Space News & Blog Articles

United Launch Alliance (ULA) hoists its Vulcan first stage booster into the Vertical Integration Facility-G (VIF-G) adjacent to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on Oct. 22, 2024. The rocket will launch the USSF-106 mission for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command, Vulcan’s first national security flight. Image: United Launch Alliance

A little more than a week after its most recent Atlas 5 rocket launch, United Launch Alliance rolled a Vulcan booster to the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday morning to begin stacking its first post-certification Vulcan rocket.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaks away from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during the Starlink 10-25 mission on July 2, 2025. This was SpaceX’s 500th Falcon 9 rocket launch to date. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now

Update July 2, 3 a.m. EDT: SpaceX landed its first stage booster on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’

The Meteosat Third Generation Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite from the European Oganisation for the Exploration of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is encapsulated in SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairings ahead of launch. Image: SpaceX

A European satellite designed to augment both weather monitoring and assessments of air quality and pollution for Europe and North Africa is preparing to take flight from Florida on Tuesday evening.

File: The Falcon 9 at sunrise Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 as final preparations were made for the NROL-167 mission. Image: SpaceX.

SpaceX is preparing for the second of two planned Saturday Falcon 9 rocket launches. This time, launch will take place at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

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

Continuing to push the boundaries of rapid reuse, SpaceX set a new launchpad turnaround record in the predawn hours of Saturday when it launched its latest Falcon 9 rocket.

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands in the launch position at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the planned liftoff of the Starlink 6-61 mission on Oct. 22, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

Update June 25, 2:17 p.m. EDT: SpaceX pushed back the T-0 liftoff time.

Axiom Space’s fourth flight to the International Space Station got off to a sky-lighting start with blastoff from historic pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now

Retired astronaut Peggy Whitson, America’s most experienced space flier, and three rookie crewmates from India, Poland and Hungary blasted off on a privately-financed flight to the International Space Station early Wednesday — the fourth non-government mission mounted by Houston-based Axiom Space.

United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the planned launch of the Kuiper 2 mission for Amazon on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

It’s round two for both United Launch Alliance and its customer, Amazon. Monday, June 23, will be ULA’s second Atlas 5 launch of the year and the second batch of Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites launched to date.

A collection of 70 payloads manifested onto SpaceX’s Transporter-14 mission. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX is preparing for its fourth launch of the year as part of its dedicated smallsat rideshare program, which is set to liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sunday.

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 260th orbital flight from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the predawn hours of Sunday.

Starship Ship 36 explodes at SpaceX’s Massey test flight on June 18, 2025. Image: LabPadre Space.

SpaceX’s next Starship vehicle was destroyed in a catastrophic explosion shortly after 11 p.m. CT (0400 UTC) Wednesday as it was being readied for a static fire test at the company’s Massey facility, near Starbase, Texas.

An artist’s interpretation of Firefly Aerospace’s Elytra spacecraft with the Ocula imaging service on display. Illustration: Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace is preparing for its next mission to the Moon and it hopes to, once again, make history, but this time, even before it reaches the lunar surface.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 to begin the Starlink 10-18 mission on June 18, 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

Update June 18, 3:15 a.m. EDT: SpaceX confirms deployment of the 28 Starlink satellites.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base shortly after sunset on June 16, 2025, to begin the Starlink 15-9 mission. Image: SpaceX

Update June 17, 1:35 a.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of the Starlink satellites.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 551 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the Kuiper Atlas 2 (KA-02) mission launch. Image: Will Robinson-Smith/Spaceflight Now

It’s round two for both United Launch Alliance and its customer, Amazon. Monday, June 16, will be ULA’s second Atlas 5 launch of the year and the second batch of Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites launched to date.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars through the skies away from Florida to deliver 23 Starlink satellites during the Starlink 12-26 mission on June 13, 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

Update 12:26 p.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed the landing of its Falcon 9 booster on its droneship.

A Falcon 9 launches from SpaceX’s West Coast launch pad carrying 26 Starlink satellites. Image: SpaceX.

SpaceX launched its latest batch of 26 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit on Thursday nightfrom Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

SpaceX rolls its newest Crew Dragon spacecraft along with the rest of the Falcon 9 rocket stack out to the pad at Launch Complex 39 on June 7, 2025, ahead of the launch of Axiom Mission 4. Image: SpaceX

The forthcoming private astronaut mission to the International Space Station managed by Axiom Space is not only its fourth such flight, but it also marks the swan song for a key part of the manufacturing side of SpaceX’s business.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin the Starlink 12-24 mission on June 10, 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

Update June 10, 11:19 a.m. EDT: SpaceX confirms deployment of the Starlink satellites.

The four astronauts of Axiom Mission 4 pose together amid a dry dress rehearsal of launch day activities. Left to right: Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Commander Peggy Whitson, Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski. Image: SpaceX

Update June 9, 7 p.m. EDT: Added comments from SpaceX on the readiness of the Falcon 9 rocket and the latest launch weather outlook

File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at pad 4E ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX is preparing to launch its 70th Falcon 9 rocket launch of the year on Sunday morning. Onboard are 26 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, which will be deployed into low Earth orbit.