Space News & Blog Articles

Nine kerosene-fueled Rutherford engines power Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher off the launch pad Tuesday night at Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: Rocket Lab / Trevor Mahlmann

Rocket Lab’s first mission from a launch pad in Virginia delivered three small commercial satellites into orbit Tuesday night, starting what the company hopes will be a banner year with at least 15 flights from the new U.S. launch site and a spaceport in New Zealand.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia. The Electron rocket will carry three radio frequency monitoring microsatellites into orbit for HawkEye 360. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

Three small satellites for the U.S. company HawkEye 360 are awaiting liftoff on Rocket Lab’s first mission from U.S. soil. Credit: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is set to fill up its small Electron launcher with propellant fire it into space from Virginia Tuesday evening with three commercial satellites, the company’s second try to launch its first mission from U.S. soil after bad weather thwarted attempts last month.

SpaceX launched 51 more Starlink satellites Jan. 19 on the first launch of the year from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX’s first launch of the year from California, and fourth mission overall in 2023, added 51 more satellites to the Starlink internet constellation Thursday, keeping pace with the company’s goal of 100 Falcon rocket launches this year.



Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on the Starlink 2-4 mission with 51 Starlink internet satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

Watch a replay of our live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 7:24 a.m. EST (1224 GMT) on Jan. 18 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, with the GPS 3 SV06 navigation satellite for the U.S. Space Force. Follow us on Twitter.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida before liftoff with the GPS 3 SV06 spacecraft. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX’s second launch for the U.S. military in three days is set to blast off from Florida and deliver a GPS navigation satellite into orbit Wednesday, reinforcing the global positioning and timing network as four more GPS spacecraft are in storage at a Lockheed Martin factory in Colorado to be launched as needed over the next few years.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket fires away from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida with two U.S. Space Force satellites. Credit: SpaceX

A U.S. military data relay satellite and a rideshare platform with its own suite of payloads rocketed into a sunset sky over Florida’s Space Coast Sunday on a Falcon Heavy launcher, putting on a dazzling show for local residents and visitors as the rocket’s two side boosters returned to Cape Canaveral for landing.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center on the USSF-67 mission for the U.S. Space Force. The mission will deploy two main payloads into geosynchronous orbit, and the Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters will return to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for landing. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

Artist’s concept of a Long Duration Propulsive ESPA spacecraft, based on Northrop Grumman’s ESPAStar satellite bus. Credit: Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Space Force say converted launch vehicle payload adapter rings, upgraded with power and propulsion to create full-fledged satellites, are proving effective in more rapidly delivering military instruments and sensors to orbit. Another such mission is set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket Saturday.

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Falcon Heavy’s 27 Merlin engines. Credit: SpaceX

Two U.S. military satellites set to ride SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket into geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles above Earth were mated with their launch vehicle Friday at Kennedy Space Center ahead of a scheduled liftoff Saturday just after sunset.

SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule streaks through the atmosphere on the way to splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa, Florida. Credit: SpaceX

A SpaceX-owned Dragon cargo capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico early Wednesday, returning 4,400 pounds of science equipment and hardware from the International Space Station after a 45-day resupply mission.

ABL’s RS1 rocket lifts off from Kodiak Island, Alaska, on Wednesday. Credit: ABL Space Systems

ABL Space Systems’ first RS1 rocket fell back on its launch pad at Kodiak Island, Alaska, shortly after liftoff Tuesday on the company’s first orbital launch attempt, destroying the rocket and damaging the ground facility, officials said.

Russia’s Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft undergoing launch preparations last year at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: Energia

Russian space agency and NASA officials said Wednesday they will accelerate the launch of the next Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station, and fly it to the complex next month without anyone on-board to replace a Soyuz crew ferry ship damaged Dec. 14 by a high-speed impact, likely from a tiny particle from deep space.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on the Starlink 2-4 mission with 51 Starlink internet satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

Virgin Orbit’s Boeing 747 carrier aircraft takes off from Spaceport Cornwall Monday night to begin the ill-fated “Start Me Up” mission. Credit: Virgin Orbit

An investigation has been launched after an attempt to make space history by sending satellites into orbit from British soil for the first time ended in failure Monday night due to an anomaly in the second stage of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket.

Live coverage of preparations for launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket on the U.S. Space Force’s USSF-67 mission. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

Watch our live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 11:50 p.m. EST (0450 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, with 40 OneWeb internet satellites. Our live stream will also cover the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 12:35 a.m. EST (9:35 p.m. PST; 0535 GMT) with 51 Starlink internet satellites. Follow us on Twitter.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands on its launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, in this file photo before a launch in December. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX’s first launch of Starlink internet satellites this year is set to blast off from California’s Central Coast Monday night, but high winds and storms could stand in the way of the Falcon 9 rocket lifting off with 51 new broadband relay stations.