Space News & Blog Articles

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.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at sunset from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Starlink 8-1 mission on April 6, 2024. Image: SpaceX

For a second time this year, SpaceX is preparing to launch another batch of Starlink satellites that support its Direct to Cell capability. The six spacecraft are among the 21 total satellites which launched on Saturday, April 6, from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Starlink 6-47 mission on Friday, April 5, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now

Update 5:12 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the Starlink 6-47 mission.

NASA awarded contracts for three companies and their teams to move into the feasibility phase of developing options for a Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV). Renderings: Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, Astrolab

NASA selected three companies to move forward with developing crewed, unpressurized rovers capable of operating on the Moon’s South Pole on Wednesday.

SpaceX’s Starlink V2 Mini satellites inside a payload processing facility at Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX hopes to follow the successful launch of a European television satellite with a pair of its own Starlink missions from both Florida and California. The first Falcon 9 flight is scheduled to depart from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at pad 40.

A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Eutelsat 36D mission at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on March 30, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is aiming for an ambitious launch cadence on Saturday evening with potentially three launches on tap in fewer than five hours. The first two Falcon 9 rockets are set to depart from Florida’s Space Coast with the last mission taking off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX

As the month of March winds down, SpaceX hopes to squeeze in one more launch from California with a batch of 22 of its Starlink satellites on board.

The final Delta 4 Heavy pictured on the eve of its final mission inside the Mobile Service Tower at Cape Canaveral’s pad 37. Photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.United Launch Alliance is preparing to bid a fond farewell to what its CEO calls “the most metal of all rockets.” The last Delta rocket, flying in its three-core heavy configuration, is preparing to launch on a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), dubbed NROL-70.

NASA astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore (right) pose in front of a graphic of the mission patch for the Starliner Crew Flight Test. Image: Will Robinson-Smith/Spaceflight Now

NASA is five weeks away from putting astronauts aboard a new commercial crew capsule. May 1 is the target launch date for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on the Crew Flight Test-1 (CFT-1) mission the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams on board.

A Falcon 9 stands ready for the Starlink 6-46 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX is preparing to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Monday evening with 23 Starlink satellites on board. This mission will mark the 175th launch for SpaceX from its workhorse pad to date.

A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch at pad 39A on a mission to deliver another 23 Starlink satellites to orbit. Image: Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX is gearing up for the first of two Starlink missions from Cape Canaveral in 48 hours. A Falcon 9 rocket will launch from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 7:39 p.m. EDT on Saturday, one minute after sunset. It will be followed by another Falcon 9 from nearby pad 40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday.

Photographers capture the liftoff of the Soyuz MS-25 mission bound for the International Space Station. Image: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

Two days after a rare last-second launch abort, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft blasted off Saturday on a flight to the International Space Station, carrying two short-duration crew members and a NASA astronaut bound for a six-month tour of duty.

Expedition 71 NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya are seen in quarantine, behind glass, during a press conference, Wednesday, March 20, 2024 a the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Dyson, Novitskiy, and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft on March 21. Image: NASA/Bill Ingalls

A Russian cosmonaut, an American astronaut and a Belarusian flight attendant turned spaceflight participant are preparing for a mission to the International Space Station. Their arrival at the orbiting outpost will mark the beginning of Expedition 71.

For the first time, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon 2 spacecraft on top is positioned in launch configuration at pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX is gearing up for the next phase of launches from Cape Canaveral that is, in a way, a callback to a previous era in their launch history. While this will be SpaceX’s 30th flight as part of NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program, it’s the first time a Dragon 2 spacecraft will launch to the International Space Station (ISS) from pad 40.

File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at pad 4E ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX kicked off another busy week following the third test flight of its Starship rocket on Thursday and three Falcon 9 missions. The company notched a Monday launch with 22 Starlink satellites from its pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

SpaceX Starship rocket stands ready to launch on its third integrated flight test from southern Texas. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

SpaceX’s Starship rocket is poised to take to the skies over Texas for a third time Thursday morning. The launch is moving forward thanks to the final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, which issued its supporting documents Wednesday afternoon.

A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to support the Starlink 6-44 launch from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on March 13, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is busily preparing for two missions from launchpads in both Florida and Texas. It’s poised to launch the third integrated flight test (IFT-3) of its Starship rocket Thursday morning, but in the meantime, it hopes to launch a batch of Starlink satellites from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Rocket Lab’s 45th Electron rocket to date launches on the “Owl Night Long” mission for Synspective. Image: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab launches its third Electron mission of the year and its fourth for Japanese Earth-imaging company, Synspective.