February 2026 – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

ULA sets sights on ramping up launch cadence in 2026

February 11, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The company came under new leadership in December following the departure of Tory Bruno, who left the company to join Blue Origin.

Weather delays NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 flight to the International Space Station

February 9, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The launch is now targeting no earlier than Friday, Feb. 13, for the launch of Crew-12. Liftoff will be at 5:15 a.m. EST (1015 UTC).

SpaceX test fires its Falcon 9 rocket ahead of midweek launch of Crew-12 to the space station

February 8, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The static fire test is an important precursor to the Crew-12 launch, scheduled for the morning of Feb. 11. Ignition at pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 3:16 a.m. EST (0816 UTC).

SpaceX launches return to flight Falcon 9 mission following brief stand down

February 7, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX halted launches for less than a week following an in-flight anomaly. Liftoff of the Starlink 17-33 mission happened at 12:58:09 p.m. PST (3:58:09 p.m. EST / 2058:09 UTC).

SpaceX shifts away from Dragon launches at pad 39A as Starship looms

February 6, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The last Dragon flight from pad 39A was the CRS-33 mission in August 2025. SpaceX is preparing for the just the second pad 40 launch supporting NASA’s Commercial Crew Program no earlier than Feb. 11.

ULA offloads first Vulcan rocket at Vandenberg at it preps its next Cape launch

February 6, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

United Launch Alliance is preparing for the launch of the USSF-87 mission for the U.S. Space Force no earlier than Feb. 12, which will fly from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

NASA waves off February launch for Artemis II moon mission; now targeting early March

February 3, 2026 William Harwood

Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, in pre-flight medical quarantine at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, had hope to fly to Florida Tuesday to begin final preparations for launch. Instead, they will remain in Houston and rejoin family, friends and co-workers.

SpaceX experiences Falcon 9 upper stage anomaly following Starlink deployment

February 1, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 17-32 mission was the first Starlink mission in February. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 7:47:11 a.m. PST (10:47:11 a.m. EST / 1547:11 UTC).

Countdown underway for critical moon rocket fueling test Monday

February 1, 2026 William Harwood

The countdown began Saturday evening and will continue through the start of a simulated launch window opening at 9 p.m. EST Monday. The test started two days late because of predicted arctic weather along Florida’s Space Coast.