Mission Reports – Page 501

March 7, 2026

Breaking News

[ March 7, 2026 ] NASA contract confirms selection of ULA’s Centaur 5 as new upper stage for the SLS rocket Artemis
[ March 6, 2026 ] Live coverage: SpaceX plans mid-afternoon Falcon 9 rocket launch from Vandenberg SFB Falcon 9
[ March 5, 2026 ] Spanish launch startup PLD Space raises $209 million to scale its rocket production Miura 5
[ March 3, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 600th Starlink satellite of 2026 during predawn Falcon 9 rocket flight from Cape Canaveral Falcon 9
[ March 1, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Falcon 9

Photos: Falcon 9 soars into space at sunset

February 12, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral on its 15th flight just before sunset Wednesday, putting on a spectacular sky show en route to space with a NOAA satellite to measure the solar wind.

Fire in the hole! Vega fires away from jungle spaceport

February 12, 2015 Stephen Clark

Check out photos of a solid-fueled Vega launcher as it zipped away from its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, with Europe’s IXV mission Wednesday.

SpaceX to forgo booster recovery on Wednesday’s launch

February 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX says it is giving up on landing the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean after Wednesday’s launch of a NOAA space weather observatory due to rough seas in the booster recovery zone off Florida’s East Coast.

European space plane flies around the world on test flight

February 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

Europe launched a sleek space plane more than 250 miles above Earth on Wednesday, testing its maneuverability, on-board guidance systems, and a next-generation heat shield as the experimental vehicle glided through the atmosphere toward a pinpoint splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Video: Europe’s IXV prepared for launch

February 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

Watch a time lapse video chronicling several days of activity to ready the European Space Agency’s sleek IXV re-entry demonstrator for flight.

Flight timeline for ESA’s re-entry demonstrator

February 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

An automobile-sized prototype space plane is ready for an around-the-world test flight to demonstrate technologies to fly on a future orbital space plane, reusable rocket stages, and interplanetary sample return probes. Follow the 102-minute flight with this timeline.

Commercial Dragon supply ship returns to Earth

February 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship wrapped up a 29-day stay at the International Space Station on Tuesday, departing the complex with nearly 3,700 pounds of research specimens, a balky spacesuit and experimental 3D printed parts before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

Falcon 9 launch scrubbed by high winds aloft

February 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

Unfavorable high-altitude winds above Cape Canaveral on Tuesday kept a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket loaded with a NOAA space weather observatory on the ground another day.

Live coverage: European mini-shuttle back on Earth

February 10, 2015 Stephen Clark

A European re-entry demonstrator launched aboard a solid-fueled Vega rocket at 1340 GMT (8:40 a.m. EST) from French Guiana, kicking off a whirlwind 102-minute around-the-world test flight to validate technologies that could be used on future reusable launchers and spaceships.

ESA re-entry vehicle could pave way for reusable launcher

February 10, 2015 Stephen Clark

European engineers are eager to test an experimental re-entry demonstrator Wednesday to validate technologies for future robotic exploration probes, winged space planes, and reusable rocket boosters.