Mission Reports – Spaceflight Now

April 18, 2026

Breaking News

[ April 18, 2026 ] SpaceX to attempt 600th Falcon booster landing amid West Coast Starlink mission Falcon 9
[ April 16, 2026 ] Blue Origin hot fires its first previously flown booster, prepares for weekend launch Mission Reports
[ April 15, 2026 ] Blue Origin one step closer to launching New Glenn from Vandenberg Space Force Base New Glenn
[ April 15, 2026 ] West Coast SpaceX Falcon 9 mission launches 25 Starlink satellites Falcon 9
[ April 14, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 1,000th Starlink satellite of 2026 on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Falcon 9

SpaceX to attempt 600th Falcon booster landing amid West Coast Starlink mission

April 18, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 17-22 will see SpaceX launch 25 broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for 7:33:40 a.m. PDT (10:33:40 a.m. EDT / 1433:40 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.

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).

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).

Live coverage: NASA to launch Artemis 2, its first Moon-bound mission with astronauts since 1972

April 1, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The four astronauts will spend more than nine days onboard their Orion spacecraft and is poised to pass the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39B is scheduled for Wednesday, April 1, at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 UTC).

SpaceX launches 119 payloads on smallsat rideshare mission from California

March 30, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Transporter-16 mission is the 21st mission in the company’s smallsat rideshare program. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 4:02 a.m. PDT (7:02 a.m. EDT / 1102 UTC).

Artemis 2 astronauts arrive in Florida ahead of April 1 launch attempt

March 27, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The crew is expected to land in Florida around 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 UTC) on Friday. April 1 at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 UTC) is the earliest launch opportunity during a six-day window.

NASA outlines ambitious $20 billion plan for moon base

March 25, 2026 William Harwood

Along with plans for a moon base, senior NASA managers also outlined work to develop nuclear power systems for use on the moon and Mars to keep astronauts, habitats and other equipment warm while providing the electricity needed for research, construction and daily operations.