Space News & Blog Articles

Vandenberg SFB Guardians and Airmen supported the NASA Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, July 23, 2025. At the forefront of space operations at Vandenberg, the safety team ensures minimal risk for safe, reliable and frequent access to space. Image: U.S. Space Force/Jennifer Green-Lanchoney

A new orbital launch site is up for grabs at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California.

SpaceX launches the Starlink 6-88 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Jan. 4, 2026. This was the company’s first Starlink mission of the year and the first Falcon 9 launch from the Eastern Range of 2026. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now

Update Jan. 4, 3:38 a.m. EST (0838 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the 29 Starlink satellites.

The Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 spacecraft is pictured prior to being encapsulated within a pair of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 payload fairings. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX is ringing in the new year with a Falcon 9 rocket launch slated for Friday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 satellite undergoes testing ahead of its launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Image: Ministry of Defense

Update Dec. 27, 2:28 p.m. EST (1928 UTC): SpaceX adjusted the T-0 liftoff time.

ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno participated in a fireside chat with Michael Dickey, director of the Force Design Integration Office at the U.S. Space Force’s Space Warfighting Analysis Center. The conversation happened on the final day of the Space Force Association’s Spacepower Conference on Dec. 12, 2024. Image: Will Robinson-Smith/Spaceflight Now

Blue Origin announced on Friday that Tory Bruno, who left United Launch Alliance four days ago, would head the company’s newly formed National Security Group.

An H3 rocket from Mitsubishi Heavy Technologies and JAXA lifts off with the QZS-5 navigation satellite. The rocket suffered a second stage anomaly that prevented a successful deployment at the correct altitude. Image: JAXA

A flight of Japan’s H3 rocket ended in failure on Dec. 22 after the upper stage experienced an anomaly.

Tory Bruno stands between a pair of Vulcan booster at United Launch Alliance’s rocket factory in Decatur, Alabama, on Nov. 4, 2025. Image: Will Robinson-Smith/Spaceflight Now

United Launch Alliance announced its president and chief executive officer, Tory Bruno, resigned from the company, effective Monday, Dec. 22.

The four crew members of the Artemis 2 mission exit the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building during the Countdown Demonstration Test, a launch day rehearsal for the Artemis 2 mission. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now

In a prelude to the real deal, the four astronauts of the Artemis 2 mission boarded their Orion spacecraft inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday afternoon.

An artist’s rendering of Rocket Lab’s Tracking Layer Tranche 3 (TRKT3) program satellites, which are built on its Lightning satellite platform. Image: Rocket Lab

The U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA) awarded roughly $3.5 billion to four companies to begin building out the third generation of its low Earth orbit constellation.

An overhead view of Aerospace’s DiskSat during launch preparations. Image: Rocket Lab

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched four novel satellite buses minutes after midnight from Virginia on Thursday.

Jared Isaacman, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next administrator of NASA, appears before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington. Image: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Jared Isaacman was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be NASA’s newest administrator on Wednesday afternoon.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Starlink 7-14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX is preparing for the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It’s set to be the second out of two planned flights that day, following a launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida scheduled for just hours before.

File: A Falcon 9 booster stands ready for the Starlink 12-2 mission at launch complex 39A. Image: Spaceflight Now.

Update Dec. 16, 7:50 p.m. EST (0050 UTC): SpaceX pushed back the T-0 liftoff time.

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket stands at Launch Complex 1 ahead of the flight of the ‘Bridging the Swarm’ mission for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Image: Rocket Lab

Update Dec. 16, 1:26 am EST (0626 UTC): Rocket Lab said they aborted the mission on Dec. 15/16 after “one of Electron’s thousands of sensors noticed out-of-family data and called time on lift-off, exactly as it was designed to do. Team is working the straightforward fix now and will select a new launch date shortly.

United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket stands at the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the launch of the Leo Atlas 04 (LA-04) mission. This is the first launch of Amazon’s broadband internet satellites since its rebrand from ‘Project Kuiper’ to ‘Amazon Leo.’ Image: John Pisani / Spaceflight Now

United Launch Alliance is preparing for its final launch of 2025, a predawn flight of an Atlas 5 rocket carrying 27 satellites for Amazon’s recently re-branded Leo broadband internet service.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the first stage booster, 1067, stands at Launch Complex 39A on Aug. 27, 2025, ahead of the 30th flight of this booster. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX is planning to launch a Falcon 9 rocket Monday morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is preparing to launch its 580th Falcon 9 rocket to date with a late night flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday night.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base at sunset. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX will attempt to complete its 550th successful booster landing as part of a late night launch from Vandenberg Space Force Station on Saturday.

New Glenn thunders away from its launch pad in near perfect weather conditions. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

One of Blue Origin’s oft repeated phrases is that the company is paving a road to space with its New Glenn rocket. The company, established by Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, is about halfway through creating one important lane in that road: launching national security missions.

a–d, Simulated exposure for Hubble (a), SPHEREx (b), Xuntian (c) and ARRAKIHS (d) space observatories, showing sectors affected by satellite trail contamination. The satellite trails represent the effects of the planned satellites using the orbital and physical parameters of the announced constellations to be operational by 2040. Background galaxies were modelled on the basis of previous studies. Graphic: Borlaff et al via Nature

One of the biggest impacts to the low Earth orbit environment in the near-term and long-term future are satellite megaconstellations, according to a new study, published in the journal Nature. Companies, like Amazon, OneWeb and SpaceX, along with governments, like China and the United States are keen on the idea of controlling hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of satellites that serve a connected purpose.

A Falcon 9 stands ready for a Starlink mission at Cape Canaveral’s pad 40. File photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX is set to launch another batch of 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to low Earth orbit on its Falcon 9 rocket Thursday afternoon.