Space News & Blog Articles

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket streaks into space Monday night in this long exposure photo. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX delivered 51 more Starlink internet spacecraft to orbit Monday night with a successful Falcon 9 rocket launch from California, introducing new inter-satellite optical laser links to improve how the network relays broadband signals around the world.



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

A stack of Starlink satellites before a previous launch from Florida. Credit: SpaceX

A batch of 51 Starlink internet spacecraft, debuting new laser inter-satellite links, is set for liftoff Monday night from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on SpaceX’s first dedicated Starlink mission from the West Coast.

From left to right: Chris Sembroski, Sian Proctor, Jared Isaacman, and Hayley Arceneaux aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft Sunday night. Credit: SpaceX

The four civilian fliers who will rocket into orbit this week on the privately-managed Inspiration4 mission took their seats inside a SpaceX crew capsule Sunday night in Florida during a dress rehearsal for launch day.

Credit: SpaceX

The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spaceship chartered by billionaire Jared Isaacman for a three-day mission in low Earth orbit arrived at historic launch pad 39A in Florida over the weekend, moving into the starting blocks for liftoff Wednesday night with four civilian passengers.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center with the Inspiration4 mission, the first all-private human spaceflight to low Earth orbit. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

Chris Sembroski, Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, and Sian Proctor pose with the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule that will carry them into orbit. Credit: Inspiration4 / John Kraus

SpaceX raised a Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule on pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Sunday, kicking off a busy few days before launch of the all-private Inspiration4 crew mission as soon as Wednesday night.

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION

A Long March 3B rocket lifts off with the Chinasat 9B communications satellite. Credit: CASC

A replacement Chinese communications satellite for a craft launched into the wrong orbit four years ago successfully rocketed into space Thursday, just in time to be ready to support 4K and 8K television broadcasts of the Beijing Winter Olympics next year.



A Chinese Long March 4C rocket lifts off with the Gaofen 5-02 remote sensing satellite. Credit: CASC

China launched an Earth observation satellite on top of a Long March 4C rocket Tuesday to monitor land surfaces, water resources, and air quality.

Cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy works outside the International Space Station to electrically connect a new Russian laboratory module to the outpost. This shot was captured by a helmet camera used by crewmate Pyotr Dubrov. Credit: NASA TV

Two Russian spacewalkers connected a new laboratory module to the International Space Station’s power grid Friday, routing and plugging in eight cables to tap into electricity generated by NASA’s solar power system.

The first test flight of Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha launch vehicle ended in a fiery explosion. Credit: Gene Blevins / LA Daily News.

The first test flight of Firefly Aerospace’s privately-developed Alpha small satellite launcher ended in a fiery failure soon after liftoff Thursday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The live webcast of Firefly’s first launch attempt, provided by Everyday Astronaut, is set to begin one hour before launch. If launch remains set for 6 p.m. PDT (9 p.m. EDT; 0100 GMT), the live stream will begin at 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. EDT; 0000 GMT).

Commander Jared Isaacman and crewmates Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor, and Chris Sembroski pose with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft Aug. 30 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Credit: SpaceX / Inspiration4

The four private citizens who will fly into orbit later this month on a chartered SpaceX capsule visited their spaceship at Cape Canaveral this week for fit checks.

In this file photo from 2017, several Praxair tanker trucks deliver liquid oxygen to launch pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The effects of a nationwide liquid oxygen shortage caused by the recent spike in hospitalized coronavirus patients has already delayed the launch of a Landsat imaging satellite by a week, and threatens to impact more missions from launch sites in Florida and California.

In this July 28 photo, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson views the Space Launch System for the Artemis 1 mission inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The earliest NASA’s first Space Launch System moon rocket could roll out from the Vehicle Assembly Building to its seaside launch complex in Florida is in late November, officials told Spaceflight Now, leaving little time to conduct a critical fueling test, roll the rocket back into the VAB for final closeouts, then return to the pad for liftoff before the end of the year.

A SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule approaches the International Space Station Monday. Credit: Thomas Pesquet/ESA/NASA

Closing out a 31-hour flight from a launch pad in Florida, a SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule autonomously docked with the International Space Station Monday, delivering experiments, supplies, and fresh food to the complex.

Astra’s Rocket 3.3 tilts before flying sideways after liftoff from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska. Credit: Astra

Astra’s small satellite launcher suffered an engine failure just after liftoff from Alaska Saturday, causing the rocket to tilt sideways before the booster recovered and climbed into the upper atmosphere. The rocket later veered from its flight corridor, and the range safety officer issued a flight termination command before the mission reached orbit.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket early Sunday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography

SpaceX launched a Dragon cargo capsule from Florida on a thundering predawn launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, kicking off the company’s 23rd commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station.