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
456 articles
SpaceX adds more satellites to Starlink internet fleet
Continuing a high-tempo launch cadence, SpaceX delivered another batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites to orbit early Thursday after a seemingly flawless liftoff from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

Watch a 4K video replay of the Falcon 9 static fire (members only)
SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket Monday evening at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, paving the way for launch of 60 more Starlink internet satellites Tuesday night.
VideoLive coverage: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket fires into orbit from Cape Canaveral
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with the next batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites at 3:13 a.m. EST (0813 GMT) Thursday from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The reusable first stage successfully landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX eyes mobile connectivity market on eve of launching 60 more Starlink satellites
The next 60 Starlink internet satellites are awaiting a ride from Cape Canaveral into space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday night as SpaceX seeks regulatory authority to expand the network's services from homes and offices to airplanes, ships, and trucks.

SpaceX sticks 75th Falcon rocket landing after launching 60 more Starlink satellites
Launching through a blanket of low-hanging clouds and light mist, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thundered into the sky over Florida's Space Coast early Thursday and delivered 60 more Starlink internet satellites to orbit. The rocket's first stage touched down on SpaceX's floating landing platform in the Atlantic Ocean to complete its eighth trip to space and back.
VideoLive coverage: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites
After a terminal countdown abort Sunday night, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with the next 60 Starlink internet satellites Thursday at 3:24 a.m. EST (0824 GMT). The Falcon 9 took off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, and its first stage booster successfully landed on SpaceX's offshore drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Launch companies, range teams reassessing Cape Canaveral weather rules
Launch companies and U.S. Space Force range officials at Cape Canaveral are reassessing long-standing weather rules, looking at beefing up rocket defenses against lightning, and considering strategies to prepare for two different launch windows on a given day to guard against weather delays, something SpaceX may demonstrate with a Falcon 9 launch early Thursday.

Component fatigue caused early shutdown of Merlin engine on last SpaceX launch
SpaceX has concluded fatigue on an engine cover caused one of the nine Merlin 1D first stage engines on the company's most recent launch to shut down early during ascent, leading to the loss of the booster during an offshore landing attempt in the Atlantic Ocean, an official said Monday.

SpaceX says “heat damage” caused landing failure on recent Falcon 9 mission
A senior SpaceX official said this week that "heat damage" led to the failure of a Falcon 9 booster during a landing attempt Feb. 15, but the company will press on with more launches and will likely surpass the 10-flight threshold on one of its reusable rockets soon. The next Falcon 9 launch, using a booster flying on its eighth mission, is scheduled for liftoff from Florida with 60 more Starlink internet satellites Sunday night.

Next SpaceX launch postponed
SpaceX has postponed its next launch of Starlink internet satellites from Wednesday after a Falcon 9 booster missed a landing attempt on an offshore drone ship during an otherwise successful mission Monday night.