News – Page 228 – Spaceflight Now

November 8, 2025

Breaking News

[ November 8, 2025 ] Live coverage: Blue Origin to launch NASA’s Mars-bound ESCAPADE mission New Glenn
[ November 7, 2025 ] Poor booster recovery weather scrubs Starlink 10-51 launch Falcon 9
[ November 6, 2025 ] Issue with Atlas 5 booster liquid oxygen vent valve causes second scrub of ViaSat-3 F2 launch Atlas 5
[ November 6, 2025 ] SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB Falcon 9
[ November 5, 2025 ] Atlas booster valve issue scrubs launch of ViaSat-3 F2 satellite Atlas 5

NRO using SpaceX’s commercial launch service for spy satellite payload

December 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to take off Thursday from Florida’s Space Coast with a secret cargo for the National Reconnaissance Office, which broke with standard practice to procure the launch commercially, outside of the government’s established contracting schemes.

Chinese sample return capsule lands on Earth after round-trip flight to moon

December 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

A capsule containing moon rocks landed in a remote, snow-covered corner of China Wednesday, bringing home the first samples from the lunar surface in 44 years and completing the Chinese space program’s most challenging robotic mission to date.

Astra’s smallsat launcher reaches space on second test flight

December 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

On its second test flight Tuesday, Astra’s privately-developed small satellite launcher ran out of fuel seconds before reaching the velocity needed to enter orbit but exceeded the company’s expectations with an otherwise-successful climb into space from Kodiak Island, Alaska.

Chinese spacecraft heading back to Earth with lunar samples

December 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Chinese spacecraft ferrying rocks drilled from the moon’s surface is on course to land back on Earth Wednesday and deliver the first fresh lunar samples to scientists since the 1970s.

Rocket Lab closes out year with launch of Synspective’s first radar satellite

December 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s seventh and final launch of the year delivered a small radar observation satellite into orbit for Synspective, a Japanese startup planning a fleet of 30 or more Earth-imaging spacecraft providing day-and-night imagery of cities around the world.

Photos: Delta 4-Heavy rocket lights up Cape Canaveral

December 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

These photos show the fiery liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral on Dec. 10, riding three pillars of flame from its hydrogen-fueled RS-68A main engines.

Scientists thrilled with asteroid treasure returned by Japanese spacecraft

December 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japanese space agency officials said Tuesday they found a “large number” of pitch black rock and dust particles after opening a capsule returned to Earth earlier this month by the Hayabusa 2 mission, giving eager scientists their first significant specimens ever brought back from an asteroid.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches Japanese radar satellite

December 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab launched a radar imaging satellite Tuesday for the Japanese company Synspective. The small Earth observation payload lifted off from New Zealand at 5:09 a.m. EST (1009 GMT) aboard an Electron rocket. Rocket Lab did not attempt to recover the Electron’s first stage on this mission.

Russia’s Angara A5 rocket successful in second test flight

December 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

Six years after launching for the first time, a Russian Angara A5 heavy-lift rocket took off on its second test flight Monday and successfully delivered a dummy payload into orbit.

SiriusXM satellite rides SpaceX rocket into orbit

December 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

A hefty new satellite to beam SiriusXM radio programming across North America rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Sunday from Cape Canaveral on course to replace an aging broadcast station launched more than 15 years ago.