Mission Reports

December 3, 2025

Breaking News

[ December 2, 2025 ] Sunset SpaceX launch adds 29 more Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit Falcon 9
[ December 2, 2025 ] Arianespace launches South Korean Earth observation satellite on Vega-C flight Mission Reports
[ December 1, 2025 ] SpaceX launches evening Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB Falcon 9
[ November 30, 2025 ] SpaceX kicks off December with predawn Falcon 9 rocket launch Falcon 9
[ November 28, 2025 ] SpaceX launches 140 spacecraft on Transporter-15 rideshare mission Falcon 9

Hayabusa 2 launches on audacious asteroid adventure

December 3, 2014 Stephen Clark

A Japanese H-2A launcher blasted off from an idyllic island spaceport Tuesday, dispatching a daring six-year expedition to bring a piece of an asteroid back to Earth.

Philae’s “little cousin” heading for asteroid touchdown

December 2, 2014 Stephen Clark

Weeks after accomplishing the first touchdown on a comet, the team of European scientists that developed the Philae landing craft is awaiting launch of a related robot riding piggyback with Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft to achieve the same feat on an asteroid.

Japan set to launch asteroid sample return mission

December 2, 2014 Stephen Clark

Japan is readying an H-2A rocket for liftoff Tuesday to kick off an audacious six-year roundtrip journey to a carbon-rich asteroid, drop a fleet of landers to its surface, collect primordial rock samples, and return the materials to terrestrial laboratories for analysis.

Small satellites have another way to get into space

December 2, 2014 Stephen Clark

A spherical U.S. Navy spacecraft the size of a beach ball spring-ejected from a new satellite deployer outside the International Space Station last week, debuting a fresh way for low-budget space missions to reach orbit.

Live coverage: Orion lands in Pacific

December 2, 2014 Spaceflight Now

NASA’s first space-worthy Orion capsule blasted off atop a Delta 4-Heavy booster rocket for a two-orbit, four-hour shakedown cruise in orbit. Liftoff occurred at 7:05 a.m. EST (1205 GMT), with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 11:29 a.m. EST (1629 GMT).

Live coverage: Japanese asteroid mission blasts off

December 2, 2014 Stephen Clark

An ambitious mission of exploration launched from Japan at 0422 GMT Wednesday (11:22 p.m. EST Tuesday). An H-2A rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center with Hayabusa 2, starting a six-year journey to collect rocks from an asteroid and return them to Earth.

Hayabusa 2 launches on audacious asteroid adventure

Philae’s “little cousin” heading for asteroid touchdown

Japan set to launch asteroid sample return mission

Small satellites have another way to get into space

Live coverage: Orion lands in Pacific

Live coverage: Japanese asteroid mission blasts off

Isolated showers, gusty winds expected for Thursday’s Delta 4 launch

Soyuz rocket deploys upgraded Russian navigation craft

Launch of Japanese asteroid probe delayed

Thanksgiving in space