News – Page 711 – Spaceflight Now

September 15, 2026

Breaking News

[ September 15, 2026 ] Avio launches pair of climate monitoring European spacecraft to study plants, oceans and atmospheric changes News
[ September 13, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 700th Falcon rocket, carries final 3 O3b mPOWER satellites to orbit for SES Falcon 9
[ September 9, 2026 ] SpaceX launches classified payload for the U.S. Space Force Falcon 9
[ September 5, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 80th Starlink mission of 2026 Falcon 9
[ September 1, 2026 ] SpaceX launches Starlink mission from West Coast Falcon 9

Record-setting Atlas launches with new Centaur engine

December 13, 2014 Justin Ray

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket put on a display of power, sound and light Friday evening at Vandenberg Air Force Base in launching a clandestine national security payload, then successfully debuted a new upper stage engine as it flew over the horizon.

Photos: Atlas launch seen from press site

December 13, 2014 Justin Ray

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket unleashed two million pounds of thrust at 7:19 p.m. PST (10:19 p.m. EST) on Dec. 12 to blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on the NROL-35 mission. See photos of the launch from the press viewing site.

Photos: Gantry retracted from Atlas 5

December 13, 2014 Justin Ray

The 8-million-pound mobile service tower is retracted from around the Atlas 5 rocket, revealing the 20-story-tall vehicle for liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Launch of SpaceX cargo mission slips to Dec. 19

December 11, 2014 Stephen Clark

The launch of SpaceX’s next resupply mission to the International Space Station has been rescheduled for no earlier than Dec. 19 to make sure the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon supply ship are ready for flight.

Trio of ocean surveillance satellites launched by China

December 11, 2014 Stephen Clark

A package of small satellites that will likely track global naval activity lifted off aboard a Chinese Long March 4C rocket.

Rosetta raises questions on how water got to Earth

December 11, 2014 Stephen Clark

New readings from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission have challenged the theory that comets brought water to Earth in a series of cataclysmic collisions during the solar system’s chaotic youth.

Live coverage: Atlas 5 blasts off from California

December 10, 2014 Justin Ray

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off Friday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. Launch occurred at 7:19 p.m. PST (10:19 p.m. EST; 0319 GMT).

Rover data suggest Mars crater once contained long-lived lake

December 10, 2014 Stephen Clark

Scientists analyzing imagery from NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover believe sediments left by an ancient lake more than three billion years ago formed a towering mountain that is set to be the robot’s research subject for the rest of its mission on the red planet.

Photos: Orion spaceship unloaded from USS Anchorage

December 10, 2014 Stephen Clark

Fresh home from a high-flying test flight Friday that took it 3,600 miles above Earth, NASA’s Orion spacecraft was pulled off a U.S. Navy recovery ship Monday night for initial inspections before a cross-country trip to its home base in Florida.

Weather not looking promising for Atlas 5 launch

December 10, 2014 Justin Ray

Rainy weather at the California launch site is forecast to put a damper on plans to fly an Atlas 5 rocket on Thursday evening.