TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      E.tv in stunning victory over minister in digital TV fight

      28 June 2022

      It’s official: stage-6 load shedding is here

      28 June 2022

      Stage-6 load shedding highly likely later today

      28 June 2022

      Prosus sale plan sends Chinese tech stocks tumbling

      28 June 2022

      Takealot is ready for the Amazon onslaught: Bob van Dijk

      27 June 2022
    • World

      Ether holds its breath for the Merge

      28 June 2022

      Google Cloud customers will learn their Gmail carbon footprint

      28 June 2022

      The lights are going out for crypto’s laser-eyed grifters

      28 June 2022

      Crypto retakes $1-trillion

      27 June 2022

      Tencent slides on Prosus sale plan

      27 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022

      Sheryl Sandberg’s ad empire leaves a complicated legacy

      2 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»SpaceX caps record 2018 with launch of GPS satellite

    SpaceX caps record 2018 with launch of GPS satellite

    News By Agency Staff24 December 2018
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX capped a record-setting year on Sunday when it launched a rocket carrying a new GPS III satellite for the US Air Force, after delaying the mission several times because of a technical issue involving its rocket sensors and bad weather.

    The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 8.51am local time carrying the Lockheed Martin-built satellite. SpaceX first won US Air Force certification for national security space missions in spring 2015, breaking the lock on sensitive satellite launches long held by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The GPS III will go into medium-Earth orbit roughly one hour and 56 minutes after liftoff, according to the SpaceX press kit.

    This was SpaceX’s 21st launch of the year, up from a record 18 in 2017. The company has been able to cut costs and win market share by designing its rockets for reusability. This time, however, SpaceX won’t attempt to land Falcon 9’s first stage after the launch, the company said in its press kit, citing mission requirements.

    In 2019, the big race is who is going to be the first company to put humans into space and bring them back

    ULA has flown eight missions in 2018, and a ninth is scheduled for no earlier than 30 December from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California’s central coast.

    “SpaceX has had a phenomenal year no matter how you slice it,” Luigi Peluso, an aerospace and defence consultant at AlixPartners, said in a phone interview. “In 2019, the big race is who is going to be the first company to put humans into space and bring them back. You’ve got SpaceX, Boeing, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin all vying.”

    Nasa contract

    SpaceX, along with Boeing, has a contract to ferry American astronauts to the International Space Station as part of what’s known as the Commercial Crew programme with Nasa, but the timeline for the first flights has slipped repeatedly. The agency’s current schedule has SpaceX’s first uncrewed demonstration flight on 17 January and its first flight with astronauts on board in June.

    Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX’s valuation has climbed as it has racked up successful missions, making it the third-most valuable venture-backed start-up in the US after Uber Technologies and Airbnb. The Wall Street Journal reported last Tuesday that SpaceX is poised to raise another US$500-million by selling stock at a $30.5-billion valuation, citing people familiar with the transaction.  — Reported by Dana Hull and Jack Kaskey, (c) 2018 Bloomberg LP

    Elon Musk SpaceX
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleNasdaq ends the year in a bear market
    Next Article Should you ditch your car for Uber?

    Related Posts

    E.tv in stunning victory over minister in digital TV fight

    28 June 2022

    It’s official: stage-6 load shedding is here

    28 June 2022

    Ether holds its breath for the Merge

    28 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    How your business can help hybrid workers effectively

    28 June 2022

    Hands off our satellite spectrum!

    27 June 2022

    Watch | Telviva One: adapting to the requirements of business

    24 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.