2026 – Page 5 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX makes 600th Falcon booster landing during West Coast Starlink mission

April 18, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 17-22 mission launched 25 broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 9:03:09 a.m. PDT (12:03:09 pm EDT / 1603:09 UTC).

Blue Origin hot fires its first previously flown booster, prepares for weekend launch

April 16, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The engine test, called a static fire, saw the company ignite all seven of its BE-4 engines for less than half a minute. Local maritime and aviation hazards suggest a launch could happen as soon as Sunday, April 19.

Blue Origin one step closer to launching New Glenn from Vandenberg Space Force Base

April 15, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The U.S. Space Force said that it down-selected the company owned by Jeff Bezos to potentially develop a new launch site in California.

West Coast SpaceX Falcon 9 mission launches 25 Starlink satellites

April 15, 2026 Spaceflight Now

Liftoff of the Starlink 17-27 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at 9:29:49 p.m. PDT (12:29:49 a.m. EDT / 0429:49 UTC).

SpaceX launches 1,000th Starlink satellite of 2026 on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral

April 14, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 10-24 mission will add another 29 satellites to the low Earth orbit constellation. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 5:33:10 a.m. EDT (0933:10 UTC).

Space Station captures, berths Cygnus XL ’S.S. Steven R. Nagel’ cargo spacecraft

April 13, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The vehicle launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Saturday, April 11, at 7:41 a.m. EDT (1141 UTC). Capture by the space station’s Canadarm2 is happened on Monday, April 13, at 12:19 pm CT (1:19 pm ET / 1719 UTC).

NASA confident Artemis 2 heat shield will protect crew during re-entry

April 10, 2026 William Harwood

When the Artemis 2 Orion crew capsule returns to Earth after flying around the moon, it will hit the discernible atmosphere some 75 miles above the Pacific Ocean at a blistering 24,000 mph, fast enough to fly from New York to London in less than 10 minutes.

Artemis astronauts send down Easter message, prep for lunar fly around Monday

April 5, 2026 William Harwood

Taking time out to send Easter greetings down to Earth, the four Artemis II astronauts closed in on the moon Sunday, already seeing unexpected detail on the surface and giving scientists a taste of things to come during a pass over the lunar far side Monday evening.

ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket launches its heaviest payload ever with fifth Amazon Leo mission

April 3, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

Liftoff from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened Saturday at 1:46 a.m. EDT (0546 UTC).

Artemis 2 crew blasts off on historic moon mission

April 2, 2026 William Harwood

A three-man one-woman crew blasted off on a voyage to the moon Wednesday, riding atop the world’s most powerful operational rocket as it roared away on a trail-blazing flight to help pave the way for upcoming lunar landings and an American moon base.