Space News & Blog Articles



Anna Menon, Scott Poteet, Jared Isaacman, and Sarah Gilles pose with prototypes of Starship vehicles in South Texas. The four will fly into orbit on the Polaris Dawn mission. Credit: Polaris Program / John Kraus

Jared Isaacman, the billionaire businessman who bankrolled the first human space mission with all private citizens last year, announced plans Monday for up to three more SpaceX flights, a privately-funded program that will include the first commercial spacewalk, and ultimately a ride on the giant Starship rocket ship.

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifts off with the EOS 4 radar satellite. Credit: ISRO

An Indian radar satellite and two rideshare payloads rode a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle into orbit Sunday, returning India’s space program to flight after the failure of a different type of rocket last August.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle with the EOS 4 radar remote sensing satellite and two rideshare payloads. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

India’s EOS 4 radar imaging satellite is prepared for encapsulation inside the payload shroud of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. Credit: ISRO

An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is preparing to soar into orbit Sunday with an Indian radar imaging satellite and two rideshare payloads, including one built in the United States in partnership with science institutes in India, Singapore, and Taiwan.

A Soyuz ST-B rocket takes off from the Guiana Space Center on Thursday with 34 new OneWeb internet satellites. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/P. Piron

A Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off from French Guiana and hauled 34 new satellites into orbit for OneWeb’s internet network Thursday, bringing the tally of OneWeb spacecraft launched to 428 and marking the company’s fleet two-thirds complete.

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION

Astra’s Rocket 3.3 vehicle lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography

Four NASA-funded nanosatellites were lost Thursday when an Astra rocket tumbled out of control minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, the fourth time in five tries that the startup space company has failed to reach orbit.

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, stands with a fully-stacked Starship launch vehicle in South Texas on Thursday night. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX plans to transform parts of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to become an operational base for the company’s super-powerful Starship launcher, while keeping a sprawling complex in South Texas as a research and development location for the heavy-lift rocket program, Elon Musk said Thursday.



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Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana with 34 more satellites for OneWeb’s global internet network. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

A Falcon 9 rocket climbs into space Feb. 3 with 49 Starlink internet satellites. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now

SpaceX said Tuesday a solar storm causing more atmospheric drag in low Earth orbit will destroy as many as 40 of 49 new Starlink internet satellites launched from Florida last week.



Live coverage of the countdown and launch of Astra’s Rocket 3.3 from pad 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission will launch four CubeSats developed by universities and NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

Astra’s Rocket 3.3, with NASA’s “meatball” logo on its fairing, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: Astra / John Kraus

Astra has become the first company to receive a commercial launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration through a streamlined regulatory regime, clearing a procedural hurdle before launching a small rocket and four NASA-sponsored CubeSats into orbit Saturday from Cape Canaveral.

The Orion spacecraft, with its launch abort system, stands on top of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. Credit: NASA/Corey Huston

NASA officials said Wednesday the first rollout of the agency’s huge Space Launch System moon rocket is scheduled in mid-March for a key fueling test on a seaside launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, a few weeks than previous planned to allow more time for closeouts inside the Vehicle Assembly Building.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Thursday with 49 more Starlink internet satellites. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography

Another 49 Starlink internet satellites lifted off Thursday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a Falcon 9 rocket, notching SpaceX’s third launch and landing this week, and the company’s sixth mission in 28 days.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will launch SpaceX’s next batch of 49 Starlink broadband satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

This page is available to Spaceflight Now members only

Support Spaceflight Now’s unrivaled coverage of the space program by becoming a member. Your monthly or annual membership will help us continue and expand our coverage. As a supporter of the site you will also gain access to bonus content such as this page.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from the SLC-4E launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base to begin the NROL-87 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. Credit: Brian Sandoval / Spaceflight Now

SpaceX hauled a classified payload into orbit for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency Wednesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, accomplishing another successful launch and landing on the second of three Falcon 9 rocket missions planned this week.