Mission Reports – Page 263

March 25, 2026

Breaking News

[ March 25, 2026 ] NASA outlines ambitious $20 billion plan for moon base Artemis
[ March 22, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Falcon 9
[ March 20, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 25 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB Falcon 9
[ March 19, 2026 ] NASA returns its SLS rocket back to the launch pad ahead of planned April flight of Artemis 2 Artemis
[ March 18, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Falcon 9

First SLS core stage installed on test stand in Mississippi

February 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

Weeks after leaving its factory in New Orleans, the core stage for NASA’s first Space Launch System flight has been raised into a test stand at the Stennis Space Center to begin a series of checkouts culminating in an eight-minute engine-firing later this year.

Cygnus departs space station, deploys CubeSats

February 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft departed the International Space Station Friday to close out a three-month stay, then raised its orbit to release multiple experimental nanosatellites for NASA, the U.S. military and research institutions, including one that was snap-assembled by astronauts using 3D-printed parts produced on the station.

Decades in the making, Solar Orbiter finally meets launcher at Cape Canaveral

February 1, 2020 Stephen Clark

The European-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft was installed on top of its United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 launcher Friday at Cape Canaveral, ready for final charging and checkouts before liftoff Feb. 9 to finally begin a more than $1.5 billion science mission first approved by the European Space Agency nearly 20 years ago.

Photos: Falcon 9 lifts off on fourth dedicated launch for Starlink network

January 31, 2020 Stephen Clark

The 80th flight of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket delivered 60 more satellites to orbit for the company’s Starlink broadband network Wednesday after launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Rocket Lab successfully launches NRO satellite

January 31, 2020 Stephen Clark

A light-class Electron launcher built and owned by Rocket Lab fired into orbit Thursday (U.S. time) from a privately-owned spaceport in New Zealand with a top secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab conducts first Electron launch of 2020

January 30, 2020 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s first mission of 2020 lifted off from New Zealand’s North Island at 9:56 p.m. EST Thursday (0256 GMT; 3:56 p.m. New Zealand time Friday) with a secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, which owns the U.S. government’s fleet of intelligence-gathering spy satellites.

SpaceX boosts 60 more Starlink satellites into orbit after weather delays

January 29, 2020 Stephen Clark

After waiting more than a week for good weather, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday from Cape Canaveral with 60 more satellites for the company’s Starlink Internet network, continuing to build out a fleet of fleet of orbiting broadband relay stations that could eventually number in the thousands.

NASA prepares to shut down one of its ‘Great Observatories’

January 28, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA will say goodbye to the Spitzer Space Telescope this week after more than 16 years observing the most distant galaxies ever detected, planets orbiting other stars, and star-forming clouds of dust and gas.

SpaceX scrubs Starlink launch due to winds aloft, will try again Wednesday

January 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX called off a scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 rocket about a half-hour before liftoff from Cape Canaveral Monday due to strong upper level winds, and officials aim to try again to send 60 Starlink Internet satellites into orbit Wednesday after bypassing a planned launch attempt Tuesday due to poor weather in the offshore booster recovery area.

Launch of Japanese spy satellite postponed by nitrogen leak

January 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japanese officials halted a countdown Monday at the Tanegashima Space Center when teams overseeing preparations for launch of an H-2A rocket detected a nitrogen gas leak, prompting the return of the launcher and its Japanese government payload to a nearby assembly building for repairs.