News – Page 564 – Spaceflight Now

February 6, 2026

Breaking News

[ February 6, 2026 ] ULA offloads first Vulcan rocket at Vandenberg at it preps its next Cape launch Mission Reports
[ February 3, 2026 ] NASA waves off February launch for Artemis II moon mission; now targeting early March Mission Reports
[ February 1, 2026 ] SpaceX experiences Falcon 9 upper stage anomaly following Starlink deployment Falcon 9
[ February 1, 2026 ] Countdown underway for critical moon rocket fueling test Monday Mission Reports
[ January 30, 2026 ] Cold weather delays earliest Artemis 2 launch opportunity Falcon 9

Scientists to land, and switch off, Rosetta comet probe in September

July 2, 2016 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission will end Sept. 30 with a dicey descent to the core of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, a risky, but potentially rewarding finale punctuated by commands to automatically safe the probe’s rocket thrusters and turn off its radio transmitter.

Juno switched to autopilot mode for Jupiter final approach

June 30, 2016 Stephen Clark

Four days out from arriving at the solar system’s biggest planet, NASA’s Juno spacecraft received a final uplink of commands Thursday governing the robotic probe’s high-velocity braking maneuver Monday to steer into orbit around Jupiter.

With Juno on Jupiter’s doorstep, Hubble eyes glowing Jovian auroras

June 30, 2016 Stephen Clark

Peering a half-billion miles across the solar system, the Hubble Space Telescope has caught a glimpse of brilliant auroras flashing over Jupiter’s north pole as NASA’s Juno orbiter speeds toward the gas giant for a close-up look.

NASA must decide soon on Dawn mission’s next act

June 30, 2016 Stephen Clark

NASA managers face a July 12 deadline to decide whether to send the Dawn spacecraft on an unplanned visit to a third object in the asteroid belt or keep the probe at dwarf planet Ceres until it runs out of fuel next year, officials said this week.

Chinese intelligence-gathering satellite launched by Long March 4B rocket

June 29, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Long March 4B rocket lifted off from a remote launch base in the Gobi Desert Wednesday and placed a secretive spacecraft in orbit 375 miles above Earth, likely adding a new electronic surveillance station to the Chinese government’s growing satellite fleet.

Photos: SLS test booster ignited in Utah

June 29, 2016 Stephen Clark

Pushing out a brilliant plume of nearly 5,000-degree exhaust, a test booster for NASA’s Space Launch System fired for more than two minutes Tuesday to verify the upgraded space shuttle-era solid rocket motor is ready to help send astronauts into deep space.

Juno’s British-built engine readied for all-important firing at Jupiter

June 29, 2016 Stephen Clark

Ground controllers pressurized the Juno spacecraft’s propulsion system Tuesday to prep for a July 4 rocket firing by the probe’s UK-made rocket engine that will steer the spinning, solar-powered robot into orbit around Jupiter.

Space Launch System booster fired in final preflight qualification test

June 28, 2016 Stephen Clark

A solid-fueled rocket motor mounted horizontally on a Utah hillside ignited and powered up to more than 3 million pounds of thrust Tuesday in a final full-up test-firing before a similar booster helps propel NASA’s huge Space Launch System away from Earth on a demonstration flight in 2018.

Oxygen finding strengthens case that Mars was once habitable

June 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

High concentrations of manganese oxides found in Martian rocks by NASA’s Curiosity rover indicate the red planet’s atmosphere once had much more oxygen than than previously thought, scientists said Monday.

Huge solid rocket booster to be test-fired Tuesday

June 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

A 154-foot-long solid rocket booster will be ignited for two minutes Tuesday at a remote test site in Utah, wrapping up a series of five ground firings to prove the motor’s readiness for flight on NASA’s Space Launch System.