Space News & Blog Articles



Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with 46 Starlink internet satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket standing vertical at Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX is poised to launch 46 more Starlink internet satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission will mark SpaceX’s 32nd launch since Jan. 1, breaking the company’s record for Falcon 9 flights in a year.

The fourth section of SpaceX’s Starship launch pad tower was lifted over the lower three segments Thursday morning. Credit: Spaceflight Now

The fourth of nine sections for SpaceX’s Starship launch pad gantry was moved to Launch Complex 39A Wednesday night for stacking, following the emplacement of the tower’s first three segments last month.

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION

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Artist’s illustration of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA announced Tuesday it awarded SpaceX a $255 million contract to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, the agency’s next flagship astronomy mission, on a Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in 2026.

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft in the grip of the International Space Station’s Canadian-built robotic arm June 28, just prior to the cargo freighter’ departure. Credit: NASA

Northrop Grumman’s next resupply flight to the International Space Station has been delayed from mid-August to mid-October by supply chain issues, a company spokesperson said Tuesday.

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File photo of two Electron rockets on Rocket Lab’s two launch pads in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab’s next mission for the National Reconnaissance Office — the second of two back-to-back launches for the U.S. spy satellite agency — has been postponed to complete a software update on the classified payload, the NRO said Monday.

The Long March 5B rocket slated to launch the Wentian module to China’s space station emerges from its assembly building Monday at the Wenchang launch base on Hainan Island. Credit: CMSE

China moved a heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket to its launch pad Monday in preparation for liftoff this weekend with a 22-ton module for the country’s Tiangong space station, a mission that could end with another uncontrolled re-entry of the Long March 5B’s large core stage.

A Long March 2C rocket lifts off from a fog-enshrouded launch pad at the Taiyuan space center. Credit: CASC

Two Earth observation satellites for China Siwei, a state-owned company aimed at the commercial remote sensing market, launched Friday on a Long March 2C rocket into an orbit more than 300 miles (490 kilometers) above Earth.

SpaceX launched 53 more Starlink internet satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now

Fifty-three more Starlink internet satellites thundered into orbit from Cape Canaveral atop a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday on SpaceX’s 31st launch of the year, tying the company’s number of missions for all of 2021 and maintaining a pace of one flight per week.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Starlink 4-22 mission launched SpaceX’s next batch of 53 Starlink broadband satellites. Follow us on Twitter.

A stack of Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket during a recent launch. Credit: SpaceX

Forecasters predict a 50-50 chance of good weather at Cape Canaveral for launch of SpaceX’s next batch of Starlink internet satellites Sunday on a Falcon 9 rocket.

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION



A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin the 25th Dragon resupply flight to the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX launched a Dragon cargo ship toward the International Space Station in a fiery twilight departure Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, hauling a $118 million climate instrument, fresh food, experiments, and other supplies for the lab’s seven-person crew.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Falcon 9 rocket will launch SpaceX’s 25th resupply mission to the International Space Station. Follow us on Twitter.

SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket roll out to pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of launch of the company’s 25th cargo mission to the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX is set to launch its 25th cargo mission to the International Space Station Thursday night from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, following a five-week delay to resolve a leak in the Dragon cargo capsule’s propulsion system.

A Long March 3B rocket lifts off with the Tianlian 2-03 data relay satellite. Credit: CASC

China launched the eighth satellite for its Tianlian data relay network in geostationary orbit on a Long March 3B rocket Tuesday, adding capacity to a constellation linking mission controllers with the Chinese space station and other low-orbiting spacecraft.