Space News & Blog Articles

A Soyuz 2.1a rocket blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying a Progress cargo ship loaded with 5,500 pounds of equipment, supplies and propellant bound for the International Space Station. Image: NASA TV.

A Russian Progress cargo ship loaded with more than 5,500 pounds of supplies and equipment bound for the International Space Station blasted off from Kazakhstan early Friday, kicking off a two-day orbital chase.

Perched atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket, the Progress MS-25/86P spacecraft took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 4:25 a.m. EST (2:25 p.m. local time) and slipped into the planned preliminary orbit eight minutes and 45 seconds later.

The Progress then separated, spread its solar wings and set off after the space station in the first stages of a two-day 34-orbit rendezvous. If all goes well, the spacecraft will catch up with the lab complex early Sunday, guiding itself into a docking at the Russian space-facing Poisk module around 6:15 a.m.

The space freighter is delivering 3,423 pounds of spare parts, other equipment and supplies, 88 pounds of nitrogen, 926 pounds of water and 1,135 pounds of propellant used to help maintain the station’s orbit.

The Progress launching was the first of two and possibly three flights to orbit Friday.

The Ariane 6 rocket photographed at dusk in French Guiana. During a briefing on Thursday, Nov. 30, ESA officials discussed a summer timeframe for the first launch of the rocket. Image: ESA

Lengthy delays for the debut of Europe’s future flagship rocket may have an end in sight. During a briefing with press on Thursday, European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher announced that Ariane 6 would have its first launch between mid-June and the end of July in 2024.

The announcement comes a week after a seven-minute hot fire test of the rocket’s core stage engines in Kourou, French Guiana. The hefty delays to a launch vehicle that was originally supposed to debut in 2020 stem from a combination of “very severe” technical issues and a mismanaged schedule, according to Aschbacher.

“When I started as DG of ESA some two and a half years ago, I asked immediately for an assessment of the situation on Ariane 6 and it became crystal clear after a few months of very intense investigations that the schedule and some technical issues on Ariane 6 are not in a very good shape,” he said. “This is something that of course is highly disturbing.”

The intention was for the Ariane 6 to start flying while overlapping the Ariane 5, so that there would be a smooth transition of launch capabilities, similar to what United Launch Alliance is doing with its shift away from its Atlas 5 and Delta 4 Heavy rockets and towards Vulcan.

ESA was hit with a double whammy when its small launch vehicle, Vega C, was grounded late last year following an anomaly about 150 seconds into flight.

A Dual Engine Centaur upper stage for Atlas V nears completion at the factory in Decatur, Alabama. The RL10 engine marked 60 years of flight on Nov. 27, 2023. Image: United Launch Alliance

A rocket engine with a long pedigree marked a big milestone on Monday. It’s 60 years since the hydrogen-fueled RL10 engine debuted onboard a Centaur upper stage launched from Cape Canaveral on Nov. 27, 1963.

With that first launch, the RL10 engine, currently manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne, became the first engine powered by a combination of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to be fired in space. The milestone came at a pivotal time for the United States, since it was just five days after the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.

Since that point 60 years ago, 522 RL10 engines have flown in space, with the lion’s share of those flights aboard United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Delta and Atlas rockets. These engines power the Delta Cryogenic Second Stage and Centaur upper stage respectively.

“Centaur and the RL10 have made it possible for us to launch spacecraft at greater size and weight over any of the other upper stage designs in use,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of government and commercial programs, during a media event celebrating the milestone. “It has delivered fantastic missions to the Sun, our Moon, asteroids, every planet in the [solar] system.”

The engine was developed by Pratt & Whitney in the late 1950s through the oversight of NASA’s Lewis Research Center, which was renamed the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in 1999. Centaur was originally developed by General Dynamics.

A Falcon 9 heads on a south-easterly trajectory from Cape Canaveral on Nov. 28, 2023, carrying a batch of Starlink satellites into orbit. Image: Pete Carstens.

The next batch of Starlink satellites for SpaceX’s space-based internet service soared into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket Monday night from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Liftoff occurred at 11:20 p.m. EST (0420 UTC) the Falcon 9 piercing a thin layer of cloud as it headed on southerly trajectory as it targeted an orbit inclined at 43 degrees.

The first stage booster flying on this mission, tail number 1062, made its 17th flight. It previously supported two crewed missions with the Ax-1 private astronaut mission to the International Space Station as well as the Inspiration4 mission.

The Falcon 9 first stage landed on the drone ship “Just Read the Instructions” about eight and a half minutes after launch. The droneship, a converted ocean-going barge, is one of three operated by SpaceX, and was stationed about 420 miles (620km) downrange, East of the Bahamas. The two halves of the payload fairing parachuted to a splashdown a little further downrange where they were to be scooped up by SpaceX’s support vessel “Bob”.

SpaceX confirmed in a social media post that the 23 Starlink satellites were deployed as planned from the second-stage of the Falcon 9 a little over an hour into the mission. The successful flight will bring the total number of Starlink satellites launched to 5,514.

SpaceX was racing to get a Falcon 9 rocket ready to fly from Cape Canaveral Tuesday evening as launch preparations fell behind schedule. Currently liftoff with a batch of 23 Starlink satellites is planned for 1:47 a.m. EST (0647 UTC) Wednesday morning.

The Starlink 6-29 mission was originally targeted for 11:01 p.m. EST (0401 UTC) on Tuesday night but SpaceX pushed back the launch to 1:47 a.m. EST (0647 UTC). There are three more launch opportunities Wednesday morning, the last one coming at 2:59 a.m. EST (0759 UTC).

The Falcon 9 rocket was lifted upright at Space Launch Complex 40 shortly before 10 p.m. EST (0300 UTC), much later than would have been expected. The previous mission from pad 40 lifted off just four days earlier so if the current launch time sticks this would be the seventh fastest turnaround attempt for the launch facility.

U.S. Space Force meteorologists at the 45th Weather squadron said Monday weather conditions would be 90-percent favorable at the time of the first opportunity with chances dropping slightly to 75-percent at the end of the launch window.

After lifting off from Cape Canaveral, the Falcon 9 will set off on a south-easterly trajectory targeting an orbit inclined 43 degrees to the Equator. After burning its nine Merlin 1D engines for nearly two and a half minutes, the first stage will separate from the second stage and continue downrange to land on the drone ship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ in the Atlantic Ocean, about 424 miles (682 km) from the launch site.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California carrying 22 Starlink satellites on Nov 20, 2023. Image: Space X.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from the West Coast with another batch of 22 Starlink satellites at 2:30 a.m. PST Monday (5:30 a.m. EST / 1030 UTC).

On this 55th Starlink delivery mission of the year, the Falcon 9 headed in a south-easterly direction after lifting off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California targeting a 183×178 mile (295×286 km) orbit, inclined at 53 degrees to the equator.

It was the second time SpaceX had fueled this Falcon 9. Early Sunday morning, a countdown for the Falcon 9 was halted with just minutes left on the clock. SpaceX said it was “standing down” in a social media post about seven minutes after the planned liftoff time. It did not provide a reason for the aborted launch attempt. The Starlink 7-7 mission had already been delayed by a day. This latest attempt has been repeatedly pushed back from the original launch time of 10:33 p.m. PST and is now targeting the last launch opportunity of the night.

The first stage booster, making its 15th flight, previously launched the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb and the Space Development Agency Tranche 0B missions. Plus nine 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.

Deployment of the 22 V2 Mini Starlink satellites occurred* just over an hour after launch and was confirmed by SpaceX in a social media post. The V2 Mini model was introduced earlier this year and is much larger than the V1.5 satellites. Equipped with upgraded antennae and larger solar panels, the latest models can delivery four times the bandwidth of the previous satellites.

Starship thunders away from its launch pad on its second test flight, trailing a one thousand foot exhaust plume. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX’s gargantuan Super Heavy-Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, blasted off on its second test flight Saturday and while the initial stages of the mission went smoothly, the first stage broke apart moments after separation from the Starship upper stage, which then blew itself up as it neared space.

Viewed as a successful learning experience by SpaceX, it was the second failure in a row to get the Starship upper stage into space, a frustrating disappointment for Elon Musk’s rocket company and a potentially major setback for NASA, which is counting on the Starship to carry Artemis astronauts to the surface of the moon in the next few years.

While SpaceX’s philosophy is to fly frequently, learn from mistakes and fly again, NASA will require a long string of successful missions before the agency will deem it safe to put astronauts aboard. SpaceX will no doubt resolve the issues that derailed Saturday’s flight, but every delay poses a threat to NASA’s moon landing timeline.

But SpaceX, at least, viewed the launching as more of a success than a failure.

“Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting second integrated flight test of Starship!” the company posted on X. “Starship successfully lifted off under the power of all 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster and made it through stage separation”

Our live webcast from Starbase, Texas, will get underway at 5 a.m. CST / 6 a.m. EST / 1300 UTC. Our coverage of the countdown and launch is brought to you in partnership with our colleagues at LabPadre.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 stands ready for launch on a Starlink delivery mission. Image: Spaceflight Now.

A Falcon 9 rocket is to launch tonight with another batch of satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink internet service. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is planned for 11:15 p.m. EDT (0415 UTC).

The 45th Weather Squadron in a forecast issued Thursday, predicted a 60-percent chance of acceptable conditions for launch. After days of wet and windy weather, skies cleared briefly Friday before foggy conditions descended on the Space Coast after sunset. If necessary there are as many as six additional launch opportunities Friday night into Saturday morning. The last of which is at 2:59 a.m. EST (0759 UTC).

Spaceflight Now’s live coverage of the launch will get underway about an hour before liftoff. You can also watch 24-7 views of launch pads at the Cape in our Launch Pad Live stream.

The Falcon 9 is carrying 23 second-generation V2 mini satellites and will head on a south-easterly trajectory after launching from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. Following stage separation, about two and half minutes into flight, booster 1069, which is making its 11th flight, will arc towards a landing on the drone ship “Just Read the Instructions” which will be stationed about 420 miles (675 km) downrange in the Atlantic east of the Bahamas.

It will be SpaceX’s 54th Starlink delivery mission in 2023 and the company’s 84th orbital launch of the year. If all goes according to plan, the satellites, will be released into orbit an hour and five minutes after liftoff. SpaceX announced early this year it had signed up over two million subscribers in more than 60 countries for its Starlink internet service.

Starship and Super Heavy stand ready for a second test flight on Nov. 15, 2023. Image: Will Robinson-Smith/Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX’s huge Super Heavy-Starship rocket has been cleared for a second test flight Friday in an attempt to boost the unpiloted Starship upper stage into space for the first time, the company announced Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration granted SpaceX the required launch license Wednesday, clearing the way for liftoff nearly seven months after the rocket suffered multiple failures and blew itself up during its maiden flight in April.

Since then, SpaceX has implemented what company founder Elon Musk said were “well over” 1,000 upgrades and improvements and carried out 63 FAA-mandated “corrections” designed to improve flight safety and performance.

“The (launch) license applies to all phases of the proposed operation,” the FAA said in a statement. “After consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a written evaluation of the 2022 Programmatic Environmental Assessment, the FAA concluded there are no significant environmental changes.”

The Super Heavy’s liftoff from SpaceX’s Boca Chica flight test facility on the Texas Gulf Coast is targeted for 8 a.m. EST Friday, the opening of a two-hour window.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with a pair of SES’ O3b mPOWER satellites heading up to medium Earth orbit. Image: Michael Cain

Update 4:43 p.m. EST (2143 UTC): SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket to begin the mission. The satellites will start being deployed around 6:08 p.m. EST (2308 UTC).

Original story:

On its second Falcon 9 mission of the weekend, SpaceX will launch a pair of internet-providing satellites for Luxembourg-based company, SES. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is planned during an 89-minute window that opens at 4:08 p.m. EST (2108 UTC).

According to the 45th Weather Squadron’s launch weather forecast, there is a 70 percent chance of favorable weather at liftoff with cumulus clouds being the main watch item. Should the launch slip to Monday, weather deteriorates to the point that there would only be 40 percent favorable weather.

Spaceflight Now will have live coverage with commentary of the O3b mPOWER 5&6 launch starting about an hour before liftoff.

For the fourth time in 2023, SpaceX will launch a smallsat rideshare mission to low Earth orbit with a multitude of payloads. The Transporter-9 mission is set to launch during a 55-minute window starting at 10:49 a.m. PST (18:49 UTC) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

SpaceX said the launch will include 113 payloads, 90 of which will be deployed directly from the Falcon 9 rocket. The other 23 satellites will deploy from orbital transfer vehicles at a later time.

The plurality of the payloads come from Earth observation company, Planet Labs PBC. The San Francisco-based company is sending up 36 more of its SuperDove satellites, which add to a roster of more than 500 currently on orbit. It’s also launching a technology demonstration satellite called “Pelican-1,” which will “host Planet’s next generation of imaging sensors, to be deployed as part of the Pelican and Tanager constellations.”

The mission comes at the end of a week where SpaceX launched a batch of Starlink satellites and a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. It also comes a day before the company prepares to launch two more satellites on behalf of Luxembourg-based satellite company, SES.

The Transporter-9 mission will lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E), after which, the first stage booster, tail number B1071, will return to VSFB for a touchdown at Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4).

A long-exposure from the beach at Cape Canaveral captures the first-stage and second-stage burns, plus the entry and landing burns of the first-stage. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now.

Lighting up the night sky, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaked into orbit in spectacular fashion Thursday, kicking off a 32-hour rendezvous with the International Space Station to deliver 6,500 pounds of research gear, crew supplies and needed equipment.

Also on board: fresh fruit, cheese and pizza kits and “some fun holiday treats for the crew, like chocolate, pumpkin spice cappuccino, rice cakes, turkey, duck, quail, seafood, cranberry sauce and mochi,” said Dana Weigel, deputy space station program manager at the Johnson Space Center.

Liftoff from historic pad 39 at the Kennedy Space Center came at 8:28 p.m. EDT, roughly the moment Earth’s rotation carried the pad directly into the plane of the space station’s orbit. That’s a requirement for rendezvous missions with targets moving at more than 17,000 mph.

The climb to space went smoothly, and the Dragon was released to fly on its own about 12 minutes after liftoff. If all goes well, the spacecraft will catch up with the space station Saturday morning and stand by for capture by the lab’s robot arm.

The launching marked SpaceX’s 29th Cargo Dragon flight to the space station and the second mission for capsule C-211. The first stage booster, also making its second flight, flew itself back to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to chalk up SpaceX’s 39th Florida touchdown and its 243rd overall.

A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the CRS-29 mission, sending more than 6,500 pounds of cargo and science experiments up to the International Space Station. Image: SpaceX/NASA

Rodents, water filters and a laser relay are among the 6,500 pounds of science and equipment that will launch to the International Space Station on Thursday evening. A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to liftoff carrying a SpaceX Cargo Dragon at 8:28 p.m. EST (0128 UTC on Nov. 10) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

This will be the ninth mission for SpaceX under the current Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS). The first 20 missions flew under the original resupply services contract.

Weather heading into the launch is about as ideal as possible. The 45th Weather Squadron based at Patrick Space Force Base forecast a 95 percent favorable outlook at liftoff. If needed, the 24-hour backup opportunity on 8:05 p.m. EST (0105 UTC) is 90 percent favorable.

After lifting off from the pad at LC-39A, the Falcon 9 will fly in a northeast trajectory to catch up to the ISS.

About seven-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, B1081, will land at Landing Zone 1. This will be the second flight for this booster after launching the Crew-7 mission to the ISS earlier this year.

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle sits on the runway at Space Florida’s Launch and Landing Facility after returning from its sixth mission on Nov. 12, 2022. Image: U.S. Space Force

The U.S. military’s experimental spaceplane will soon soar to orbit using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time, a Pentagon news release announced. The X-37B spacecraft will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center no earlier than December 7.

The Falcon Heavy launch will mark the seventh flight of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. The mini-shuttle is operated by Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, in partnership with the United States Space Force. The mission was previously dubbed USSF-52 by the U.S. Space Force.

“We are excited to expand the envelope of the reusable X-37B’s capabilities, using the flight-proven service module and Falcon Heavy rocket to fly multiple cutting-edge experiments for the Department of the Air Force and its partners,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, the X-37B Program Director, in a statement.

The news release said the mission would see the spaceplane operate in “new orbital regimes” without any specific details. Previous X-37B missions have operated in low Earth orbit.

The spaceplane is designed for long-duration missions on orbit for various tests and experiments on behalf of the Space Force as well as NASA. This upcoming flight, OTV-7, will include a radiation experiment called “Seeds-2,” which will study the impacts of radiation on various plant seeds during long-duration spaceflight.

A ULA Vulcan rocket during a testing campaign (left) and a Falcon Heavy rocket at liftoff (right). Both launch vehicles were tapped to launch National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions during the fifth and final ordering year procurement by the U.S. Space Systems Command. Images: ULA, SpaceX

The U.S. Space Systems Command revealed the details of its latest batch of launch contracts for national security missions shared between United Launch Alliance and SpaceX.

This marks the fifth and final year of the Phase 2 National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Service Task Order awards has been issued. It also sets the stage for more launch companies to join in the mix in the future. NSSL missions help protect U.S. assets both in orbit as well as on the ground. They also host technology demonstrations and advancements in various defense capabilities.

However, financial uncertainty on Capitol Hill means that not all of the proposed missions may get funding for some time, including a demonstration of a nuclear thermal rocket.

Among the 21 missions that have been assigned to ULA and SpaceX, only eight are anticipated to be ordered under a continuing resolution scenario, according to the U.S. Space Systems Command:

ULA

Updated: California launch slips.



SpaceX is planning a Starlink delivery mission from Cape Canaveral Tuesday night, the first of two planned Falcon 9 launches in less than 48 hours. Liftoff from pad 40 is scheduled for 11:01 p.m. EST (0401 UTC).

Near-perfect weather is forecast for the launch of 23 more satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink internet service. U.S. Space Force meteorologists at the 45th Weather squadron said Monday there was a greater than 95-percent chance of acceptable weather for launch.

It will be the first launch from Space Launch Complex 40 since SpaceX attached a crew access arm to a recently-constructed tower as it upgrades the facility to handle crew and cargo Dragon flights.

The crew access arm is manuevered into place on the newly constructed tower at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

A crew access arm was lifted into place at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral on Monday, as SpaceX races to ready the pad for its first Crew Dragon launch with astronauts as soon as January.

Multiple sources tell SpaceFlight Now that Axiom Space’s third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will likely mark the debut of the new tower, thanks to a packed schedule at Launch Complex-39A. The mission, commanded by former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, will send three European astronauts on a trip to the space station for up to 14 days.

Currently, SpaceX and Russia’s agency, Roscosmos, are the only tickets to the ISS and it’s the lone option currently in the United States until Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft enters the rotation next year.

Not only that, but SpaceX currently only has one launch pad from which it can launch astronauts, as well as cargo missions, to the ISS: Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Over the course of 2023, SpaceX has been working to change that with the construction of a new crew and cargo access tower at its second Florida launch pad: Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at CCSFS.

Aerial view of the fully stacked Starship vehicle at Starbase, Texas, on Sept. 6, 2023. Image: SpaceX.

More than half a year after its first flight, SpaceX believes it’s on the cusp of getting to launch its Starship rocket for a second time.

On Friday afternoon, the company updated its website to announce that the second integrated flight test (IFT-2) of it’s towering rocket “could launch as soon as mid-November, pending regulatory approval.” Sources suggest the launch could be as soon as Nov. 13, but that’s far from set in stone.

Those regulatory hurdles surrounding the fully reusable launch vehicle are now mainly centered around the conclusion of an environmental review, which is in the hands of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

Earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it had concluded the Starship-Super Heavy safety review. In a statement to Spaceflight Now, the agency said that “The environmental review is the last major element to complete before the FAA makes a license determination.”

SpaceX will debut a number of upgrades to both the rocket itself as well as the launch infrastructure, including their new hot-stage separation system and an electronic Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system.

A Falcon 9 rocket streaks across the sky, sending 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on their way to low Earth orbit. This was the 18th launch and landing of this booster, tail number 1058. Image: Michael Cain

SpaceX broke another re-flight record on Friday evening with the launch of 23 more Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 booster making its 18th flight.

The Starlink 6-26 mission launched from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 8:37 p.m. EDT (0037 UTC on Nov. 4). It sent 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites up to low Earth orbit, which will bring the total Starlink satellites launched in 2023 up to 1,711.

The booster for this mission, tail number B1058, is the oldest, currently flying Falcon 9 booster. It first flew on May 30, 2020, launching former NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station on the Demo-2 mission. This was the first flight of the Commercial Crew Program with astronauts on board. SpaceX has since flown seven crew rotation missions up to the orbiting outpost, in addition to two private astronaut missions.

Following liftoff, the booster landed on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ about eight-and-a-half minutes into the mission.

As SpaceX continues working towards adding Dragon capabilities to SLC-40 with a new crew access tower, Friday night’s mission will marked the 152nd orbital launch for the company since it began using the launch pad. This will be the 207th overall launch from this site.