Space News & Blog Articles

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Starlink 7-14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Image: SpaceX

Update Sept. 28, 2:42 p.m. EDT (1842 UTC): SpaceX adjusted the T-0 liftoff time.

Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane (right) and its Shooting Star cargo module (left) seen inside a processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Image: Sierra Space

The debut of Sierra Space’s cargo space plane Dream Chaser has delayed again and will no longer see a docking with the International Space Station. In a statement Thursday afternoon, NASA said the space agency and Sierra Space had agreed to a major modification of their space station resupply contract.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in the launch position during sunset at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Image: SpaceX

Update Sept. 26, 1 a.m. EDT: SpaceX deployed the 24 Starlink satellites.

United Launch Alliance launches their Atlas 5 rocket on June 25, 2025, with a batch of 27 Project Kuiper satellites for Amazon towards low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now

Roughly an hour past sunrise, an Atlas 5 551 rocket from United Launch Alliance took flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Onboard the rocket, flying in its most powerful configuration, were the next 27 Project Kuiper satellites from Amazon.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

Update Sept. 25, 4 a.m. EDT (0800 UTC): SpaceX landed its booster on the droneship.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 23, 2024, ahead of the planned launch of NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft and two other rideshare missions. Image: John Pisani / Spaceflight Now

A trio of Sun-studying, marquee missions for both NASA and the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) is set to take off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket shortly after sunrise on Wednesday.

NASA’s 2025 Astronaut Candidate join together after being announced to the public on Sept. 22, 2025. From left to right, Erin Overcash, Katherine Spies, Cameron Jones, Ben Bailey, Adam Fuhrmann, Rebecca Lawler, Imelda Muller, Yuri Kubo, Anna Menon, Lauren Edgar.

With its eyes on creating a persistent human presence on the Moon and pushing closer to crewed exploration of Mars, NASA announced its newest class of astronaut candidates.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of the launch of the NROL-57 mission. Image: SpaceX

The National Reconnaissance Office in the United States is preparing to send its 11th batch of small, reconnaissance satellites into low Earth orbit Monday morning. These are believed to be Starshield satellites, a government variant of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, though the NRO hasn’t confirmed this.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) ahead of the launch of the Starlink 12-18 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is preparing for a Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral at dawn on Sunday.

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo ship on final approach to the International Space Station early Thursday. Image: NASA

Running a day late because of a software issue, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo ship caught up with the International Space Station early Thursday and then stood by while the lab’s robot arm latched onto a grapple fixture to wrap up a successful, if extended, rendezvous.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) ahead of the launch of the Starlink 12-21 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is preparing to launch its next batch of Starlink satellites from Florida’s Space Coast in the predawn hours of Thursday morning.

File (Aug. 6, 2024) — Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft, with its prominent cymbal-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays, is pictured awaiting its capture by the Canadarm2 robotic arm commanded by Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick of NASA. The maneuver marked the 50th free-flying capture for the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Image: NASA

Northrop Grumman’s new Cygnus XL spacecraft will no longer dock with the International Space Station Wednesday morning as originally planned.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX is preparing to launch its latest batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into a polar, low Earth orbit on Wednesday.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sept. 14, 2025, to begin the NG-23 mission. This was the first launch of a Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft. Image: John Pisani / Spaceflight Now

Northrop Grumman’s first Cygnus XL vehicle was jettisoned on its way to the International Space Station following a pre-sunset launch from Cape Canaveral Sunday evening.

Technicians use a crane to lift Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft’s pressurized cargo module out of the shipping container on Thursday, July 10, 2025, inside the Space Systems Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The new extended Cygnus capsule, scheduled to launch no earlier than Sept. 14, 2025, will carry supplies, food, and scientific experiments for crew members at the International Space Station as part of the company’s 23rd cargo resupply mission. Image: NASA / Cory S. Huston

The next cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station is launching Sunday and will feature a new iteration of the Cygnus spacecraft from Northrop Grumman.

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Starlink 7-14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Image: SpaceX

Update Sept. 13, 2:13 p.m. EDT: SpaceX landed its first stage booster on its drone ship.

A SpaceX Crew Dragon atop a Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) for the first time on the Crew-9 mission. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of the Air Force gave the green light for SpaceX to more than double its launch cadence from its workhorse launch pad in Florida and construct a new landing zone for its Falcon rocket boosters.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sept. 10, 2025. It carried 21 satellites for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer, part of the larger Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a low Earth orbit satellite constellation. Image: SpaceX

The Space Development Agency took a big step in realizing a new satellite constellation to support the various branches of the U.S. military and its allies.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is pictured in the launch position at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, ahead of the first launch attempt of the Nusantara Lima communications satellite. Image: SpaceX

Update Sept. 10, 5:55 p.m. EDT: SpaceX scrubbed the mission, targeting no earlier than Sept. 11.

21 satellites manufactured by York Space Systems for Space Development Agency’s upcoming Tranche 1 Transport Layer launch. Image: York Space Systems

The first in a series of launches supporting a burgeoning satellite constellation for the Space Development Agency (SDA) is set to take flight Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

An artist’s rendering of the Nusantara Lima satellite in gestationary Earth orbit. Graphic: Boeing

An Indonesian company is looking to improve its space-based communications service with a state-of-the-art Boeing-built satellite bound for geostationary orbit.