Mission Reports – Page 472

January 1, 2026

Breaking News

[ December 27, 2025 ] Launch pad issue delays again Falcon 9 launch of Italian Earth observation satellite Falcon 9
[ December 26, 2025 ] Former ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno joins Blue Origin News
[ December 22, 2025 ] H3 rocket suffers upper stage anomaly, fails to correctly deploy navigation satellite H3
[ December 22, 2025 ] Tory Bruno steps down as President, CEO of ULA News
[ December 21, 2025 ] Astronauts, launch teams practice Artemis 2 countdown Artemis

SpaceX eyes Dec. 19 for first launch since June

December 10, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is targeting Dec. 19 for a critical commercial launch that will double as the debut flight of an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket and the company’s return-to-flight mission after a failure six months ago halted SpaceX’s busy launch manifest.

Russian reconnaissance satellite re-enters atmosphere

December 9, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Russian satellite burned up in Earth’s atmosphere Tuesday, less than three days after it failed to deploy from its rocket after reaching orbit, according to tracking data released by the U.S. military.

Atlas 5/Cygnus post-launch news conference

December 7, 2015 Spaceflight Now

Watch the post-launch news conference from the Kennedy Space Center following the successful launch of an Atlas 5 rocket on December 6, carrying the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo ship bound for the International Space Station.

Take a last look at the Vega rocket’s middle-of-the-night liftoff

December 4, 2015 Stephen Clark

Videos and photos help tell the story of Thursday’s launch of Europe’s LISA Pathfinder spacecraft, carrying high-tech thrusters and ultra-sensitive motion sensors to be used in a future gravitational wave detection mission, from French Guiana aboard a nearly 100-foot-tall (30-meter) Vega rocket.

European probe blasts off on gravitational wave demonstration

December 3, 2015 Stephen Clark

A solid-fueled Vega launcher fired through a low cloud deck and sped into orbit from the South American jungle early Thursday with a pioneering European spacecraft that marks a key step in a century-long quest to detect elusive gravitational waves predicted to permeate the cosmos.

SpaceX aims to resume Falcon 9 flights in mid-December

December 2, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has shipped to Cape Canaveral the first Falcon 9 booster equipped with upgrades to haul heavier cargoes to orbit, aiming for a mid-December launch in the space transport company’s first mission since a June rocket failure grounded the Falcon 9.

Live coverage: Vega rocket launches with LISA Pathfinder

December 2, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Vega rocket has blasted off with Europe’s LISA Pathfinder tech demo mission, a probe heading to a station a million miles from Earth to test systems for a future gravitational wave observatory. Liftoff from French Guiana occurred at 0404 GMT Thursday (11:04 p.m. EST Wednesday).

Vega/LISA Pathfinder launch timeline

December 2, 2015 Stephen Clark

Follow the major events during the launch of Europe’s LISA Pathfinder gravitational probe testbed, from liftoff of its Vega rocket booster from French Guiana through deployment into its initial orbit.

LISA Pathfinder launch grounded to analyze Vega upper stage

December 1, 2015 Stephen Clark

Launch managers in French Guiana have delayed liftoff of a European gravitational probe pathfinder at least one day to study out-of-bounds thermal readings from the upper stage of its Vega rocket booster, officials said Tuesday.

Finely-crafted experimental space probe ready for launch

December 1, 2015 Stephen Clark

A modest European-built spacecraft tuned to test the delicate, cutting edge technologies required to detect gravitational waves, a measurement that scientists say could yield unforeseen discoveries about the universe, is awaiting liftoff aboard a solid-fueled Vega rocket this week.