On the first edition of Last Week in Space, our new podcast, Cape Canaveral-based space journalist Chris Gebhardt joins our own Robin Seemangal to discuss this past week’s biggest space stories.
Amazon founder and world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, unveiled the next big step for his spaceflight company Blue Origin. On Thursday May 10th, in an answer to NASA’s call for a return to the moon by 2024, Blue Origin revealed their new “Blue Moon” lunar lander during a glitzy presentation in Washington DC.
NASA announced last week that it would be hosting a social in the days leading up to the SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launch. The launch will be the second official mission of the Falcon Heavy and its third flight overall. For this upcoming flight, the United States Air Force is the primary customer, with NASA and The Planetary Society also hitching a ride.
The NASA Social program allows social media users to apply to cover the launch in a similar fashion to the media. The program offers tours that will include the largest single story building in the world, NASA’s historic Vehicle Assembly Building, and the launch pads that have hosted launches of the Apollo Saturn V rocket and the celebrated fleet of space shuttles. NASA Social attendees will also experience the liftoff the Falcon Heavy, the most powerful operational rocket in the world.
The mission is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than June 22nd. You can apply to attend here.
Visit Supercluster’s launch tracker for details on the upcoming Falcon Heavy STP-2 mission, its payloads, and when liftoff will occur.
Curious about the culture and vibe around Falcon Heavy launches? Join Supercluster's Robin Seemangal, WIRED’s Daniel Oberhaus, and CNN’s Jackie Wattles as they recall the experience of covering the Falcon Heavy demonstration flight last year, where Elon Musk launched his personal red Tesla Roadster toward Mars.
SpaceX’s very next launch will occur on Wednesday, May 15th during a 90-minute window that opens at 10:30 PM EDT. The Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and deliver SpaceX’s first batch of their own ‘Starlink’ satellites that will provide space-based internet coverage to customers. SpaceX will then attempt to recover the booster at sea on the ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ droneship.
Track the Starlink mission and follow Supercluster on twitter and instagram for launch coverage.
Those who wish to witness the upcoming Starlink and Falcon Heavy launch can find Supercluster’s Cape Canaveral launch viewing guide available here.