Space News & Blog Articles

A file photo of a stack of Starlink satellites prior to deployment from a Falcon 9 upper stage. Image: SpaceX

Update Jan. 18, 3:12 p.m. EST (2012 UTC): SpaceX pushed back the T-0 liftoff time.

The mission patch symbolizing the National Reconnaissance Office’s proliferated architecture satellite constellation. Graphic: NRO

SpaceX is preparing for a late night Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday, which will carry an undisclosed number of intelligence-gathering satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office.

(Left to Right) Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya You inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour shortly after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

Four space station crewmates undocked and plunged back to Earth Thursday, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast six days after NASA ordered them home early because of a medical issue.

The four members of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission are shown suited in their intra-vehicular activity (IVA) flight suits ahead of their departure from the International Space Station. From left to right: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui. Image: Mike Fincke/NASA

The SpaceX Crew-11 mission is coming to a close with the crew preparing to depart the International Space Station Wednesday afternoon and splashdown off the coast of California in the predawn hours on Thursday.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the planned launch of the Starlink 6-71 mission. Image: Spaceflight Now

SpaceX aims to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday afternoon, but faces difficult weather.

The GPS III Space Vehicle 09, the ninth GPS III spacecraft, is pictured traveling by road from Lockheed Martin facilities in Denver, CO, to Florida’s Space Coast. Image: Lockheed Martin

The next Global Positioning System satellite is switching from a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket to a SpaceX Falcon 9, a spokesperson for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command System Delta 80 said Tuesday.

Four SpaceX Crew-11 members gather together for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module on Jan. 9, 2026. Clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui. Image: NASA

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke wrapped up his time as commander of the International Space Station on Monday, Jan. 12, after just over a month in the position.

The PSLV-C62 rocket lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre carrying the EOS-N1 Earth observing satellite along with 15 other rideshare satellites. The four-stage rocket suffered an anomaly with its third stage. Image: ISRO via livestream

India’s first launch of 2026 ended in failure due to an issue with the third stage of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, supported by the first stage booster with the tail number 1078, stands in the launch position at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the launch of the Starlink 6-97 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

Update Jan. 12, 12:55 p.m. EST (1555 UTC): SpaceX pushed back the T-0 liftoff time.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is vertical at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of the launch of the Starlink 9-10 mission on Nov. 8, 2024. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX will debut a new class of rideshare mission on Sunday with the launch of its first Twilight flight. The mission is described by the company as flying to a “dawn-dusk Sun-synchronous orbit” after departing from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

A Dual Engine Centaur upper stage for Atlas V nears completion at the factory in Decatur, Alabama. The RL10 engine marked 60 years of flight on Nov. 27, 2023. Image: United Launch Alliance

On Monday, L3Harris Technologies, announced the intended sale of a majority stake in its Space Propulsion and Power Systems business to AE Industrial Partners, shifting control over one of its marquee engines: the RL10.

Crew 11 during training before launch last August (left to right): Cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Crew 11 commander Zena Cardman and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui. Image: NASA

Four space station fliers have been told to cut their mission short and return to Earth ahead of schedule because of an apparently serious medical issue affecting an unidentified crew member, NASA announced Thursday.

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands in the launch position at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the planned liftoff of the Starlink 6-61 mission on Oct. 22, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is set to launch its Falcon 9 rocket on an early afternoon flight to deliver more of its Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

At center, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and Expedition 74 Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui assists NASA astronauts Zena Cardman (left) and Mike Fincke (right), the station’s flight engineer and commander respectively, during spacesuit checks inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock. Image: NASA

Update Jan. 8, 12:30 a.m. EST (0530 UTC): Adding new statement from NASA.

Vandenberg SFB Guardians and Airmen supported the NASA Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, July 23, 2025. At the forefront of space operations at Vandenberg, the safety team ensures minimal risk for safe, reliable and frequent access to space. Image: U.S. Space Force/Jennifer Green-Lanchoney

A new orbital launch site is up for grabs at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California.

SpaceX launches the Starlink 6-88 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Jan. 4, 2026. This was the company’s first Starlink mission of the year and the first Falcon 9 launch from the Eastern Range of 2026. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now

Update Jan. 4, 3:38 a.m. EST (0838 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the 29 Starlink satellites.

The Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 spacecraft is pictured prior to being encapsulated within a pair of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 payload fairings. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX is ringing in the new year with a Falcon 9 rocket launch slated for Friday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 satellite undergoes testing ahead of its launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Image: Ministry of Defense

Update Dec. 27, 2:28 p.m. EST (1928 UTC): SpaceX adjusted the T-0 liftoff time.

ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno participated in a fireside chat with Michael Dickey, director of the Force Design Integration Office at the U.S. Space Force’s Space Warfighting Analysis Center. The conversation happened on the final day of the Space Force Association’s Spacepower Conference on Dec. 12, 2024. Image: Will Robinson-Smith/Spaceflight Now

Blue Origin announced on Friday that Tory Bruno, who left United Launch Alliance four days ago, would head the company’s newly formed National Security Group.

An H3 rocket from Mitsubishi Heavy Technologies and JAXA lifts off with the QZS-5 navigation satellite. The rocket suffered a second stage anomaly that prevented a successful deployment at the correct altitude. Image: JAXA

A flight of Japan’s H3 rocket ended in failure on Dec. 22 after the upper stage experienced an anomaly.

Tory Bruno stands between a pair of Vulcan booster at United Launch Alliance’s rocket factory in Decatur, Alabama, on Nov. 4, 2025. Image: Will Robinson-Smith/Spaceflight Now

United Launch Alliance announced its president and chief executive officer, Tory Bruno, resigned from the company, effective Monday, Dec. 22.