March 2026 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX reaches 10,000 simultaneous Starlink satellites in orbit following Falcon 9 launch from California

March 16, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The milestone came less than seven years after launching its first batch of operational Starlink satellites. Liftoff of the Starlink 17-24 mission happened on Monday, March 16, at 10:19:09 p.m. PDT (1:19:09 a.m. EDT / 0519:09 UTC on Tuesday, Mar. 17).

NASA Administrator teases further Artemis program updates in one-on-one interview

March 14, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The conversation took place amid the flight readiness review for the Artemis 2 mission, which is currently set to launch no earlier than April 1, 2026, pending work being completed in the Vehicle Assembly Building.

NASA ready for another shot at launching Artemis 2 moon mission

March 13, 2026 William Harwood

At the conclusion of a two-day flight readiness review, “all the teams polled ‘go’ to launch and fly Artemis 2 around the moon, pending completion of some of the work before we roll out to the launch pad,” said Lori Glaze, associate administrator of Exploration Systems Development at NASA Headquarters.

SpaceX launches 25 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base

March 13, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 17-31 mission was SpaceX’s 25th mission supporting its broadband internet satellite constellation so far in 2026. Liftoff from pad 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 7:57:59 a.m. PDT (10:57:59 a.m. EDT / 1457:59 UTC).

SpaceX launches Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral on cloudy Saturday morning

March 13, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 10-48 mission added another 29 broadband internet satellites to the company’s constellation in low Earth orbit. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 8:37:10 a.m. EDT (1237:10 UTC).

NASA inspector general assesses agency’s management of moon lander risk

March 10, 2026 William Harwood

NASA’s Office of Inspector General said that while NASA is working to “mitigate and prevent hazards” associated with lunar landers being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin, “there are currently gaps in the agency’s approach, including in its testing posture and crew survival analyses,” including what might happen after a catastrophic but non-fatal event.

Month: March 2026

SpaceX reaches 10,000 simultaneous Starlink satellites in orbit following Falcon 9 launch from California

NASA Administrator teases further Artemis program updates in one-on-one interview

NASA ready for another shot at launching Artemis 2 moon mission

SpaceX launches 25 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base

SpaceX launches Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral on cloudy Saturday morning

NASA inspector general assesses agency’s management of moon lander risk

SpaceX launches direct television satellite for EchoStar

NASA contract confirms selection of ULA’s Centaur 5 as new upper stage for the SLS rocket

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket launch from Vandenberg SFB Sunday

Spanish launch startup PLD Space raises $209 million to scale its rocket production