News – Page 398 – Spaceflight Now

April 22, 2026

Breaking News

[ April 21, 2026 ] SpaceX launches final GPS III satellite for the U.S. Space Force Falcon 9
[ April 20, 2026 ] Blue Origin launches third New Glenn rocket, but payload ends up in wrong orbit New Glenn
[ April 19, 2026 ] Third flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to feature 1st reuse of booster Mission Reports
[ April 18, 2026 ] SpaceX makes 600th Falcon booster landing during West Coast Starlink mission Falcon 9
[ April 16, 2026 ] Blue Origin hot fires its first previously flown booster, prepares for weekend launch Mission Reports

Virgin Orbit nears first test flights with air-launched rocket

August 31, 2018 Stephen Clark

The attachment of a mounting bracket for Virgin Orbit’s smallsat launcher under the wing of a modified passenger jetliner portends the start of a series of captive carry tests with a full-scale model of the rocket, culminating in a drop of the vehicle before the first orbital launch attempt.

Cosmonauts plug small air leak on the International Space Station

August 30, 2018 Stephen Clark

Two cosmonauts living aboard the International Space Station plugged a small hole in the hull of a Soyuz ferry craft with a wipe and sealant Thursday, stabilizing the air pressure inside the orbiting research outpost after engineers detected a minor leak.

Live coverage: Space station crew investigating slow pressure leak

August 30, 2018 Stephen Clark

Crew members aboard the International Space Station are investigating a tiny pressure leak on the Russian side of the orbiting outpost. The crew traced the leak to a small hole on the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft, which ferried a three-person crew to the station in June. Mission control is examining options to repair the damage, and NASA says the crew is not in danger.

Two NASA probes catch first glimpses of primordial targets

August 29, 2018 Stephen Clark

Two NASA spacecraft — the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission and the New Horizons probe at the edge of the solar system — have captured their first looks at their targets as they approach a pair of primordial relics for the first time.

Installation of ice-measuring satellite caps assembly of last Delta 2 rocket

August 28, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s ICESat 2 satellite has been bolted atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as ground teams prepare for the final liftoff of the workhorse launcher Sept. 15.

SLS mobile launch platform to go on the move this week

August 27, 2018 Stephen Clark

The mobile platform intended to carry NASA’s Space Launch System will trek to the mega-rocket’s launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as soon as Thursday, before heading inside the spaceport’s huge Vehicle Assembly Building for the first time next month.

China sets new national record for most launches in a year

August 27, 2018 Stephen Clark

Two navigation satellites joined China’s growing Beidou network with a successful rocket flight Friday that set a new record for the most Chinese space launches in a year.

Pence rallies Johnson Space Center workers with promise of moon missions

August 23, 2018 William Harwood

In what came across as a combination pep rally and old-time revival, Vice President Mike Pence asked flight controllers, engineers and astronauts at the Johnson Space Center Thursday to “rededicate” themselves to carrying out the Trump administration’s drive to establish a permanent U.S. presence around the moon in the early 2020s before eventual voyages to Mars.

Spaceflight preps for first launch of unique orbiting satellite deployers

August 23, 2018 Stephen Clark

Engineers working for Spaceflight, a Seattle-based launch services company, are in the final steps of preparing for the first launch of new robotic free flyers carrying more than 70 small government and commercial satellites into polar orbit later this year aboard a dedicated flight of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Pioneering European winds observatory launched aboard Vega rocket

August 22, 2018 Stephen Clark

A European satellite hosting a spaceborne laser crafted to measure winds in Earth’s atmosphere rode a Vega launcher into orbit Wednesday from French Guiana, a thundering sendoff for a three-year mission that could improve global weather forecasts.