Will Robinson-Smith – Spaceflight Now

Lockheed Martin joins collaboration with Firefly Aerospace and Seagate for off-shore launches

May 4, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The announcement comes ahead of Firefly Aerospace’s first quarter earnings call for investors. A timeline for the first ocean-based Alpha rocket launches wasn’t announced.

SpaceX launches South Korean Earth observation satellite, plus 44 more payloads on midnight Falcon 9 rideshare mission

May 2, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The CAS500-2 mission lifted off from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 12 a.m. PDT (3 a.m. EDT / 0700 UTC). The Korea Aerospace Industries’ Compact Advanced Satellite 500 (CAS500) satellite was the first to deploy about an hour after liftoff.

SpaceX marks May Day, National Space Day with Starlink mission on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral

May 1, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 10-38 mission saw SpaceX deploy 29 broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 2:06:10 p.m. EDT (1806:10 UTC).

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 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).