News Archive
Browse every article published on Spaceflight Now, from launch reports and mission previews to spacecraft development coverage. Use the filters to narrow by topic or search by keyword.
Matching Articles
160 articles
Amazon says $139.5 million investment in Florida is key to ramping up launch cadence with Project Kuiper
The tech giant launched three batches of its satellites on two different rockets in less than three months. It said the next slate of Kuiper satellites is prepared to launch now, but didn’t state when that’s expected to happen.
VideoNext Starship explodes on test stand
SpaceX's next Starship vehicle, Ship 36, was destroyed in a catastrophic explosion shortly after 11 p.m. CT (0400 UTC) Wednesday as it was being readied for a static fire test at the company's Massey facility, near Starbase, Texas.
SpaceX launches first flight-proven Super Heavy booster, loses control of Starship mid-flight
The mission saw the Block 2 version of the upper stage get further than the previous two flights, but the rocket succumbed to leaks that caused a loss of attitude control.
VideoLaunch preview: SpaceX to launch its Starship-Super Heavy rocket on its 9th test flight
The launch will be preceded by a company talk from Elon Musk, discussing SpaceX’s plans for developing the rocket for Mars exploration. Launch teams are targeting a liftoff from Pad A at Starbase, Texas, on Tuesday, May 27, at 6:30 p.m. CDT (7:30 p.m. EDT, 2330 UTC).
FAA clears SpaceX to launch its 9th Starship super heavy rocket, while Flight 8 mishap investigation continues
A series of aviation and marine warnings suggest the launch could be as soon as Tuesday, May 27, following the Memorial Day holiday, which was confirmed by SpaceX on Friday.
U.S. Space Force awards $13.7 billion in new national security launch contracts to Blue Origin, SpaceX and ULA
The 54 national security missions will be awarded over the course of five years spanning FY25-FY29. The U.S. Space Force said missions are anticipated to fly from FY27-FY32.
Starship upper stage lost in second mishap in a row
SpaceX launched its huge Starship rocket on the program's eighth test flight Thursday, but a malfunction of some sort triggered multiple upper stage engine shutdowns and for the second flight in a row, the vehicle failed to reach its planned sub-orbital altitude and broke apart in a shower of debris.
VideoLaunch preview: SpaceX to launch Starship Flight 8 following Monday scrub
The eighth launch of SpaceX’s fully integrated Starship rocket will largely repeat the mission objectives of the previous flight, which saw the breakup of the Ship upper stage of the Turks and Caicos Islands. SpaceX is currently targeting Thursday, March 6, at 5:30 p.m. CST (6:30 p.m. EST, 2330 UTC).
VideoSpaceX successfully catches Super Heavy booster, loses Starship upper stage during Flight 7
SpaceX founder Elon Musk said that their initial assessment is that there was "an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity." The company is pursuing a launch in February, assuming the Federal Aviation Administration accepts their mishap investigation report.
VideoLaunch preview: SpaceX to launch its Starship rocket on a 7th suborbital test flight from Starbase
The mission will launch the first big block upgrade to the rocket since its first flight in 2023. Liftoff from SpaceX’s Starbase facilities in southern Texas is set for 4 p.m. CST (5 p.m. EST, 2200 UTC).