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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.
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606 articles
Falcon 9 rocket passes last major preflight test
Ground crews plan to load the final cargo into SpaceX's Dragon supply ship Saturday after the capsule's Falcon 9 rocket booster briefly fired up on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral for a flight readiness check.
Commercial crew spaceships face likely delays
NASA officials and lawmakers warned Wednesday that U.S. astronauts will continue riding to the International Space Station aboard Russian spacecraft longer than planned if a spending plan under consideration in the Senate becomes law.
SpaceX has ‘aggressive’ schedule leading up to crew flights
Staying true to a corporate philosophy that favors high-visibility flight tests, SpaceX plans to continue wringing out major parts of the company's human-rated Dragon spaceship in a sequence of dramatic flights leading up to the capsule's first crewed mission scheduled for 2017.
ULA, SpaceX face off in landmark Air Force launch competition
The U.S. Air Force has identified the launch of a next-generation GPS navigation satellite for the first in a series of competitive rocket procurements between United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, service officials announced Wednesday.
Photos: SpaceX’s passenger spaceship flies on first test run
It didn't go into space, but SpaceX's Dragon crew capsule fired off a launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday for a 99-second test flight to demonstrate a crucial safety mechanism that would save astronauts from a catastrophic rocket failure. View photos of the human-rated spacecraft's first flight.
VideoVideo: Dragon test articles flies pad abort profile
A test article of SpaceX's Crew Dragon flew on an arcing minute-and-a-half demonstration flight over Cape Canaveral on Wednesday, launching atop eight 3D-printed rocket thrusters and descending to a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX crew capsule completes dramatic abort test
A rocket-powered prototype of SpaceX's human-rated crew capsule vaulted off a launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday for a brief mile-high test flight of the spaceship's emergency crew safety system.
Don’t blink: SpaceX crew escape demo will go by in a flash
SpaceX plans to launch an unmanned test model of the company’s Dragon crew capsule Wednesday on a whirlwind 107-second flight through the skies over Cape Canaveral.
Photos: Dragon prototype poised for abort test
SpaceX's new Dragon crew ferry craft is in position for a key test Wednesday of the capsule's safety system designed to whisk astronauts away from a dangerous rocket mishap during launch.
SpaceX preps for test of Dragon capsule’s life-saving abort system
A spaceship designed to ferry astronauts into orbit by 2017 is set for a major test Wednesday, when SpaceX plans to blast the capsule away from Cape Canaveral on a mile-high demo flight to simulate the craft's ability to protect occupants in the event of a catastrophic rocket mishap on the pad.