Space News & Blog Articles

Boeing’s Starliner capsule sits atop the Atlas 5 rocket at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station a day before its planned launch. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now.

Years behind schedule and more than a billion dollars over budget, Boeing’s Starliner capsule is finally poised for its first piloted launch Monday, a critical test flight carrying two veteran astronauts to the International Space Station and in so doing, demonstrate an alternative to SpaceX’s already operational Crew Dragon.

In this week’s edition of News from the Press Site, Spaceflight Now’s Will Robinson-Smith is joined by Rachel Jewett, Senior Managing Editor for Via Satellite, and Joey Roulette, U.S. Business of Space Correspondent for Reuters.

A Falcon 9 stands ready for a Starlink mission at Cape Canaveral’s pad 40. File photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch on the 30th Starlink flight of the year. The mission will add 23 more satellites to the mega constellation.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carrying the first pair of WorldView Legion satellites for Maxar Space Systems. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX completed the first of a planned pair of Falcon 9 launches on Thursday, hours after it worked with NASA to relocate its Crew Dragon spacecraft on the International Space Station. First up to launch was a pair of Maxar Space Systems’ WorldView Legion satellites.

A Falcon 9 stands ready for a Starlink mission at Cape Canaveral’s pad 40. File photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

Following the historic launch of a pair of the European Commission’s Galileo satellites, SpaceX is preparing to launch another batch of its own Starlink high-speed internet satellites. The Sunday evening Falcon 9 launch will mark the 29th dedicated launch of Starlink satellites in 2024.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a pair of Galileo satellites for the European Commission’s constellation lifts off from Launch Complex 39A on April 27, 2024. The last time SpaceX launched an expandable Falcon 9 rocket was back in November 2022, 146 missions ago. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

SpaceX hit some notable milestones with the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Saturday. Most notably, the weekend flight marked the first time that the European Commission’s Galileo satellites (similar to the United State’s Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites) launched onboard an American-made rocket and from U.S. soil.

In this week’s edition of News from the Press Site, Spaceflight Now’s Will Robinson-Smith is joined by Tariq Malik, editor-in-chief of Space.com, and Passant Robie, space reporter for Gizmodo. The panel discusses the arrival of the NASA astronauts who will be the first to fly onboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, the reestablishment of contact with the Voyager 1 spacecraft, the 300th Falcon 9 booster landing for SpaceX and much more.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore (left) and Suni Williams (right) pose by their mission patch following their arrival at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in the run-up to the Starliner Crew Flight Test on May 6. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

For the first time since the end of the shuttle program, a trio of T-38 jets cruised down the former Shuttle Landing Facility carrying astronauts who were preparing for launch. As they climbed out of their aircraft, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, each donned back ball caps emblazoned with “Crew Flight Test,” the name of their forthcoming mission.

An artist’s concept of NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft in orbit. Graphic: NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart

Rocket Lab is gearing up for its fifth launch of the year, which will be a rideshare mission between the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and NASA. This will also be the company’s 47th Electron launch to date.

A Falcon 9 stands ready for a Starlink mission at Cape Canaveral’s pad 40. File photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX is preparing for a Falcon 9 launch that will set up the company to complete its 300th booster landing to date. The Starlink 6-53 mission will also mark the 30th orbital launch from Florida in 2024.

As NASA faced a mission price tag and timeline for the Mars Sample Return mission that the administrator called “unacceptable,” the agency is turning to both its various centers around the country and to the private sector to find workable solutions. Administrator Bill Nelson said MSR remains one of NASA’s highest priorities and he said he was optimistic about what may come their way.

A Falcon 9 stands ready for a Starlink mission at Cape Canaveral’s pad 40. File photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX is preparing for one more Falcon 9 launch to close out the week at the Cape. The Starlink 6-52 mission will add 23 more satellites to the growing low Earth orbit constellation.

A Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Launch Complex 39A ahead of the Starlink 6-51 mission on April 17, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is preparing for its latest Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The Starlink 6-51 mission comes about a week-and-a-half after the launch of its first Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission from that pad.

The CST-100 Starliner spacecraft pauses in front of Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) before it embarks to Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

Update 10:41 a.m. EDT: Added additional timing information regarding work at the VIF and a statement from Boeing regarding the Starliner-1 crew makeup.

This illustration shows a concept for multiple robots that would team up to ferry to Earth samples of rocks and soil being collected from the Martian surface by NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover.
Credit: NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech

NASA is going back to square one when it comes to many aspects of its Mars Sample Return mission in response to independent reviews that showed ballooning costs and significant schedule delays.

SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster, B1062, lifts off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Starlink 6-49 mission. This marked the first time a booster launch and landed for a 20th time. Image: Adam Bernstein

Update 10:13 p.m. EDT: SpaceX successfully launched and landed its booster, B1062, for a 20th time.

As the Delta family of rockets closes out a more than 60 year legacy, a new spacecraft from another legacy space company is preparing to make its debut with astronauts on board. Meanwhile, millions are still basking in the coronal glow of Monday’s total solar eclipse while a new military weather satellite is preparing to enter service.

The Weather System Follow-on – Microwave (WSF-M) space vehicle was successfully encapsulated April 8, 2024, ahead of its scheduled launch as the U.S. Space Force (USSF)-62 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., marking a major milestone on its upcoming launch into low Earth orbit. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX launched a military weather satellite designed to replace aging satellites from a program dating back to the 1960s. The United States Space Force-62 (USSF-62) mission featured the launch of the first Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) spacecraft.

A Falcon 9 rock climbs above Florida’s Space Coast on the Starlink 6-48 mission on April 10, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now

Update 1:58 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the Starlink 6-48 mission.

A ULA Delta 4 Heavy rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 37 on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. This was the 16th and final launch of a Delta 4 Heavy rocket. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

The second time was the charm for the finale of the Delta family of rockets. Following an issue with a gaseous nitrogen pipeline beyond the control of United Launch Alliance (ULA) that caused the March 28 scrub the second launch attempt on April 9 proved successful.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A on the Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission on April 7, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein

SpaceX launched the first in a new series of rideshare missions that it dubbed “Bandwagon.” The 11 satellites rode onboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.