April 2026 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB

April 29, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 17-36 mission was SpaceX’s 51st Falcon 9 launch of 2026. Liftoff from pad 4E happened at 7:42:49 pm PDT (10:42:49 pm EDT / 0242:49 UTC).

SpaceX launches 6-ton ViaSat-3 F3 satellite on Falcon Heavy rocket

April 29, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission was the 12th launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket to date. The rocket lifted off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 UTC) on Wednesday, April 29.

Launch preview: SpaceX seeks second attempt at Falcon Heavy launch following weather scrub on Monday

April 28, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission will send the ViaSat-3 F3 satellite to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is scheduled for 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 UTC), at the opening of an 85-minute window.

ULA launches 29 Amazon Leo satellites on Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral

April 27, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission, dubbed Amazon Leo 6 by United Launch Alliance and Leo Atlas 6 (LA-06) by Amazon Leo, is the 10th batch of production satellites launched to orbit. Liftoff from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 8:53:30 p.m. EDT (0053:30 UTC).

SpaceX scrubs Falcon Heavy launch of final ViaSat-3 satellite due to poor weather

April 27, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

This will be the 12th launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket to date and the first use of Landing Zone 2 and Landing Zone 40 simultaneously. A new launch date from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is being determined.

SpaceX flies 25 Starlink satellites to orbit on its 50th Falcon 9 launch of the year

April 26, 2026 Spaceflight Now

Liftoff of the Starlink 17-16 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East occurred at 7:37 a.m. PDT (10:37 am EDT / 1437 UTC).

SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB

April 23, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission is the 40th launch of the year from SpaceX, dedicated to flying its broadband internet satellites. Liftoff of the Starlink 17-14 mission happened at 8:23:09 p.m. PDT (11:23:09 p.m. EDT / 0323:09 UTC).

SpaceX launches final GPS III satellite for the U.S. Space Force

April 21, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

This is the final spacecraft of this generation of precision, navigation, and timing satellites before the U.S. Space Force shifts to launching GPS IIIF satellites. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 2:53 a.m. EDT (0653 UTC).

Blue Origin launches third New Glenn rocket, but payload ends up in wrong orbit

April 20, 2026 William Harwood

Blue Origin launched the company’s third New Glenn rocket Sunday, re-flying and successfully recovering a previously used first stage. But the rocket’s payload, a direct-to-cellphone communications satellite, ended up in the wrong orbit, the company said.

Third flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to feature 1st reuse of booster

April 19, 2026 Spaceflight Now

Blue Origin plans to launch its third New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral Sunday during a two-hour window that opens at 6:45 a.m. EDT (1045 UTC). It will carry AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite to provide direct to cell phone services from space.