Space News & Blog Articles

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.

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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.

A spectacular launch from Cape Canaveral just after sunset Monday delivered to orbit Italy’s second satellite in a new generation of COSMO-SkyMed radar remote sensing spacecraft. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket put on a memorable sky show over Florida’s Space Coast during its climb into space and return to Earth.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with the NROL-87 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sits horizontal at Space Launch Complex 4-East on Tuesday ahead of a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. Credit: Brian Sandoval / Spaceflight Now

A classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office is closed up in the nose cone of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for liftoff Wednesday from California’s Central Coast, debuting a brand new booster that will land back near the launch site for reuse on another national security mission later this year.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket takes off just after sunset Monday with Italy’s sixth COSMO-SkyMed satellite. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX gave an Italian radar satellite a picture-perfect ride into orbit with a memorable Monday evening launch from Cape Canaveral on top of a Falcon 9 rocket. A clear sunset sky offered spectators dazzling views of the reusable booster’s fiery climb into space and pyrotechnic plunge back to Earth.

The official patch for the NROL-87 mission. Credit: NRO

The first launch of the year from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, set for Wednesday afternoon, will send a payload into orbit for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

A Falcon 9 rocket stands on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Sunday evening before a launch attempt with an Italian COSMO-SkyMed radar imaging satellite. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now

A cruise ship that ventured under the planned flight path of a Falcon 9 rocket near Cape Canaveral Sunday forced SpaceX to delay launch of an Italian Earth-imaging satellite for a fourth time, setting up the mission for another try just after sunset Monday.

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A Falcon 9 rocket stands on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Friday evening with Italy’s CSG 2 radar satellite. Credit: SpaceX

A blanket of thick clouds over Cape Canaveral Friday forced SpaceX to delay liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket and an Italian radar remote sensing satellite until Saturday, setting up Florida’s Space Coast for launches on back to back days this weekend, with another SpaceX flight already booked on the range for Sunday.

A SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule undocks from the International Space Station on Jan. 23 with more than 4,900 pounds of hardware and scientific experiments. Credit: NASA

A SpaceX cargo ship splashed down under parachutes in the Gulf of Mexico this week, returning from the International Space Station after a 34-day mission with a spacesuit used for spacewalks and research specimens for distribution to scientists around the world.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The mission will launch a radar remote sensing satellite for Italy’s COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation constellation. Follow us on Twitter.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a booster stage converted from two previous Falcon Heavy missions, rolls through NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 8 toward its launch pad. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography

A converted SpaceX side booster that flew on two Falcon Heavy missions in 2019 will launch again Thursday as the first stage of a single-stick Falcon 9 rocket set to lift off from Cape Canaveral with an Italian radar imaging satellite.