News – Page 235 – 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 sets mid-January target for SLS hot fire test

January 6, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA is moving forward with a crucial test-firing of the core stage of the first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket as soon as Jan. 17 after engineers were satisfied with the results of a fueling test last month.

Northrop Grumman cargo ship concludes three-month stay at space station

January 6, 2021 Stephen Clark

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo freighter departed the International Space Station Wednesday after delivering more than 7,800 pounds of equipment and experiments, heading for an extended mission with payloads to study fire behavior in microgravity and test a next-generation radio system.

Photos: Soyuz launches French military satellite

January 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

Check out imagery from Arianespace and the French space agency showing the launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket Dec. 29 from the Guiana Space Center in South America.

U.S. companies, led by SpaceX, launched more than any other country in 2020

January 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

Leading all other nations, U.S. launch providers flew 44 missions in 2020 that aimed to place payloads in Earth orbit or deep space, with 40 successes. China followed with 35 successful orbital missions in 39 launch attempts.

Chinese mission returned nearly 4 pounds of lunar samples

January 1, 2021 Stephen Clark

Chinese officials say they plan to share a portion of the nearly 4 pounds of lunar material returned by the Chang’e 5 mission with other countries, but an allocation for U.S. scientists will hinge on a change in U.S. policy restricting cooperation between NASA and China’s space program.

French military surveillance satellite launched by Soyuz rocket

December 29, 2020 Stephen Clark

An optical reconnaissance satellite for the French military took off atop a Soyuz launcher Tuesday, riding the Russian-made rocket from a tropical spaceport in South America into a 300-mile-high polar orbit to begin a 10-year mission surveying the globe.

Three astronauts assigned to Crew Dragon mission in late 2021

December 29, 2020 Stephen Clark

Rookie astronaut Raja Chari — a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot — veteran physician-astronaut Tom Marshburn, and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer have been assigned to fly to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship in the fall of 2021.

Live coverage: Soyuz lifts off from French Guiana

December 28, 2020 Stephen Clark

A French military spy satellite lifted off Tuesday atop a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana. Launch of Arianespace’s final mission of 2020 occurred at 11:42 a.m. EST (1642 GMT). Officials called off a launch attempt Monday because of unfavorable high-altitude winds over the spaceport in South America.

China launches secret military spy payload

December 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

A secret Chinese military payload, believed to be a surveillance satellite, successfully flew into space Sunday aboard a Long March 4C rocket on China’s 39th and final scheduled orbital launch attempt of the year.

Two payloads orbited by SpaceX’s launch of NRO mission

December 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

Tracking information released by the U.S. military indicates two government payloads rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Dec. 19 on the NROL-108 mission, a dedicated launch for the National Reconnaissance Office.