News – Page 687 – Spaceflight Now

December 16, 2025

Breaking News

[ December 15, 2025 ] Rocket Lab Electron rocket aborts liftoff at engine ignition Electron
[ December 15, 2025 ] ULA Atlas 5 launch puts Amazon’s 180th broadband satellite in low Earth orbit Atlas 5
[ December 14, 2025 ] Falcon 9 launch of 29 Starlink satellites from the Kennedy Space Center delayed to Wednesday Falcon 9
[ December 14, 2025 ] SpaceX launches 100th Falcon 9 rocket from Florida in 2025 Falcon 9
[ December 13, 2025 ] SpaceX completes 550th booster landing amid Saturday night Falcon 9 flight Falcon 9

SpaceX selected for launch of Qatari satellite

December 29, 2014 Stephen Clark

A communications satellite owned by the Qatari government will launch from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in late 2016, according to Qatar’s state-owned satellite company.

Successful Proton launch puts Astra 2G broadcast satellite in orbit

December 28, 2014 Stephen Clark

A Russian Proton rocket fired six main engines and soared into space from Kazakhstan on Saturday, deploying a commercial communications satellite owned by SES for a 15-year mission linking Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Live coverage: Proton rocket blasts off with Astra 2G

December 27, 2014 Stephen Clark

An International Launch Services Proton rocket lifted off at 2137 GMT (4:37 p.m. EST) on Dec. 27 with the Astra 2G communications satellite, a new broadcasting platform owned by SES to beam television and broadband services to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Chinese military spy satellite deployed in orbit

December 27, 2014 Stephen Clark

China launched a Long March 4B rocket Saturday to deploy a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit 300 miles above Earth.

Soyuz rocket launches with Russian Earth observation craft

December 26, 2014 Stephen Clark

A new Russian satellite streaked into orbit aboard a Soyuz rocket Friday, carrying high-resolution cameras to survey the globe and a plasma physics experiment to seek out signs of exotic antimatter and dark matter in the cosmos.

Proton rocket on track for launch with European telecom satellite

December 26, 2014 Stephen Clark

A commercial broadcast satellite will blast off from Kazakhstan on Saturday aboard a Proton rocket to transmit television, multimedia and broadband services across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

NASA spacecraft to get bonus time studying Mercury

December 26, 2014 Stephen Clark

Running low on fuel after completing the first global survey of Mercury, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft could get an extra month of time at the solar system’s innermost planet thanks to a crafty new way of using helium gas to temporarily forestall the mission’s end next year.

Russian Earth observing satellite ready for launch

December 25, 2014 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz rocket is scheduled for launch Friday with Russia’s Resurs P2 satellite, a civilian-operated spacecraft with a sharp-eyed camera to collect high-resolution imagery for Russian government authorities and international agencies.

Soyuz rocket lifts off with Russian eavesdropping satellite

December 25, 2014 Stephen Clark

A satellite to collect intelligence for the Russian government launched Thursday on top of a Soyuz rocket and reached orbit a few minutes after liftoff from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome about 500 miles north of Moscow.

Photos and video: Angara 5’s thunderous liftoff

December 23, 2014 Stephen Clark

Russia’s new Angara 5 rocket, the biggest Russian launcher since the end of the Cold War, made a pre-dawn blastoff from the wintry Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Tuesday on a successful first flight. See video and photos of the fiery liftoff from the snowy launch pad.