Space News & Blog Articles

Live coverage of China’s Shenzhou 12 mission, a three-month expedition to the Tiangong space station. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION

Artist’s concept of China’s Shenzhou 12 spacecraft undocking from the Tianhe core module of China’s space station. Credit: CCTV

China’s three-man Shenzhou 12 crew floated into their return craft and undocked from the Tiangong space station Wednesday, heading for landing in remote northwestern China to close out a three-month mission, the longest human flight to date in the country’s space program.

A Falcon 9 rocket streaks into orbit Wednesday night from Kennedy Space Center, kicking off the Inspiration4 mission. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography

With the backing of a billionaire businessman, four private citizens blasted off Wednesday night from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a first-of-its-kind fully commercial three-day spaceflight aboard a SpaceX crew capsule, riding to an altitude higher than any person has flown in two decades.

Photographers visited launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center early Wednesday to set up remote cameras. Photographer Michael Cain captured these views of the 215-foot-tall (65-meter) Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft ahead of liftoff on the Inspiration 4 private crew mission.

Jared Isaacman, commander of the Inspiration4 mission, trains in a Crew Dragon simulator at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX’s launch of the all-private Inspiration4 crew mission, scheduled as soon as Wednesday night, is an all-commercial affair that leaves NASA largely on the sidelines. And that’s just fine with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center with the Inspiration4 mission, the first all-private human spaceflight to low Earth orbit. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

A Soyuz rocket takes off Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with 34 OneWeb satellites. Credit: Roscosmos

A day after SpaceX launched 51 Starlink broadband satellites from California, a Russian Soyuz rocket fired into orbit Tuesday from a spaceport halfway around the world, shepherding 34 more satellites for the commercial internet network being constructed by rival OneWeb.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with 34 OneWeb broadband satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

Thirty-four OneWeb satellites, mounted on their deployment fixture, are raised onto a Fregat upper stage at the Baikonur Cosmodrome during pre-launch preparations. Credit: Roscosmos

A Russian Soyuz rocket is poised for lift off Tuesday from Kazakhstan with another 34 internet spacecraft for OneWeb, the company’s 10th launch since deployment of the satellite network began in 2019.

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket streaks into space Monday night in this long exposure photo. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX delivered 51 more Starlink internet spacecraft to orbit Monday night with a successful Falcon 9 rocket launch from California, introducing new inter-satellite optical laser links to improve how the network relays broadband signals around the world.



Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with 51 Starlink internet satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

A stack of Starlink satellites before a previous launch from Florida. Credit: SpaceX

A batch of 51 Starlink internet spacecraft, debuting new laser inter-satellite links, is set for liftoff Monday night from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on SpaceX’s first dedicated Starlink mission from the West Coast.

From left to right: Chris Sembroski, Sian Proctor, Jared Isaacman, and Hayley Arceneaux aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft Sunday night. Credit: SpaceX

The four civilian fliers who will rocket into orbit this week on the privately-managed Inspiration4 mission took their seats inside a SpaceX crew capsule Sunday night in Florida during a dress rehearsal for launch day.

Credit: SpaceX

The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spaceship chartered by billionaire Jared Isaacman for a three-day mission in low Earth orbit arrived at historic launch pad 39A in Florida over the weekend, moving into the starting blocks for liftoff Wednesday night with four civilian passengers.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center with the Inspiration4 mission, the first all-private human spaceflight to low Earth orbit. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

Chris Sembroski, Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, and Sian Proctor pose with the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule that will carry them into orbit. Credit: Inspiration4 / John Kraus

SpaceX raised a Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule on pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Sunday, kicking off a busy few days before launch of the all-private Inspiration4 crew mission as soon as Wednesday night.

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION

A Long March 3B rocket lifts off with the Chinasat 9B communications satellite. Credit: CASC

A replacement Chinese communications satellite for a craft launched into the wrong orbit four years ago successfully rocketed into space Thursday, just in time to be ready to support 4K and 8K television broadcasts of the Beijing Winter Olympics next year.