2026 – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral

March 18, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 10-33 mission was the 35th mission so far in 2026 supporting SpaceX’s low Earth orbit constellation. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 10:20 a.m. EDT (1420 UTC).

Space launches 29 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket on St. Patrick’s Day morning

March 16, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 10-46 mission added another 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to the low Earth orbit constellation. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 9:27 a.m. EDT (1327 UTC).

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.

SpaceX launches direct television satellite for EchoStar

March 9, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The launch of the EchoStar 25 satellite was SpaceX’s first launch to a geosynchronous transfer orbit so far this year. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 12:19 a.m. EDT (0419 UTC)).

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

March 7, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The upper stage of United launch Alliance’s Vulcan rockets performed successfully across the first four flights of the rocket since 2024. The first launch of a Centaur 5 as part of a Space Launch System rocket would be on the Artemis 4 mission.