Spaceflight Now – The leading source for online space news

February 21, 2026

Breaking News

[ February 21, 2026 ] NASA’s Artemis 2 rocket hit by new problem expected to bump moonshot into early April Artemis
[ February 20, 2026 ] Falcon 9 launches 25 Starlink satellites after weather delays Falcon 9
[ February 20, 2026 ] Moon mission fueling test concludes with no major problems Artemis
[ February 19, 2026 ] Independent report sharply criticizes NASA management, Boeing for troubled Starliner flight Mission Reports
[ February 19, 2026 ] SpaceX launches second Falcon 9 rocket to return to a landing in The Bahamas Falcon 9

NASA’s Artemis 2 rocket hit by new problem expected to bump moonshot into early April

February 21, 2026

Engineers ran into problems repressurizing the Artemis 2 moon rocket’s upper stage helium tanks overnight Friday, a problem that will require rolling the huge rocket off the launch pad and back to its processing hangar for troubleshooting. The work will push the already delayed mission from March to at least early April, officials said Saturday.

Falcon 9 launches 25 Starlink satellites after weather delays

February 20, 2026

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 25 Starlink satellites from California early Saturday, after days of delay. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 1:04:19 a.m. PST (4:04:19 a.m. EST / 0904:19 UTC).
Independent report sharply criticizes NASA management, Boeing for troubled Starliner flight

February 19, 2026

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said NASA will continue working with Boeing to make the Starliner a viable crew transport vehicle, adding that “sustained crew and cargo access to low Earth orbit will remain essential, and America benefits from competition and redundancy.”

Moon mission fueling test concludes with no major problems

February 20, 2026

The practice countdown began Tuesday night, kicking off a carefully choreographed series of steps to ready the world’s most powerful operational rocket for what amounted to a simulated launch Thursday at 8:42 p.m. EST. Controllers then carried out additional tests to make sure the team can recycle, hold and restart an actual launch countdown as needed to handle unexpected problems.
SpaceX launches second Falcon 9 rocket to return to a landing in The Bahamas

February 19, 2026

The Starlink 10-34 mission was SpaceX’s 20th Falcon 9 launch of the year so far. Liftoff from pad 40 occurred at 8:41:40 p.m. EST (0141:40).
NASA to attempt second full fueling test of its Space Launch System rocket

February 17, 2026

The operation comes a week after NASA conducted a so-called ‘confidence test’ on Feb. 12, which was the process of loading some liquid hydrogen on the rocket’s core stage.
SpaceX launches predawn Starlink mission on President’s Day

February 15, 2026

The Starlink 6-103 mission was the 10th orbital flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in 2026. Liftoff from pad 40 happened at 2:59:40 a.m. EST (0759:40 UTC) on Monday, Feb. 16.
Replacement crew docks at space station, boosts crew back to seven

February 15, 2026

The Crew Dragon docked at the space-facing port of the lab’s forward Harmony module at 3:15 p.m. EST, 34 hours after launch Friday from the Kennedy Space Center atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceX launches 600th Falcon 9 rocket to date with Starlink flight from Vandenberg

February 14, 2026

The Starlink 17-13 mission also represented the 180th Falcon 9 launch from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff happened 5:59:59 p.m. PST (8:59:59 p.m. EST / 0159:59 UTC).
‘Very lucky day’: NASA, SpaceX ace astronaut launch to the space station on Friday the 13th

February 14, 2026

This was the first time that the space agency happened to launch a crewed mission to the International Space Station on a Friday the 13th. The Crew-12 mission took flight onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:15 a.m. EST (1015 UTC).
Vulcan suffers solid rocket booster problem during USSF-87 launch

February 12, 2026

The anomaly appears similar to the nozzle burn through seen during the launch of the second certification flight of a Vulcan rocket.
ULA to launch geosynchronous orbit surveillance satellite for the U.S. Space Force

February 11, 2026

The USSF-87 will be the second national security flight for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket and the fourth flight of this type of rocket to date. Liftoff from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 UTC).
SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB

February 11, 2026

The Starlink 17-34 mission was the 16th launch for SpaceX so far this year. Liftoff from pad 4E happened at 9:11:29 a.m. PST (12:11:29 p.m. EST / 1711:29 UTC).