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
435 articles
SpaceX likely to move next rocket landing to drone ship
SpaceX is likely to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket set for launch April 30 on a drone ship just off the coast of Cape Canaveral, not at the company's onshore recovery site as originally planned, after a ground test of the company's Crew Dragon capsule at the landing pad ended in an explosion Saturday.
SpaceX crew capsule returns to Earth, paving the way for human launches
SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft closed out a six-day test flight in low Earth orbit Friday with an on-target splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, and officials hailed the ship's performance before it flies with astronauts for the first time later this year.
SpaceX crew ship set for Friday re-entry, splashdown
Space station astronauts closed hatches to the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Thursday, setting the stage for undocking early Friday and a fiery unpiloted plunge to splashdown off the coast of Florida. A successful return to Earth will help clear the way for launch of the first piloted test flight of the new ferry ship in the mid-summer timeframe.
Photos: Crew Dragon moves in for first docking
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station took these pictures of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft as it approached for docking Sunday, a day after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
SpaceX, ULA win military contracts, Air Force renames EELV program
United Launch Alliance and SpaceX recently won contracts worth $739 million to send six missions into orbit for the U.S. military, and the Air Force has announced a new title for its flagship launcher program, dropping "expendable" from the name in a new era of reusable rockets.
Photos: SpaceX launches crew capsule demonstration flight
SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, designed to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, fired into orbit on top of a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
SpaceX crew capsule welcomed aboard space station
Closing out a 27-hour pursuit after a predawn launch from Florida's Space Coast, a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule glided to an automated docking early Sunday at the International Space Station, accomplishing one of the ship's key test objectives before astronauts take a ride later this year.
SpaceX launches first Crew Dragon ferry ship
Opening a new era in American spaceflight, a Falcon 9 rocket streaked into space early Saturday, boosting the company's first Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit on an unpiloted test flight, the first launch of a commercially developed capsule intended to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
Astronauts eager to see results of Crew Dragon test flight
The astronauts assigned to fly SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft beginning later this year said Friday they are excited for the capsule’s first orbital mission set for launch Saturday, but significant work remains before the ship is cleared to carry people.
Photos: Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon stand tall at pad 39A
These photos show the 215-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft at launch pad 39A, ready for liftoff from Florida's Space Coast on a critical test flight to the International Space Station.