Kennedy Space Center

Space Center in Florida, USA

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This entry is made by Compilation and application of scientific encyclopedia entries of "Science Popularization China" to examine.

The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is located in the eastern United States Florida Merritt Island on the east coast, founded in July 1962, is NASA (NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Manned spacecraft The most important place for testing, preparing and carrying out launch, in memory of the late President of the United States John Kennedy (John F. Kennedy). Geographic coordinate: 28 ° 35 ′ 28.31 ″ N 80 ° 39 ′ 03.48 ″ W.

On November 9, 2020, according to the Associated Press, NASA and SpaceX plan to carry out the first commercial manned space mission on November 14. On November 8 local time, four astronauts arrived at the Kennedy Space Center.^[1]

At 8:00 p.m. EST on September 15, 2021, American Space Exploration Technology Corporation SpaceX Four "civilians" were sent off from Launch Pad 39A of Kennedy Space Center by its manned dragon spaceship space travel 3 days.^[3]

At 11:17 p.m. on April 8, 2022, Beijing time, the SpaceX "Manned Dragon Spacecraft" carrying the "Falcon 9" rocket lifted off from Launch Pad 39A of Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying four passengers to the International Space Station.^[11] On the evening of December 28, 2023 local time, SpaceX successfully launched the US military X-37B "Orbital Experiment Vehicle" at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.^[39]

Chinese name: Kennedy Space Center
Foreign name: Kennedy Space Center
Abbreviations: KSC
Country: U.S.A
geographical position: Florida

Name Source: In memory of the late US President John Kennedy
Subordinate unit: NASA
area covered: 567 km²
Number of personnel: About 17000 people
Operation time: 1962

Basic Introduction

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Kennedy The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is located in the eastern United States Florida East Coast Meret Island , founded in July 1962 NASA （ NASA , National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Manned spacecraft The most important place for testing, preparing and carrying out launch is named in memory of the late President of the United States John Kennedy （John F. Kennedy）。 The whole site is 55 kilometers long, 10 kilometers wide and covers an area of 567 square kilometers. About 17000 people work there. There is also a visitor center on the site, and visitors can also visit with the guide. Kennedy Space Center is an important Tourist spots 。 At the same time, because most areas of the Kennedy Space Center are closed, it is also an American country Wildlife Reserve 。

Map of Kennedy Space Center

The launch headquarters is in the No. 39 launch center, which is also the site of the aircraft assembly building. There are two six kilometers west of it Launch site 8 kilometers south of Kennedy Space Center Industrial area There are many support facilities and management headquarters of the center. Kennedy Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, is known as the gateway to space for human beings. It is close to the Atlantic Ocean and was established in 1947 due to its superior geographical conditions rocket test Launch site. This is the closest place in the United States equator The rocket will be launched to the east, which can make use of the additional speed of the earth rotation to help the satellite into orbit. At the edge of the United States, facing a vast ocean, there are Bahamas And the West Indies, suitable for building a series of monitoring stations spacecraft Ideal launch site. From America's first Artificial satellite The space shuttles that attract worldwide attention are all flying into space from here. The Kennedy Space Center covers all the Geosynchronous orbit Launch mission; And launched Apollo airship "Skylab" and various interplanetary detector 。 yes American Space An important base for launching. The Kennedy Space Center is 56 kilometers long from north to south and 20 kilometers wide from east to west. The center consists of two parts: technical position and launch position. In the technical position, there are rocket, satellite and spacecraft assembly and testing workshops. Particularly noticeable is the assembly building, which has a volume of 3.6 million cubic meters and a height of 160 meters. The building is equipped with various advanced test instruments and display and recording equipment. The launch site is 5 kilometers away, with a launch control center and a launch pad. The entire space center has 23 launch sites, of which the famous 39 launch site has two launch pads, A and B, from which many large spacecraft fly out of the earth.

Cape Canaveral It has been a space base of the United States for more than 50 years. In 1949, the President of the United States Truman It was decided to use Cape Canaveral as the launch base for American missiles. For more than ten years since then U.S. Department of Defense It was used by subordinate departments. In 1962, when NASA entered, Cape Canaveral became a dual-use space launch base. Cape Canaveral was chosen as the launch site because of its low latitude. Launching rockets eastward can help satellites into orbit by taking advantage of the additional speed of the earth's rotation.

Since 1950 here First launch Since the launch of the rocket, Cape Canaveral has successively launched the "Cosmos" rocket“ Hercules ”Rocket, etc. In 1981, the space shuttle was launched from Cape Canaveral for the first time.

Base composition

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Kennedy Space Center is composed of four parts, including the industrial zone, No. 39 launch center and its two launch sites LC-39A and LC-39B, aircraft assembly buildings and visitor center.

In addition to the support facilities and management headquarters, there are also space station manufacturing equipment of the International Space Station in the industrial zone.

The workspace is assembly shop , control center, meteorological center and news work area. The control center is the nerve hub of the launch, and the meteorological center is responsible for providing real-time satellite meteorological cloud images, wind speed and other data for the reference of the control center. The assembly workshop is responsible for assembling rockets or space shuttles, and after the assembly is completed, it is towed to the launcher by the crawler car. The launch pad is located on the Atlantic side 3 kilometers away from the work area, and the two towers are labeled "A" and "B" respectively.

Associated Press 、 Reuters , CNN and other major media in the world have full-time reporters in the space center, and have their own work buildings. The first floor of the working building is for Literal reporter The second floor platform is used by photographers. In addition, when major news events occur, many TV and text media will rent satellite vehicles for on-site reporting.

Launch center

The launch center 39 was initially established for the Apollo program. In the east is the workshop and control center. To the north is the spaceship processing plant for the maintenance of the landing shuttle. The big building in the center is the aircraft assembly building, in which four different rockets are assembled (including Saturn 5 carrier rocket ）And the shuttle's external fuel tank and solid state Rocket thruster Device. The lowest workshop building in the south of the assembly building. There are facilities for assembling space shuttle rockets. The whole assembly building is 160 meters high and has an area of 218x158 meters.

The No.1 and No.3 assembly platforms in the building are located in the east of the building, and No.2 and No.4 are located in the west. As the actual number of launches is less than planned, the No. 2 assembly platform has only been used once, while the No. 4 assembly platform has never been used. Today the west side of the building is used as a warehouse. The building's gate is 139 meters high and consists of seven door panels, each of which can be lifted up individually.

Aerial view of the launch site

In 1976, when celebrating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the south wall of the building was painted with a 64x33.5 meter American flag. Each flag is as wide as a bus. Since there is no air conditioning device in the building, rain clouds will form on the top of the building when it rains outside in the past. Later, this problem was solved after a dryer was added to the building.

There are two 6 km long roads from the assembly building to launch site A (in the south) and launch site B (in the north). These two roads are for transporting assembled rockets or space shuttles crawler transporter Used. Kennedy Space Center has two crawler transport vehicles, each weighing 2721 tons, with a load area of 40x35 meters. They are the second largest steerable cars in the world. Their speed is 1.6 km/h, so it takes them 5 hours from the assembly building to the launch site. For the technology at that time Saturn 5 rocket It is a great technical achievement to send to the launch site standing and climb to the launch site after overcoming the 5% slope.

Launch site

LC-39A and LC-39B are used alternately, and they are just a few meters away from the Atlantic coast. The distance between them is 2.7 kilometers. Today's space shuttles are much lower than the Saturn 5 rockets at that time, so they were truncated. Today their height is 81.3m (lightning rod is not included).

In order to prevent the whole facility from spacecraft When the sound wave caused by the launch is destroyed, more than one million liters of water will be sprayed into the lower part of the launch site within a few seconds after takeoff. Even so, when Saturn 5 was launched, the windows of Titusville, about 20 kilometers away, were often broken.

The northeast and northwest corners of the launch site are cylindrical hydrogen and oxygen Each bunker can hold 3.3 million liters of condensed liquid fuel. In order to prevent the danger of explosion, the shuttle's external fuel tank can only be filled shortly before takeoff.

landing facilities

The space shuttle landing facility is located about 3.2 kilometers northwest of the assembly building. It is mainly composed of a 4572 meter long and 91 meter wide runway. It is connected to the spaceship processing plant through an asphalt road. If the space shuttle does not land at Kennedy Space Center, it will be Boeing 747 The carrier is transported to Kennedy Space Center, and then unloaded from the back of the aircraft directly on the runway.

Visiting Center

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center is a private enterprise, and its operation does not depend on the funding of the United States government. It includes several museums, two IMAX Cinema And different car guides to let tourists see from close quarters, or they will not see the place. The entry ticket includes bus transportation to the observation point of No. 39 launch site and transportation to the Apollo Saturn 5 center. The center is a large museum with a rebuilt Saturn 5 rocket and other exhibits. In these exhibitions, there is a rebuilt Apollo shooting training ground where tourists can relive Apollo's takeoff, and there is another place where tourists can relive Apollo 11 Landing.

The Visitor Center also includes two facilities organized by the Astronaut Memorial Foundation. The most obvious one is Space Memorial Mirror (Space Mirror Memorial), this is a huge black granite mirror engraved with the name of the astronaut who died in service. These names are constantly illuminated from the back. Use natural light if possible, otherwise use artificial light. These luminous names seem to float in the reflected sky. The detailed lives and deaths of these astronauts are recorded on the nearby screen. Another facility organized by the Foundation is the Space Education Center, which includes a data center for teachers to provide materials.

historical event

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Kennedy Space Center has made many amazing achievements, and has also experienced several space accidents that shocked the world. On January 28, 1986, on Launch Pad 39B, the space shuttle "Challenger" was carrying seven astronauts to prepare for its tenth space flight. At 11:38, the "Challenger" rose into the sky like a giant dragon, but it only flew for 73 seconds. With a loud noise, the "Challenger" turned into a ball of fire in a few seconds, Countless pieces scattered from the smoke fell on the Atlantic Ocean like a meteor shower, killing all seven astronauts, including one female teacher. The Challenger explosion was American Space The greatest tragedy in history is also the world Manned spaceflight A disaster in history. Unfortunately, 17 years later, in January 2003, the first space shuttle of the United States“ Columbia ”It disintegrated on the way back after completing its flight mission, killing all seven astronauts.

At 9:00 a.m. on September 1, 2016, an explosion occurred at the launch site of the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA.

According to the Washington Post, the explosion occurred at about 9 a.m. local time on September 1, when SpaceX was conducting a static ignition test for a rocket launch from a launch pad at the Kennedy Launch Center. Photos taken by netizens at the scene showed that there were open fires and huge smoke in the sky. Some witnesses said that the shock wave generated by the explosion could be felt several kilometers away. Local fire department officials said on the social media "Twitter" that no casualties have been reported so far, and there will be no threat to the public. Brian, spokesman of the 45th Air Force Wing affiliated to the space base, said, "We are checking the damage caused by the explosion, investigating the possible causes and specific locations of the explosion, and ensuring that no one was injured in the explosion." NASA（ NASA ）It also responded on social media that SpaceX was conducting a static rocket ignition test when the explosion occurred. Preliminary investigation showed that no casualties were caused by the explosion.^[2]

Historical evolution

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one thousand nine hundred and forty-nine

USA president Harry S. Truman A joint long-range test site for experimental missiles was set up at Cape Canaveral. This place is very favorable for such experiments, because the missile can fly to the Atlantic Ocean, and it is farther away than any other place in the United States equator Both should be close. The rocket near the equator can use the acceleration of the earth's rotation. The first suborbital rocket flight of the United States was successful at Cape Canaveral.

one thousand nine hundred and fifty-one

The US Air Force Banana River Naval Air Base (Banana River Naval Air Station). The first US satellite after the successful launch of Soviet satellite 1 Artificial satellite The Navy's Vanguard I was successfully launched on December 6, 1957. In 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was established, and Cape Canaveral was transformed into an important launch site. Redstone Rocket, Jupiter medium range missile, Jupiter C rocket, Panxing missile Polaris missile , Raytheon rocket, Hercules rocket, Titan rocket and militia missile were successfully tested here. Raytheon later became the basis of the delta wing rocket that is mainly used today. The delta wing rocket was first used when carrying Telstar satellite on July 1, 1962.

one thousand nine hundred and sixty-two

After the moon landing plan was announced, the operating range of Cape Canaveral was expanded to the nearby Merritt Island. In 1962, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration began to buy land, and acquired 340 square kilometers by purchasing it Florida 226 square kilometers were obtained through negotiation. In July 1962, it was named as the launch operation center. In November 1963, in memory of John who had just been assassinated· Kennedy President It was renamed John F. Kennedy Space Center. The surrounding Cape Canaveral was also renamed Cape Kennedy, but local people were dissatisfied with the new name, so it was changed back in 1973.

The moon landing plan is divided into three stages: Mercury Project 、 Gemini Planning and Apollo program 。 The goal of Mercury is to send people Earth orbit Then we will bring them back. This plan started in October 1957, using Hercules rocket to carry Mercury payload. The initial experiments used Redstone rockets, which sent astronauts to suborbital flight, including May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard And July 21 Gus Grissom 15 minute flight. The first astronaut carried by Hercules was John Glenn His flight took place on February 20, 1962.

one thousand nine hundred and sixty-five

Through the experience of the Mercury program, the United States has set up a Gemini launch capsule for two people. The launch rocket is Titan II 。 The first Gemini launch was on March 23, 1965. The astronauts were John Young And Fergil Gleason. Gemini IV is the first test for astronauts to board the aircraft. The astronauts are Edward Higgins White 。 Twelve Gemini spacecraft have taken off from Kennedy Space Center.

Apollo plans to use a three-stage Saturn 5 rocket (111 meters high and 10 meters in diameter), with Boeing (the first stage), North American Aviation Industry Corporation (the engine and the second stage) and Douglas Aircraft company (Level 3). North American Aerospace Industries also manufactured command and service modules, and the lunar module was manufactured by Grumman Aircraft Engineering. IBM、 Massachusetts Institute of Technology and General Electric Company Provide instrumentation.

The new launch center of the Kennedy Space Center, Launch Center 39, cost a total of 800 million dollars. It includes an assembly building capable of assembling four Saturn 5 rockets at the same time, a transportation facility capable of transporting 5440 tons, a 136 meter high service structure and a control center. The whole construction started in November 1962, the launch site was completed in October 1965, the assembly building was completed in June 1965, and the infrastructure construction was completed at the end of 1966. From 1967 to 1973, 13 Saturn 5 rockets were launched from the 39 launch center. Prior to the launch of the 39 launch center, a series of tests on Saturn 1 and Saturn 1B were conducted at the 34 launch center. Apollo Saturn 204 on January 27, 1967（ Apollo 1 ）The fire that killed three astronauts happened at the No. 34 launch center.

The test flight of Saturn 5（ Apollo No. 4) was carried out on October 30, 1967, the first manned flight（ Apollo 7 ）It was held on October 11, 1968. December 24 and 25, 1968 Apollo 8 It circled the moon ten times. Apollo 9 and Apollo 10 Test the lunar module. Apollo 11 took off on July 16, 1969 and landed on the moon on July 20. All Apollo since then airship It took off from Kennedy Space Center until December 1972 Apollo 17 。

The Air Force decided to further improve the Titan rocket that can lift heavy loads. For this reason, they established Cape Canaveral Air Force 40 Launch Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force 41 Launch Center to the south of Kennedy Space Center to launch the Air Force's Titan 3 and Titan 4 rockets. Titan 3 has the same load as Saturn 1B, but it is much cheaper. These two launch centers are used to launch spies, communications meteorological satellite And NASA's planetary probes. The Air Force had planned to carry out its own manned flights, but these plans were later cancelled.

one thousand nine hundred and sixty-six

Kennedy Space Center continued to study unmanned rockets at the same time as the Apollo program. On May 30, 1966, a Hercules Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force 36 Launch Center launched the first US probe for soft landing on the moon. Since then, five more have been launched from here Lunar probe 。 From 1974 to 1977, the Hercules Centaur rocket became a heavy load rocket of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It was used to launch the detectors of the Pirate Program and the Voyager Program from the No. 41 launch center lent to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Later, Saturn 4, the most powerful unmanned rocket in the United States, was launched from here.

one thousand nine hundred and seventy-three

Saturn 5 rocket It is also a carrier rocket to put Skylab into orbit. In order to adapt to the launch of Saturn 1B, the launch site 39B was slightly changed. In 1973, three manned flights to the space laboratory were launched from here. It was launched from here in 1975 Apollo Alliance Test Plan 。

one thousand nine hundred and eighty-six

Kennedy Space Center space shuttle Of Launch site And landing place. Space Shuttle Columbia It was first launched on April 12, 1981. January 28, 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger After the explosion was destroyed during the launch, the launch of the space shuttle was interrupted on September 29, 1988.

two thousand and four

In September, part of the Kennedy Space Center structure was hurricane Destroy. More than one thousand 1.2x3 meter tiles were uncovered in the south and east of the aircraft assembly building, exposing 3700 square meters of the entire building. The production plant of the space shuttle thermal tile was also damaged, part of the roof was uncovered, and the interior was seriously damaged by water.

two thousand and eleven

Kennedy Space Center (18 sheets)

New generation nuclear powered Mars in the United States detector Curiosity took an Atlas 5 rocket Florida, USA Cape Canaveral The air base was launched. "Curiosity" costs 2.5 billion dollars and has a service life of two years. Its main mission is to find out whether there is an environment suitable for life on Mars.

two thousand and twenty-one

On September 15, 2021 (Beijing time 16), the US space exploration technology company SpaceX launched its first purely commercial manned space mission using its manned dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket, sending four ordinary people into space for the first time. The spaceship lifted off from Launch Pad 39A of Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8:00 p.m. EDT on the 15th (8:00 a.m. Beijing time on the 16th).^[3]

On November 10, 2021, the Falcon 9 rocket was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After successfully separating from the rocket, the Dragon spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station at 18:32 EST on the 11th after a flight of about 22 hours.^[4]

At 16:49 on January 6, 2022, US Eastern Time, SpaceX deployed the "Star Chain" satellite for the 34th special networking, and the Falcon 9 rocket sent 49 "Star Chain" satellites into low Earth orbit at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.^[5]

two thousand and twenty-two

At 16:49 on January 6, 2022 (5:49 on January 7, Beijing time, 13 hours later), located at the 39A gold launch site of the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, B1062.4 took off as the fourth arrow to soar into the sky. After taking off, it began to fly southeast.^[6]

On January 18, 2022, the space exploration company "Falcon" 9-1.2 rocket launched the 35th special networking launch of the "Star Chain" low orbit broadband constellation at the No. 39A launch pad of the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The mission code is "Star Chain" v1.5G4-6. The arrow carried 49 "star chain" v1.5 satellites. The rocket ignited and took off at 21:02 EST (10:02 GMT, January 19). The separation of stars and arrows was carried out 15 minutes and 32 seconds after takeoff.^[7]

On February 4, 2022, a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 49 satellite chains lifted off for the sixth time from Launch Site 39A (LC-39A) of Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and entered into low Earth orbit.^[8]

At 8:45 on March 9, the United States Eastern Time, 48 SpaceX satellites were launched after 47 "Star Chain" satellites were launched last week. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 48 "Star Chain" satellites from the Space Force Base in Cape Canaveral, Florida.^[9]

On April 2, 2022, NASA's new generation of high thrust carrier rocket "Space Launch System" and the Orion spacecraft mounted on the top of the rocket were photographed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.^[10]

On April 15, 2022 local time, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the manned space mission Crew-4 plan was launched by SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Pad 39A of Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:26 a.m. EST on April 23. Four astronauts aboard the manned spaceship will go to the International Space Station for scientific investigation. The spacecraft is expected to dock with the International Space Station at 6:00 on April 24.^[12]

At 17:42 (BJT) on May 6, 2022, at the 39A launch site of Kennedy Space Center, 44 batches of 53 satellite chains were launched with Falcon 9 rocket B1058.12. This launch was the 18th launch of Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX in 2022, and the 152nd launch of Falcon 9 by the company.^[13]

At 6:59 on May 18, 2022, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 53 "Star Chain" satellites at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.^[14]

On June 6, 2022, US Eastern Time, NASA's moon landing rocket SLS (space launch system) and Orion spacecraft set out from the rocket assembly building of Kennedy Space Center to launch pad 39B for testing. The whole journey is 4 miles (about 6.4 kilometers), which will take about 8-12 hours. NASA Kennedy Space Center said that the next wet dress rehearsal test of SLS rocket could be conducted as early as June 19.^[15]

In June 2022, after completing the second orbital test flight, the "Starliner" spacecraft has passed through six states of the United States and was transported back to the Kennedy Space Center.^[16]

At 12:09 on June 17, 2022, US Eastern Time, SpaceX successfully launched 53 satellite chains from the 39A launch station of Kennedy Space Center using the B1060-13 Falcon 9 rocket.^[17]

July 31, 2022, NASA Artemis 1 moon landing rocket Make final preparations, NASA The team is nearing completion of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion The spacecraft operates at the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch next month.^[18]

On August 6, 2022, NASA confirmed on Friday that the Artemis1 assembly will be transported from the vehicle assembly building of the Kennedy Space Center to the 39B launch site on August 18, which means a journey of about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers).^[19]

On September 8, 2022, NASA said that the Crew 5 of SpaceX will take the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. The earliest launch date is set for October 3, and the location is still 39A of the Kennedy launch site.^[20]

On September 25, 2022, due to the approaching of tropical storm "Ian", the launch of Artemis 1, originally scheduled for September 27, was postponed.^[21]

On October 5, 2022 local time, the manned "Dragon" spacecraft of the American Space Exploration Technology Corporation was launched by the "Falcon 9" rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Launch into the air.^[22]

NASA will launch the "Artemis 1" at 0:7 a.m. EST on November 14, 2022. Before November 4, NASA will transfer the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to the 39B launch station of Kennedy Space Center.^[23]

On November 4, 2022 local time, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying Orion spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center in the United States was on the mobile launch device of 39B launch site , ready to try again^[24] 。

Artemis 1 is expected to launch from the LC-39B platform of Kennedy Space Center at 14:4 on November 16, 2022, Beijing time (1:4 a.m. on November 16, 2022, U.S. Eastern time), with a launch window of 2 hours.^[25]

At 14:20 local time on November 26, 2022 (3:20 a.m. Beijing time on November 27, 2022), SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the "Dragon" spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the purpose of transporting materials to the International Space Station and providing new scientific research.^[26]

two thousand and twenty-three

At about 17:56 local time on January 15, 2023, a SpaceX "Falcon Heavy" rocket lifted off from the 39A launch pad of NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida.^[27]

On February 27, 2023, NASA cancelled the launch mission of the manned "Dragon" spacecraft of the Space Exploration Technology Company due to ground system failure.^[28]

On March 2, 2023, the "Dragon" spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida by the "Falcon 9" rocket.^[29]

On April 5, 2023 local time, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said on its blog that it planned to launch SpaceX manned spacecraft 7 in mid August.^[30]

On May 22, 2023, SpaceX helped the private space company Axiom Space (Axiom Space) complete the second batch of private astronaut launch missions, sending four people to the International Space Station for scientific research missions, including two civilians from Saudi Arabia. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the second batch of Axiom Space civilian astronauts going into space. This shows that the field of human space flight is developing at a high speed. It is no longer only national institutions that have the necessary funds to train and launch humans into space.^[31]

At 11:47 on the 5th of 2023 (23:47 on the 5th of 2023, Beijing time), the cargo "Dragon" spacecraft took off from the 39A launch pad of Kennedy Space Center with the "Falcon 9" rocket to deliver scientific research equipment and supplies for the International Space Station.^[32]

On July 25, 2023, SpaceX announced that the next launch mission of Falcon heavy rocket would be carried out on Wednesday (July 26) local time at the 39A launch site of NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.^[34]

At 11:04 on July 29, 2023 Beijing time, SpaceX's Falcon heavy carrier rocket was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, sending Jupiter 3, the "largest commercial communication satellite in history", into the geosynchronous transfer orbit. Two boosters were successfully recovered on land. The Jupiter 3 satellite weighs 10.1 tons, which sets a new record for the quality of satellites launched into geosynchronous orbit. It has a communication capability of 500Gbps, which is expected to expand the service scope of Hughes Network Systems to nearly 80% of the population in the Americas, and support aircraft WiFi.^[35]

On August 26, 2023 local time, the website of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said that at 3:27 on the same day, the "Dragon" spacecraft of SpaceX was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station.^[36]

On October 1, 2023 local time, according to the news on the official website of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), NASA and SpaceX plan to launch a space probe named "Spirit Star" from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:16 a.m. Eastern Time on October 12.^[37]

At 10:19 on October 13, 2023 (22:19 Beijing time), the "Spirit Star" probe lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the "Falcon Heavy" carrier rocket of the US Space Exploration Technology Corporation to start the exploration trip.^[38]

On the evening of December 28, 2023 local time, SpaceX successfully launched the US military X-37B "Orbital Experiment Vehicle" at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.^[39]

two thousand and twenty-four

At 16:49 on January 18, 2024 (5:49 on January 19, Beijing time), the space exploration technology company's "Falcon 9" rocket and the "Dragon" spacecraft were launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is expected to automatically dock with the International Space Station at 4:19 on January 20, 2024.

This mission, code named "Ax-3", is a commercial cooperation project between Gongli Space Company and NASA. The four astronauts participating in the mission are: former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez Alegria, Walter Villadaie from Italy, Alper Gaizelavski from Turkey and Marcus Vante from Sweden. Lopez Alegria served as the commander of the mission, Villadaii served as the pilot, and Gazelavqi and Vante served as mission experts.

According to Axiom Space, four astronauts will carry out more than 30 scientific and technological experiments on the International Space Station, including microgravity research, technology demonstration, etc. The ground and flight data collected during and before the mission will be helpful to human physiology and other related research. The team is scheduled to leave the International Space Station and return to Earth on February 3 。^[40-42]

On March 3, 2024 local time, the "Dragon" spacecraft of the US Space Exploration Technology Company was launched from Florida, carrying four US and Russian astronauts to the International Space Station. According to the plan, the spaceship will dock with the International Space Station at about 3:00 a.m. EDT on the 5th (16:00 p.m. Beijing time on the 5th).^[43]

On March 15, 2024 local time, SpaceX launched 23 "Star Chain" satellites into space with a "19 handed" Falcon 9 carrier rocket, and the first stage of the rocket was successfully recovered again.^[44]

On the morning of April 8, 2024 local time in South Korea, the US space exploration technology company "Falcon 9" rocket carrying the Korean military reconnaissance satellite was launched at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Subsequently, the South Korean Ministry of Defense said that the South Korean military reconnaissance satellite launched in the United States on the same day entered orbit normally.^[45-46]

world record

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The No. 2 crawler transporter at Kennedy Space Center in Florida weighs 3106 tons, setting the Guinness World Record for the heaviest self driving car Record.^[33]

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