April 2025 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launches third NRO mission in eight days

April 19, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The quick pace of missions is notably quick for the intelligence gathering agency. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 5:29 a.m. PDT (8:29 a.m. EDT, 1229 UTC).

Northrop Grumman launches first Minotaur 4 rocket from Vandenberg in 14 years

April 16, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The last Minotaur 4 launch from Space Launch Complex 8 was on Aug. 11, 2011. It is returning to that pad nearly a decade and a half later, lifting off on Wednesday, April 16, at 12:33 p.m. PDT (3:33 p.m. EDT, 1933 UTC).

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket booster on record-setting 27th time on midnight Starlink flight

April 13, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 6-73 mission featured Falcon 9 booster, tail number 1067, which launched for a record-setting 27th time. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened on Monday, April 14, at 12 a.m. EDT (0400 UTC).

SpaceX launches Starshield satellites for the NRO on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg

April 12, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The NROL-192 mission will the 10th to date supporting the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) proliferated architecture satellite constellation. Liftoff from pad 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base was at 5:25 a.m. PDT (8:25 a.m. EDT, 1225 UTC) on Saturday April 12, 2025.

SpaceX launches 400th flight-proven Falcon booster with Saturday Starlink mission

April 10, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 12-17 mission carried 13 Starlink V2 Mini satellites that feature Direct to Cell capabilities. Liftoff from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center happened Saturday, April 12, at 8:53 p.m. EDT (1253 UTC).

Poor weather forces a scrub of the Kuiper 1 launch on a ULA Atlas 5

April 9, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission will be the first deployment of full production Kuiper satellites into low Earth orbit. ULA is determining their next launch opportunity following the scrub Wednesday evening.

SpaceX to launch second accelerated GPS 3 satellite mission in late May

April 8, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

This mission follows a similar model of processing used during the Rapid Response Trailblazer (RRT-1) mission, which saw the launch of the GPS 3 Space Vehicle 07 (SV-07) spacecraft on a Falcon 9 instead of a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket as originally planned.

Month: April 2025