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Tag: SpaceX

SpaceX makes history after launching rocket from Florida and landing booster in Bahamas

SpaceX has pulled off a historic feat, after launching a rocket into space from the coast of Florida and landing the rocket booster in another country.

Tuesday’s mission marked the first time a Falcon 9 landed on a droneship off the coast of the Bahamas.

Nearly eight minutes after blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Falcon 9’s first stage booster landed on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship stationed off the coast of the Bahamas, in the Atlantic Ocean.

BOEING STARLINER UNDOCKS FROM SPACE STATION, HEADS BACK TO EARTH UNMANNED AS CREW STAYS BEHIND

SpaceX lands a Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship off the coast of the Bahamas (Handout)

“This is the first time that a rocket has taken off from one country, gone to space and landed in another country!” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X.

The commercial space company said being able to land in the Bahamas allows Falcon 9 to maximize its performance by launching into a southeast trajectory from the Florida Space Coast.

SPACEX PULLS OFF HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT, LAUNCHING FOUR ROCKETS IN LESS THAN 40 HOURS

SpaceX lands a Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship off the coast of the Bahamas (Handout)

For instance, launching toward the southeast allows SpaceX to put additional satellites into orbit, while also allowing the rockets to launch human spaceflight missions like Fram2, a polar-orbit human spaceflight mission to explore Earth.

SpaceX also said landing off the coast of the Bahamas provides greater winter weather for recovery options, which will allow the Falcon booster to continue to provide “rapid and reliable service” for the company’s customers.

SPACEX LAUNCHES MISSION TO SPACE STATION THAT WILL BRING BACK STRANDED NASA ASTRONAUTS NEXT YEAR

SpaceX lands a Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship off the coast of the Bahamas (Handout)

The Falcon 9 booster used in Tuesday’s mission was previously used to launch eight astronauts to the space station, critical cargo and supplies to the orbital lab, and send over 200 Starlink satellites into orbit, among other things.

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In fact, on Tuesday, the booster helped deliver another 23 Starlink satellites into orbit before making its return to terrestrial Earth.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

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February 19, 2025
Duffy says SpaceX workers will visit Air Traffic Control System Command Center

SpaceX workers will visit the Air Traffic Control System Command Center on Monday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted in a Sunday post on X, in which he also mentioned former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with whom he recently engaged in a social media spat.

“America deserves safe, state-of-the-art air travel, and President Trump has ordered that I deliver a new, world-class air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world,” Duffy declared, noting that he’d welcome assistance from American developers or businesses.

“To do that, I need advice from the brightest minds in America. I’m asking for help from any high-tech American developer or company that is willing to give back to our country.

SEAN DUFFY TELLS HILLARY CLINTON TO ‘SIT THIS ONE OUT’ AFTER SHE CHIMES IN ON HIS DOGE ANNOUNCEMENT

Left: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks to reporters about the collision of an American Airlines flight with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport, in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C.; Right: Hillary Clinton at the Navalny Screening held at the Museum of Modern Art on Jan. 30, 2025 in New York, N.Y. (Left: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Right: Lexie Moreland/WWD via Getty Images)

“Tomorrow, members of @elonmusk’s SpaceX team will be visiting the Air Traffic Control System Command Center in VA to get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system.”

He then brought up Clinton.

“Because I know the media (and Hillary Clinton) will claim Elon’s team is getting special access, let me make clear that the @FAANews regularly gives tours of the command center to both media and companies.”

SENATE CONFIRMS TRUMP PICK SEAN DUFFY FOR TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY

In the post on Sunday, Duffy also said that he will visit the FAA Academy this week.

“Later in the week, I will travel to the FAA Academy in Oklahoma to meet with air traffic controller instructors and students to learn more about their education and how we can ensure that only the very best guide our aircrafts,” he noted.

“My door at @USDOT is open to any and all patriotic developers or companies who want to help our country in this incredible, game-changing mission. I hope to hear from any company committed to ushering in America’s golden age of travel!”

President Donald Trump tapped business magnate Elon Musk to spearhead the Department of Government Efficiency, an effort to uncover federal government waste, fraud, and abuse.

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY REASSURES PUBLIC ABOUT AIR TRAVEL SAFETY AFTER DEADLY CRASH: ‘SAFEST FORM OF TRAVEL’

Left: Sean Duffy, US secretary of transportation, during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025; Right: In this photo illustration a SpaceX logo seen displayed on a smartphone (Left: Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Right: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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“The safety of air travel is a non-partisan matter. SpaceX engineers will help make air travel safer,” Musk wrote in response to Duffy’s tweet.

Earlier this month, Clinton and Duffy engaged in a back and forth on X after Duffy noted that the DOGE team would help upgrade the aviation system.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

February 17, 2025
Trump, Musk join forces to bring stranded NASA astronauts back via SpaceX after Biden admin ‘abandoned’ them

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he has tasked his new Department of Government Efficiency head, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, with bringing home two astronauts who he said have been “abandoned” by the Biden administration.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been in space for the last 8 months and Trump blasted the former president for not acting sooner.

“I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to ‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration. They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!” posted Trump.

MUSK’S SPACEX TO HELP RETURN ASTRONAUTS DESPITE FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS OF BILLIONAIRE’S BUSINESSES

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were the flight crew on Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which is recovering from a series of issues. (NASA / Getty Images)

Musk also took to social media to express his disdain and vowed to bring them home “as soon as possible.”

“The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @SpaceStation as soon as possible. We will do so,” Musk posted via X Tuesday evening. “Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore (L) and Pilot Suni Williams walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building on June 05, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Wilmore and Williams have been in space since June. The mission was initially only meant to be a week long.

The NASA pilots arrived at the International Space Station on a Starliner, but issues with the capsule developed in the form of helium leaks and thruster problems making it too risky for people to utilize the ship to travel back to Earth.

BOEING STARLINER LAUNCHES 2 NASA ASTRONAUTS INTO SPACE IN FIRST PILOTED TEST FLIGHT

A plan was in place to rescue the two on a SpaceX capsule arriving back on Earth by February, but it was delayed. (Fox News )

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A plan was in place to rescue the two on a SpaceX capsule arriving back on Earth by February, but it was delayed.

Musk has delayed the launch of replacement astronauts at this time. Once the replacement astronauts reach the space station, the pair can go home.

January 29, 2025
SpaceX to launch Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, will release more Starlink satellites

EntrepreneurShares LLC COO Eva Ados explains why President Trump and Elon Musk could achieve their Mars goal on ‘Making Money.’

SpaceX is preparing to launch a Falcon 9 rocket on Monday with Starlink internet-beaming satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The four-hour launch window opens at 2:21 p.m. ET, according to the Kennedy Space Center.

The launch site in Brevard County, which is about an hour east of Orlando theme parks, allows people from near and far to see, as long as cloud cover, weather and visibility cooperate.

“SpaceX’s Starlink is the constellation of networked satellites aimed to provide internet services to those who are not yet connected, and to provide reliable and affordable internet across the globe,” Kennedy Space Center says on the launch details website.

SPACEX’S STARSHIP GROUNDS AFTER TEST FLIGHT EXPLOSION

SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer, successfully launches a Falcon 9 rocket with multiple Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 24, 2025, in Lompoc, California. (George Rose / Getty Images)

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the other side of the country on Friday, when 23 Starlink satellites were delivered “to the constellation” after launching from California, SpaceX said on X.

Falcon 9 is dubbed the “world’s first orbital class reusable rocket,” SpaceX says. It has completed 426 missions, 382 total landings and 355 total reflights, according to the aerospace company’s website.

BILLIONAIRE ON SPACEX POLARIS DAWN MISSION CONDUCTS FIRST PRIVATE SPACEWALK

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 6, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Just 10 days ago, a SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk’s flagship rocket program.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, is seen in August 2024. (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto / Getty Images)

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SpaceX mission control lost contact with the newly upgraded Starship, carrying its first test payload of mock satellites but no crew, eight minutes after liftoff from its South Texas rocket facilities at 5:38 p.m. ET.

Reuters contributed to this report.

January 26, 2025
SpaceX launches four rockets in less than 40 hours

In less than 48 hours, SpaceX pulled off a stunning feat, conducting four launches in three states, with huge implications for the future of space exploration.

The first launch came on Sunday, with the enormous Starship rocket blasting off from the southern tip of Texas. Remarkably, the first-stage booster flew back to the launch pad, where the tower’s metal arms caught the descending 232-foot booster.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called it a “Big step towards making life multiplanetary.”

SPACEX LAUNCHES MISSION TO SPACE STATION THAT WILL BRING BACK STRANDED NASA ASTRONAUTS NEXT YEAR

The spacecraft continued its journey around the world, soaring more than 130 miles high before eventually landing in the Indian Ocean, piling on SpaceX’s achievements.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with a NASA spacecraft bound for Jupiter lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, with 33 methane-fuel engines on the booster alone.

The next day, a NASA spacecraft lifted off aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, bound for Jupiter and its moon Europa.

The Europa Clipper will peer beneath the moon’s icy crust to determine whether conditions there could support life.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with a NASA spacecraft bound for Jupiter lifts off at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Then on early Tuesday, SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets – one from Florida and another in California – sending dozens of Starlink satellites into orbit.

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The first launch, from Cape Canaveral, marked SpaceX’s 100th launch of the year, with still two-and-a-half months left in 2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues, and much more.

January 23, 2025