News – Page 219 – Spaceflight Now

February 17, 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

Mars rover deploys Ingenuity helicopter for historic flight

April 4, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Perseverance rover released the Ingenuity helicopter onto the surface of Mars Saturday, leaving behind the experimental flying drone to survive on its own power until attempting a historic hop in the Red Planet’s thin carbon dioxide atmosphere around April 11.

China’s Tianwen 1 mission targets mid-May landing on Mars

April 1, 2021 Stephen Clark

China’s Tianwen 1 spacecraft — in orbit around Mars since February — is scheduled to deploy a descent module to attempt the country’s first landing on the Red Planet in mid-May. Officials plan to share the Mars rover’s scientific data with researchers around the world, a senior Chinese scientist said last week.

Busy month of crew rotations on tap at International Space Station

April 1, 2021 Stephen Clark

Seven astronauts and cosmonauts are gearing up for launches April 9 and April 22 to the International Space Station, replacing seven outgoing crew members set to land in Kazakhstan and off the coast of Florida on April 17 and April 28.

NASA blames recent Hubble woes on aging hardware

March 31, 2021 Stephen Clark

Hardware problems that cropped up earlier this month on the Hubble Space Telescope, now approaching the 31st anniversary of its launch, are the latest signs the observatory is showing its age.

China launches Gaofen Earth observation satellite

March 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

An Earth observation satellite China says will assist in land surveys, urban planning, and agriculture monitoring successfully launched Tuesday on a Chinese Long March 4C rocket.

Perseverance rover begins steps to deploy Mars helicopter

March 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter is being lowered from the belly of the Perseverance rover this week as ground teams run through a choreographed long-distance command sequence to safely release the $80 million rotorcraft onto the surface of Mars.

Final two passengers named for first all-civilian mission to orbit Earth

March 30, 2021 William Harwood

The billionaire financing the SpaceX flight that will carry the first non-professional “everyday people” into orbit in September, announced the final two members of his four-person crew Tuesday, adding an artist-educator and an aerospace worker selected in a charity-themed competition.

Biden administration renews mandate for National Space Council

March 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

President Biden will renew the National Space Council, a space policy group revived by the Trump White House after 25 years of inactivity, to assist in “generating national space policies, strategies, and synchronizing America’s space activities,” an administration spokesman said Monday.

SpaceX’s latest high-altitude Starship test flight ends in another explosion

March 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight apparently ended with another explosion Tuesday in South Texas, but dense fog obscured clear views of the launch and failed landing. The Federal Aviation Administration said late Tuesday it is working with SpaceX to determine if light debris reported in a nearby town came from the Starship test rocket.

Northrop Grumman to supply solid rocket motors for first Mars Ascent Vehicle

March 29, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth as much as $84.5 million earlier this month to supply rocket motors for a first-of-its-kind launch vehicle to fire a capsule of rock samples off of Mars on a journey back to Earth.