Mission Reports

June 12, 2026

Breaking News

[ June 11, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Falcon 9
[ June 10, 2026 ] NASA chief defends selection of all-male Artemis 3 crew Artemis
[ June 9, 2026 ] NASA names four-man crew to Artemis 3 mission Artemis
[ June 9, 2026 ] Preview: NASA to unveil Artemis 3 crew, provide updates on mission Artemis
[ June 7, 2026 ] SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket booster on record-breaking 35th flight Falcon 9

Environmental sentinel launched from French Guiana

March 7, 2017 Stephen Clark

A European environmental satellite rode a solid-fueled Vega launcher from a tropical spaceport at the edge of the Amazon jungle into polar orbit Monday night, adding a new eye in the sky to check on the health of crops and forests from space.

Live coverage: European environmental satellite launched by Vega rocket

March 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Vega rocket launched from French Guiana at 0149:24 GMT Tuesday (8:49:24 p.m. EST Monday) with Europe’s fifth Sentinel environmental satellite. The Sentinel 2B observatory will take the pulse of Earth’s vegetation, monitoring crops, forests, urban sprawl, and pollution from polar orbit.

Launch timeline for Vega rocket’s flight with Sentinel 2B

March 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

Europe’s fifth Sentinel Earth observation satellite will ride a four-stage Vega rocket into polar orbit 488 miles above Earth to begin tracking changes in agriculture and forestry patterns and monitoring natural disasters.

Live coverage: SpaceX readies next Falcon 9 for liftoff

March 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is preparing for the next launch of a Falcon 9 rocket, set for blastoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the EchoStar 23 television broadcast satellite destined to cover Brazil. The rocket’s static fire test, a major milestone in any SpaceX launch campaign, was performed Thursday.

NASA buys up to five more seats on future Soyuz missions

March 1, 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA has purchased two seats on Russian Soyuz capsules launching later this year and in early 2018 to expand the crew on the U.S. segment of the International Space Station from three to four, and reserved options to fly astronauts on Soyuz spacecraft in 2019 if commercial rides are not available in time.

Auto-destruct system seen as a key to ramping up launch tempos

February 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force says the demonstration of an automated safety system on last week’s Falcon 9 rocket launch will slash and costs and hasten turnarounds between missions from military-operated ranges in Florida and California.

NASA studying whether to add astronauts to first launch of new super booster

February 24, 2017 William Harwood

NASA managers said Friday they hope to know within a month or so whether it might be feasible — or advisable — to put two astronauts on board the first test flight of a huge 322-foot-tall Space Launch System super booster scheduled for its maiden launch late next year.

Environmental sentinel launched from French Guiana

Live coverage: European environmental satellite launched by Vega rocket

Launch timeline for Vega rocket’s flight with Sentinel 2B

Live coverage: SpaceX readies next Falcon 9 for liftoff

NASA buys up to five more seats on future Soyuz missions

Auto-destruct system seen as a key to ramping up launch tempos

NASA studying whether to add astronauts to first launch of new super booster

Russian freighter links up with International Space Station

Photos: Falcon 9 rocket soars into overcast sky from pad 39A

Photos: Russian cargo craft fires away from snow-covered cosmodrome