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Update for Dec. 12: This story was updated to reflect U.S. Space Force's most current targeted launch date of Wednesday, Dec. 13.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is poised to launch the X-37B space plane for the U.S. Space Force Wednesday (Dec. 13) after several delays, and you can likely watch the action live.

Liftoff of the Falcon Heavy is scheduled to occur from Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, during a window that opens at 8:13 p.m. EST (0113 GMT Dec. 14). If, as expected, SpaceX webcasts the liftoff, you can watch it live here at Space.com.

SpaceX announced an initial delay of the flight by 24 hours early Sunday (Dec. 10). Then SpaceX scrubbed the planned Monday (Dec. 11) launch of the X-37B space plane due to a ground issue for at least 24 hours. The new launch date was announced on Tuesday (Dec. 12), targeting Wednesday (Dec. 13).

Related: The Space Force's secretive X-37B space plane: 10 surprising facts

The upcoming launch will be the seventh launch to date for the reusable X-37B space plane its first-ever ride on a Falcon Heavy, which could have consequences for its coming orbital mission.

Five of the six X-37B launches to date have employed United Launch Alliance Atlas V rockets, with one other using a SpaceX Falcon 9. Falcon Heavy, which utilizes three Falcon 9 boosters as its first stage, outclasses both of those other rockets when it comes to getting mass to orbit. According to a recent Space Force release, some of the objectives of the coming X-37B mission, known as OTV-7 ("Orbital Test Vehicle-7"), include "operating in new orbital regimes," which, given the launch vehicle, may indicate a higher orbit than usual, farther from Earth.

The upgrade in launch vehicle may also have to do with mass. The X-37B features a cargo bay to house equipment and experiments, and it could be carrying a secondary mission payload that requires Falcon Heavy's added lift capability.

The uncertainty here is not surprising; most details of X-37B missions are classified. However, USSF-52 does carry at lease one unclassified experiment: NASA's "Seeds-2" project, which will test the effects of radiation and long-duration spaceflight on plant seeds.

Each successive X-37B mission has been longer than its predecessors, with its most recent orbital jaunt lasting 908 days. That mission, called OTV-6, landed in November 2022.

When Falcon Heavy launches on Sunday, it will be the rocket's ninth mission to date. It will also be the fifth flight for the side boosters supporting this particular mission; the duo most recently launched NASA's Psyche probe, in October of this year.

Editor's note: This story was updated on Dec. 10 to reflect SpaceX's one-day delay of the launch of the Falcon Heavy and X-37B. It was also updated to reflect the scrubbed launch Dec. 11 and the new launch window announced Dec. 12.

Excerpt from:

SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to launch secretive X-37B space plane Dec. 13 after delay - Space.com

The private Chinese launch enterprise i-Space has successfully recycled a rocket just 38 days after its previous take-off.

i-Space, also known as Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology Company, is an operation that is backed by China to tap into the export market, just as it does with other successful projects in its private sector.

As reported by The Register, i-Spaces mission has been likened to Elon Musks Space X because its boosters make a vertical landing after most of the work is done, however, one key difference is that it is yet to reach orbit.

Despite that, progress has been made by the Chinese company after it set off a rocket on 10 December. That marked an impressive turnaround of 38 days from when the SQX-2Y test rocket first launched.

Using a liquid/methane combo for fuel, the Hyperbola-2Y test mission soared to over 170 meters before it returned to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert.

The entire mission was completed in just over a minute, 63.15 seconds, according to a press release from i-Space.

The company has pledged to use the new flight data to push on with its plans in the coming months. A test at sea will follow in 2024, once ground checks have been completed as i-Space inches closer to a first flight for the Hyperbola-3 rocket in 2025.

Standing at 69 meters long, the rocket will be able to lift 8.5 tons to low Earth orbit (LEO) in reusable mode.

i-Space wants to accelerate its operation in line with planned growth to the extent that it will be able to conduct 25 Hyperbola-3 launches per year by 2030.

If that materialises, the company is likely to find further backing and support from a partner in the form of the Chinese state, following on from their existing collaboration.

Other start-up companies developing launchers, with several named here, are not far behind iSpace in the race into orbit, following a 2014 policy shift in China.

See the rest here:

China's SpaceX wannabe recycles a rocket after just 38 days - ReadWrite

A Falcon 9 carrying 22 Starlink satellites lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Dec. 8, 2023. Image: SpaceX.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted from the West Coast with another batch of satellites for SpaceXs Starlink network at 12:03 a.m. PST Friday (3:03 a.m. EST / 0803 UTC). Including Starship test flights this was SpaceXs 100th launch in 365 days.

The Starlink 7-8 mission began from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and departed on a south-easterly direction, targeting a 183178 mile (295286 km) orbit, inclined at 53 degrees to the equator. SpaceXs webcast encountered technical difficulties and did not show the liftoff. It was the fastest turnaround for SpaceXs West Coast launch pad with six days, 13 hours, 43 minutes and 57 seconds passing since the last launch from SLC-4E, beating the previous record set on Oct. 29, 2023, by almost 36 hours.

This was the:

The first stage booster, making its 13th flight, previously launched the NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9 missions. Plus six previous Starlink delivery missions. After completing its burn, the first stage landed on the drone ship Of Course I still Love You stationed about 400 miles downrange (644km) in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.

SpaceX confirmed deployment of the 22 Starlink satellites will occur just over an hour after launch in a social media post. This was the 40th launch of a batch of the V2 Mini Starlink model since it was introduced earlier this year. This new version is much larger than the previous V1.5 satellites and is equipped with upgraded antennae and larger solar panels, and are capable of delivering four times more bandwidth.

SpaceX recently announced earlier this year it had signed up over two million subscribers in more than 60 countries for its Starlink internet service. Prior to Fridays Starlink 7-8 mission it had launched 5,559 satellites according to statistics compiled by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who maintains a space flight database. Of those satellites 5,186 remain in orbit and 5,147 appear to be working normally.

See more here:

Falcon 9 flies from California with 22 Starlink satellites, SpaceX's 100th launch in 365 days Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE Space fans were denied a treat of a double SpaceX launch on Tuesday night as the Starlink mission will be the only one going up.

The Space Launch Delta 45 announced on Tuesday afternoon that while the Starlink 6-34 mission is still a go for Tuesday night, the plannedUSSF-52 mission that includes a Boeing space planeis not longer scheduled for earlier in the evening and will now go up on Wednesday evening.

Originally, the two launches were set for Monday night, but were scrubbed, with the hope of trying again on Tuesday night. But it is not meant to be.

For the Starlink 6-34 mission, SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket is expected to leave Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11 p.m. ET, stated Sapce Launch Delta 45, which is two minutes earlier than what SpaceX posted on Monday night.

SpaceX statedthe backup launch attempts will run between 11 p.m. ET until 2:58 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 13.

It was supposed to take off Monday at 11:05 p.m. ET, but SpaceX pushed it back. It did not give a reason.

For Tuesday nights launch, the 45th Weather Squadron is giving a 65% chanceof good liftoff conditions, with the primary concerns being liftoff winds and thick cloud layers andcumulus cloud rules.

The conditions for Monday were better for launch, with the squadron calling for 85% chance of good weather with liftoff winds being the only concern.

Go here to learn aboutNASAs launch weather criteria for the Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX was originally going to launch the Starlink 6-34 mission at 11 p.m. ET on Sunday but the weather was not playing along. Mother Nature forced the California-based company to switch the launch to Monday evening.

The Falcon 9 rockets first-stage booster, B1081, is quite young and only has two successful launches under its belt.

After the stage separation, the first-stage booster is expected to land on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.

Twenty-three Starlink satellites will meet thousands of their technical brothers and sisters. While in low-Earth orbit, they will provide internet services to many places around the planet, stated Starlink, a SpaceX company.

These Starlink V2 Mini satellites weigh quite a bit: Each one tips the scales at 1,760 pounds (800 kilograms).

Before the launch, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Dr. Jonathan McDowelldocumented the following Starlink satellite information.

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No double launch: Starlink will be flying solo on Tuesday night - News 13 Orlando

The FCC announced today that it wont award Elon Musks Starlink an $886 million subsidy from the Universal Service Fund for expanding broadband service in rural areas. The money would have come from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program (RDOF), but the FCC writes that Starlink wasnt able to demonstrate that it could deliver the promised service and that giving the subsidy to it wouldnt be the best use of limited Universal Service Fund dollars.

That was the same reason the FCC gave when it rejected Starlinks bid last year, which led to this appeal. SpaceX had previously won the bidding to roll out 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload low-latency internet to 642,925 locations in 35 states, funded by the RDOF.

The FCC is tasked with ensuring consumers everywhere have access to high-speed broadband that is reliable and affordable, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. This applicant had failed to meet its burden to be entitled to nearly $900 million in universal service funds for almost a decade. FCC commissioner Brendan Carr dissented, writing that the FCC did not require and has never required any other award winner to show that it met its service obligation years ahead of time.

Christopher Cardaci, head of legal at SpaceX, writes in a letter to the FCC that Starlink is arguably the only viable option to immediately connect many of the Americans who live and work in the rural and remote areas of the country where high-speed, low-latency internet has been unreliable, unaffordable, or completely unavailable, the very people RDOF was supposed to connect.

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Starlink loses out on $886 million in rural broadband subsidies - The Verge