SpaceX launching satellite Doge-1 to the moon next year - Mission paid for in Doge - 1st crypto in space - 1st meme in space", Musk said in a tweet https://bit.ly/3betdTm. Geometric Energy Corporation announced the dogecoin-funded mission earlier on Sunday, with the statement not disclosing the mission's financial value. "This mission will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce", SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales Tom Ochinero was quoted as saying in the statement released by Geometric Energy. Musk said on Twitter in April that SpaceX was going to put a "literal Dogecoin on the literal moon". Read More

  US space agency NASA is set to launch SpaceX Crew Dragon second flight to the International Space Station on April 22, it said. The Crew-2 with four astronauts on board, will lift-off at 6:11 a.m. EDT on April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew-2 flight will carry NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur -- whoa-will serve as the mission's spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively -- along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronauta-Akihikoa-Hoshidea-and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomasa-Pesquet, whoa-will serve as mission specialists to the space station, the space agency said in a statement. The mission is the second of the six certified, crew missions NASA, and SpaceX will fly as a part of the agency's Commercial Crew Programme. Crew-1 successfully docked into the ISS in November, last year. Read More

  SpaceX has cancelled the planned launch of a Falcon 9 carrier rocket with 60 Starlink satellites. "Auto-abort at T-1:24 ahead of tonight's Falcon 9 launch of Starlink; next launch opportunity is tomorrow, March 1 at 8:15 p.m. EST [03:15 GMT on Tuesday]," SpaceX said on Twitter on Sunday. The company did not specify the reasons behind the delay. The Falcon 9 rocket was supposed to lift off from the Cape Canaveral (Kennedy) Air Force Station in Florida at 01:37 GMT on Monday. The mission aims to put 60 Starlink satellites into orbit. If successful at its next launch opportunity, it will expand SpaceX's fleet of broadband relay satellites to include over 1,200 (some of them are prototypes that are no longer in service). The Starlink project seeks to provide affordable access to broadband internet connection across the world. Read More

  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US has awarded Elon Musk's SpaceX $886 million as part of a programme to help bring high-speed broadband Internet to the country's rural areas. A total of 180 bidders won part of the auction support totaling $9.2 billion to be distributed over the next 10 years, the FCC said on Monday. "I'm thrilled with the incredible success of this auction, which brings welcome news to millions of unconnected rural Americans who for too long have been on the wrong side of the digital divide. They now stand to gain access to high-speed, high-quality broadband service," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement. Read More

  The launch of next batch of satellites of SpaceX's Starlink project was postponed on Saturday due to inclement weather during pre-flight operations. According to SpaceX , the next launch could take place on Tuesday, September 1 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. "Standing down from today's launch of Starlink due to inclement weather during pre-flight operations. Next launch opportunity is Tuesday, September 1 at 9:29 a.m. EDT, pending Range acceptance," SpaceX tweeted. Starlink is the next-generation satellite network capable of providing Earth's inhabitants with broadband internet access, Sputnik reported. The project's implementation began in February 2018. In total, it plans to launch about 12,000 satellites. Read More  

SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket on Tuesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying 24 experimental satellites in what Elon Musk’s rocket company called one of the most difficult launches it has attempted. The craft blasted off to cheers from onlookers at 2:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) after a three-hour delay from the original launch time late Monday. The boosters separated safely as the craft began its six-hour mission to deploy the satellites. The two-side booster rockets returned safely to Earth, landing on adjacent Air Force landing pads, but the rocket’s center booster missed its mark, crashing in the Atlantic ocean. Musk, who predicted trouble with landing the center booster on SpaceX’s drone ship in the Atlantic, said on Twitter early Tuesday, “It was a long shot.” The mission, dubbed Space Test Program 2 (STP-2), is the third for the Falcon Heavy rocket, which SpaceX describes as the most powerful launch system in the world. It was commissioned by the US...