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
156 articles
VideoSpaceX test-fires Raptor engine on Starship test rocket
A test-firing of a Raptor engine on the latest in a series of Starship test rockets Tuesday night in Texas moved SpaceX closer to performing a low-altitude "hop" to gather data on the vehicle's launch and landing characteristics.
VideoNASA narrows design for rocket to launch samples off of Mars
After years of studies, test-firings and a survey of U.S. industry in preparation for launch of a Mars Sample Return mission in 2026, NASA has settled on a solid-fueled design for a miniature rocket with a first-of-its-kind purpose: Launching a payload from Mars for a trip back to Earth.
VideoSpaceX loses third Starship prototype in cryogenic ground test
A prototype for SpaceX's Starship space vehicle collapsed during pressure testing early Friday at the company's facility in South Texas -- the program's third failure during such testing since November -- but assembly of a new version is already underway.
VideoSecond Starship test article implodes during pressure test
A prototype for SpaceX's Starship vehicle imploded during a pressurization test at the company's facility in South Texas Friday night, an event captured on video by local residents.
VideoDiscoveries at solar system’s distant frontier shed light on how planets form
Data from the encounter of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft with a frozen reddish snowman-shaped object a billion miles beyond Pluto last year suggest the building blocks of planets may have formed less violently than many scientists expected, officials said Thursday.
VideoNASA’s next Mars rover will soon ship to Cape Canaveral launch site
Fresh off its first terrestrial test drive, NASA's Mars 2020 rover was displayed to media last week at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California before it's packed up and flown across the country to Cape Canaveral in February to begin final launch preparations for liftoff in July.
VideoSpaceX’s first Starship prototype ruptures during cryogenic test
SpaceX's first partially-assembled Starship vehicle, originally built for atmospheric test flights, ruptured in dramatic fashion Wednesday during a cryogenic loading test at the company's launch facility in South Texas.
VideoElon Musk to provide update on SpaceX’s Starship this weekend
In the last few months, teams of SpaceX engineers working on the flat coastal plains of South Texas and in a nondescript industrial yard on Florida's Space Coast have been building two futuristic-looking stainless steel rockets -- or Starships -- prototypes for a reusable vehicle the company claims could one day ferry people to Mars.
VideoLive coverage: Mission control loses contact with Indian moon lander
Indian ground teams lost contact with a robotic lunar lander and rover minutes before their scheduled touchdown near the moon's south pole. India was attempting to become the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the moon.
VideoIndian moon lander ready for final descent
The Vikram lander, part of India's Chandrayaan 2 mission launched in July, will attempt to land near the lunar south pole Friday and deploy a rover to conduct the first on-the-ground scientific surveys away from the moon's equatorial regions.