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May 9, 2025

Breaking News

[ May 8, 2025 ] White House taps former Air Force colonel for NASA Deputy Administrator role News
[ May 7, 2025 ] Vast to complete Haven-1 primary structure in July 2025, ahead of target May 2026 launch date News
[ May 6, 2025 ] SpaceX launch 28 Starlink satellites on 470th Falcon 9 rocket launch Falcon 9
[ May 3, 2025 ] SpaceX launches largest batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites to date Falcon 9
[ May 3, 2025 ] SpaceX puts Vandenberg launch on hold Falcon 9

Oldest GPS navigation satellite to be retired with next launch

January 11, 2016 Justin Ray

A new Global Positioning System craft will ride a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket into orbit next month to replace a satellite that has operated in space for 25 years.

Offshore barge landing targeted after next Falcon 9 launch

January 11, 2016 Stephen Clark

Nearly a month after nailing a landing a rocket landing at Cape Canaveral, SpaceX plans to steer the next flight of a Falcon 9 booster toward a recovery vessel in the Pacific Ocean after a Jan. 17 blastoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

U.S. lab generates first space-grade plutonium sample since 1980s

January 7, 2016 Stephen Clark

For the first time in nearly 30 years, the U.S. Department of Energy has produced a sample of plutonium-238, the radioactive isotope used to power deep space missions, good news for future NASA space probes heading to destinations starved of sunlight.

Pluto’s floating mountains, intriguing structures fascinate scientists

January 5, 2016 William Harwood

Nearly six months after NASA’s New Horizons probe zoomed past Pluto, just one quarter of the data stored on board has made its way back to waiting scientists, revealing a surprisingly varied terrain that includes glacial flows and steep mountains of frozen water floating in a “sea” of slush-like nitrogen ice.

ESA wants to be a part of NASA’s mission to Europa

January 5, 2016 Stephen Clark

As NASA quietly works on a lander that could accompany a $2 billion flyby probe to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, the head of the European Space Agency’s science program tells Spaceflight Now that Europe is ready to play a significant role in the project.

Florida spaceport tallies highest launch rate in more than a decade

January 4, 2016 Stephen Clark

Cape Canaveral was the departure point for more space launches in 2015 than in any year since 2003, with 17 takeoffs by Atlas, Falcon and Delta rockets hoisting U.S. military satellites, commercial payloads and cargo for the International Space Station.

What’s next for SpaceX’s recovered Falcon 9 booster?

January 3, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX ground crews at Kennedy Space Center’s Apollo-era launch complex 39A are putting the 156-foot-tall Falcon 9 first stage booster that flew to space and back Dec. 21 through a thorough inspection, setting the stage for a hold-down test firing at the launch pad.

2016 manifest preview: United Launch Alliance’s busy year ahead

January 2, 2016 Justin Ray

Some of America’s most critical surveillance satellites, final members of other spacecraft series and a probe that will touch an asteroid are among 15 rocket flights planned by United Launch Alliance in 2016.

Russian engine purchase adds to ULA’s Atlas 5 inventory

December 30, 2015 Stephen Clark

Freed from a legal restriction officials said limited its ability to compete for future U.S. military satellite launches, United Launch Alliance has ordered 20 new RD-180 engines from Russia that will keep the Atlas 5 rocket flying into the early 2020s.

China launches eagle-eyed satellite to stare down at Earth

December 29, 2015 Stephen Clark

China launched a high-altitude satellite Monday fitted with a powerful telescope to collect nearly continuous imagery of the Asia-Pacific from geostationary orbit, an apparently unique capability that could help track foreign naval activity, according to Chinese news reports.