Space News & Blog Articles

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the U.S. Space Force (USSF)-124 payload of missile warning satellites for the Missile Defense Agency and Space Development Agency, completes being raised into its vertical launch position at Space Launch Complex (SLC)-40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida ahead of today’s scheduled 5:30 p.m. EST liftoff. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX is aiming to launch its eighth Falcon 9 rocket on a National Security Space Launch (NSSL) mission on Wednesday evening. The launch, named United States Space Force 124 (USSF-124) is targeting liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at the start of a four-hour launch window that opens at 5:30 p.m. EST (2230 UTC).

Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, named ‘Odysseus,’ displayed prior to encapsulation inside a pair of SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairings. Image: SpaceX

Update 11:05 p.m. EST: SpaceX and Intuitive Machines scrubbed the launch attempt for Wednesday morning.

Polaris Dawn Commander Jared Isaacman (left) and Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet alongside a SpaceX render of the spacewalk that will be performed during their mission. Photoillustration: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

Amid a flurry of astronaut missions scheduled for 2024, a commercial flight is aiming to mark a historic first: a non-governmental spacewalk.

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off from New Zealand on the company’s first flight of 2024. Image: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab was back in action on Wednesday, kicking off its launch year with a recovery Electron mission from New Zealand. This was its second return to flight mission following a mishap late last year.

Collins Aerospace tested its next generation spacesuit during a recent parabolic flight. This was part of its Crew Capability Assessment. Image: Collins Aerospace

Astronauts who work onboard the U.S. side of the International Space Station are one step closer to getting new spacesuits.

For the first time, Sierra Space mated its Dream Chaser spaceplane to the Shooting Star module amid shake table testing at NASA’s Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

An orbital-class spaceplane is one step closer to returning to the International Space Station. As part of an on-going test campaign, Sierra Space mated its Dream Chaser spaceplane to its Shooting Star module for the first time at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio.

NASA’s PACE spacecraft inside a clean room at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, FL. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

From the oceans to the atmosphere, there’s still quite a bit we don’t understand about our planet. NASA’s latest Earth-observing spacecraft hopes to greatly expand our knowledge of the globe in just a few years.

The Falcon 9 with NASA’s PACE mission atop stands ready for launch at pad 40. Image: SpaceX.

Update 2:30 a.m. EST: SpaceX and NASA confirm a successful launch.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base supporting the Starlink 7-13 mission. Image: SpaceX

Update 8:00 p.m. EST: SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket and recovered the first stage booster on a droneship.

A long exposure shows the Falcon 9 climbing to orbit and the first-stage entry and landing burns. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX launched an environmental research satellite for NASA early Thursday, a nearly $1 billion spacecraft that survived multiple cancellation threats and is now poised to shed new light on climate change and the complex interplay of heat-trapping carbon, aerosols and sea life on global scales.

The inaugural Vulcan rocket, powered by two Blue Origin-built BE-4 engines, lifts off from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Jan. 8, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

United Launch Alliance entered an important new era for the company with the debut of its Vulcan rocket in early January. The flight was one that was highly anticipated by those both inside and outside ULA and, by all metrics, it was a highly successful mission for ULA.

A camera aboard a small micro rover deployed from Japan’s SLIM lunar lander captured an image of the probe resting on one side a few feet away after an engine malfunction during the final stages of descent Jan. 19. Image: JAXA.

One of two engines powering a Japanese moon lander during its descent to the surface Jan. 19 suffered a malfunction of some sort just 160 feet above the lunar surface that sharply reduced its power, the Japanese space agency said Thursday.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center carrying 23 Starlink satellites into space. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

Update 8:40 p.m.: The first Falcon 9 of the night lifted off at 8:10 p.m. EST from Kennedy Space Center.

A Falcon 9 liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California carrying 22 Starlink satellites. Image: SpaceX.

SpaceX launched its second Falcon 9 launch of the night with the Starlink 7-12 mission soaring skyward from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) on Sunday, Jan. 28, at 9:57 p.m. PST (12:57 a.m. EST, 0557 UTC).

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft for the first time on the NG-20 mission. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is gearing up for its second launch bound for the International Space Station this month. But unlike all previous missions targeting the orbiting outpost, this flight doesn’t feature a Dragon spacecraft.

SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) aims to demonstrate “landing where it is desire to land”, pin-point landing technique and obstacle detection technique. Graphic: JAXA

A robotic Japanese moon lander touched down on the lunar surface Friday, but it immediately suffered a power glitch of some sort that prevented its solar cells from generating the electricity needed to keep it alive in the harsh lunar environment.

A Falcon 9 lifts off from Kennedy Space Center carrying an international crew on a commercial mission to the space station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

After months of training and detailed planning, the most international crew yet to visit the International Space Station blasted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Thursday to kick off a two-week research mission, the third fully commercial flight to the orbital outpost.

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

SpaceX scrubbed a Starlink delivery mission by Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday and rescheduled the launch from California for Friday. The Starlink 7-11 mission now scheduled for launch at 6:15 p.m. PST (9:15 p.m. EST (0215 UTC).

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander captured by a camera mounted onboard the lander on its second day in space. Image: Astrobotic

The first U.S. lander bound for the Moon since 1972 burned up in Earth’s atmosphere on Thursday. The unfortunate ending for Astrobotic’s spacecraft was deemed the most responsible choice given its hopes of reaching the Moon were dashed less than a day after it launched.

Update: SpaceX has delayed the launch of the Axiom 3 mission to Thursday.

The countdown clock at Kennedy Space Center on hold after SpaceX scrubbed the launch of the Axiom 3 mission on Jan. 17, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX called off launch of its third commercial crew flight to the International Space Station Wednesday to allow more time for pre-flight data reviews. The flight, chartered by Houston-based Axiom Space, was reset for Thursday pending final analysis.