News – Spaceflight Now

February 8, 2026

Breaking News

[ February 7, 2026 ] SpaceX launches return to flight Falcon 9 mission following brief stand down Falcon 9
[ February 6, 2026 ] SpaceX shifts away from Dragon launches at pad 39A as Starship looms News
[ February 6, 2026 ] ULA offloads first Vulcan rocket at Vandenberg at it preps its next Cape launch Mission Reports
[ February 3, 2026 ] NASA waves off February launch for Artemis II moon mission; now targeting early March Mission Reports
[ February 1, 2026 ] SpaceX experiences Falcon 9 upper stage anomaly following Starlink deployment Falcon 9

SpaceX launches return to flight Falcon 9 mission following brief stand down

February 7, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX halted launches for less than a week following an in-flight anomaly. Liftoff of the Starlink 17-33 mission happened at 12:58:09 p.m. PST (3:58:09 p.m. EST / 2058:09 UTC).

SpaceX shifts away from Dragon launches at pad 39A as Starship looms

February 6, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The last Dragon flight from pad 39A was the CRS-33 mission in August 2025. SpaceX is preparing for the just the second pad 40 launch supporting NASA’s Commercial Crew Program no earlier than Feb. 11.

ULA offloads first Vulcan rocket at Vandenberg at it preps its next Cape launch

February 6, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

United Launch Alliance is preparing for the launch of the USSF-87 mission for the U.S. Space Force no earlier than Feb. 12, which will fly from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

NASA waves off February launch for Artemis II moon mission; now targeting early March

February 3, 2026 William Harwood

Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, in pre-flight medical quarantine at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, had hope to fly to Florida Tuesday to begin final preparations for launch. Instead, they will remain in Houston and rejoin family, friends and co-workers.

SpaceX experiences Falcon 9 upper stage anomaly following Starlink deployment

February 1, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 17-32 mission was the first Starlink mission in February. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 7:47:11 a.m. PST (10:47:11 a.m. EST / 1547:11 UTC).

Countdown underway for critical moon rocket fueling test Monday

February 1, 2026 William Harwood

The countdown began Saturday evening and will continue through the start of a simulated launch window opening at 9 p.m. EST Monday. The test started two days late because of predicted arctic weather along Florida’s Space Coast.

Cold weather delays earliest Artemis 2 launch opportunity

January 30, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The agency is looking at Feb. 11 as the earliest date for launching the SpaceX Crew-12 mission. However, it hinges entirely on the status of Artemis 2 and whether or not it has launched.

SpaceX launches overnight Starlink flight as it unveils new ‘Stargaze’ space situational awareness system

January 30, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 6-101 mission was SpaceX’s 13th and final launch of the month. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 2:22 a.m. EST (0722 UTC).

SpaceX launches 11,000th Starlink satellite to date on Thursday

January 29, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX currently has more than 9,500 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit. Liftoff of the Starlink 17-19 mission from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 9:53:20 a.m. PST (12:53:20 p.m. EST / 1753:20 UTC).

SpaceX launches GPS 3 satellite following switch from ULA Vulcan rocket

January 26, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

This was the third launch of a GPS satellite in as many years. Liftoff of the GPS 3-9 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launched at 11:53:16 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Jan. 27 (0453:16 UTC on Jan. 28).