December 2025 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Rocket Lab Electron rocket aborts liftoff at engine ignition

December 15, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The ‘Bridging the Swarm’ mission comes two days after the company launched its ‘RAISE and Shine’ flight for JAXA. Liftoff is scheduled for 1:55 p.m. NZDT / 0055 UTC on Dec. 16 (7:45 p.m. EST on Dec. 15).

ULA Atlas 5 launch puts Amazon’s 180th broadband satellite in low Earth orbit

December 15, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 3:28 a.m. EST (0828 UTC), as the RD-180 engine on the booster roared to lift alongside five solid rocket boosters.

Falcon 9 launch of 29 Starlink satellites from the Kennedy Space Center delayed to Wednesday

December 14, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX put on hold its plan to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and rescheduled it for no earlier than Wednesday. Liftoff is scheduled for 7:19 a.m. EST (1219 UTC) at the earliest.

SpaceX launches 100th Falcon 9 rocket from Florida in 2025

December 14, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 6-82 represents SpaceX’s 580th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket to date. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened Monday, Dec. 15, at 12:25 a.m. EST (0525 UTC).

SpaceX completes 550th booster landing amid Saturday night Falcon 9 flight

December 13, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 15-12 mission added another 27 broadband internet satellites to SpaceX’s megaconstellation in low Earth orbit. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened Dec. 13, at 9:49 p.m. PST (12:49 a.m. EST / 0549 UTC on Sunday, Dec. 14)

Blue Origin halfway through 4-flight certification to allow launch of national security missions

December 13, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The launch company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos launched two successful missions in 2025, including landing its first booster on its landing barge.

Study: Current, future megaconstellations risk space-based astronomy

December 12, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

Researchers from NASA’s Ames Research Center sound alarm about current and projected impacts to observatories, like the Hubble Space Telescope and others.

SpaceX breaks launch pad turnaround record with flight of Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral

December 11, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX launched another batch of 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to low Earth orbit on its Falcon 9 rocket Thursday afternoon breaking its pad turnaround record by nearly five hours.

SpaceX launches 160th Falcon 9 rocket of 2025

December 10, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 15-11 mission added another 27 broadband internet satellites to the low Earth orbit megaconstellation. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 3:40 a.m. PST (6:40 a.m. EST / 1140 UTC).

SpaceX launches classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office

December 9, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission, dubbed NROL-77, was the final time SpaceX uses Landing Zone 2 to recover a first stage Falcon booster. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 2:16 p.m. EST (1916 UTC).