News – Spaceflight Now

February 18, 2026

Breaking News

[ February 17, 2026 ] NASA to attempt second full fueling test of its Space Launch System rocket Artemis
[ February 15, 2026 ] SpaceX launches predawn Starlink mission on President’s Day Falcon 9
[ February 15, 2026 ] Replacement crew docks at space station, boosts crew back to seven Mission Reports
[ February 14, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 600th Falcon 9 rocket to date with Starlink flight from Vandenberg Falcon 9
[ February 14, 2026 ] ‘Very lucky day’: NASA, SpaceX ace astronaut launch to the space station on Friday the 13th Falcon 9

NASA to attempt second full fueling test of its Space Launch System rocket

February 17, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The operation comes a week after NASA conducted a so-called ‘confidence test’ on Feb. 12, which was the process of loading some liquid hydrogen on the rocket’s core stage.

SpaceX launches predawn Starlink mission on President’s Day

February 15, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 6-103 mission was the 10th orbital flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in 2026. Liftoff from pad 40 happened at 2:59:40 a.m. EST (0759:40 UTC) on Monday, Feb. 16.

Replacement crew docks at space station, boosts crew back to seven

February 15, 2026 William Harwood

The Crew Dragon docked at the space-facing port of the lab’s forward Harmony module at 3:15 p.m. EST, 34 hours after launch Friday from the Kennedy Space Center atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX launches 600th Falcon 9 rocket to date with Starlink flight from Vandenberg

February 14, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 17-13 mission also represented the 180th Falcon 9 launch from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff happened 5:59:59 p.m. PST (8:59:59 p.m. EST / 0159:59 UTC).

‘Very lucky day’: NASA, SpaceX ace astronaut launch to the space station on Friday the 13th

February 14, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

This was the first time that the space agency happened to launch a crewed mission to the International Space Station on a Friday the 13th. The Crew-12 mission took flight onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:15 a.m. EST (1015 UTC).

NASA loading liquid hydrogen aboard Artemis 2 rocket in unannounced test

February 12, 2026 Steven Young

NASA is loading liquid hydrogen aboard its Space Launch System moon rocket at the Kennedy Space Center on Thursday for an unpublicized but crucial test of the repairs made to a leaky umbilical that derailed a countdown rehearsal on Feb. 2.

Vulcan suffers solid rocket booster problem during USSF-87 launch

February 12, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The anomaly appears similar to the nozzle burn through seen during the launch of the second certification flight of a Vulcan rocket.

ULA to launch geosynchronous orbit surveillance satellite for the U.S. Space Force

February 11, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The USSF-87 will be the second national security flight for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket and the fourth flight of this type of rocket to date. Liftoff from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 UTC).

SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB

February 11, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The Starlink 17-34 mission was the 16th launch for SpaceX so far this year. Liftoff from pad 4E happened at 9:11:29 a.m. PST (12:11:29 p.m. EST / 1711:29 UTC).

ULA sets sights on ramping up launch cadence in 2026

February 11, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The company came under new leadership in December following the departure of Tory Bruno, who left the company to join Blue Origin.