Advanced Space – Spaceflight Now

February 16, 2026

Breaking News

[ February 15, 2026 ] SpaceX launches predawn Starlink mission on President’s Day Falcon 9
[ February 15, 2026 ] Replacement crew docks at space station, boosts crew back to seven Mission Reports
[ February 14, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 600th Falcon 9 rocket to date with Starlink flight from Vandenberg Falcon 9
[ February 14, 2026 ] ‘Very lucky day’: NASA, SpaceX ace astronaut launch to the space station on Friday the 13th Falcon 9
[ February 12, 2026 ] NASA loading liquid hydrogen aboard Artemis 2 rocket in unannounced test Artemis

NASA picks Rocket Lab to launch lunar CubeSat mission

February 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA announced Friday that Rocket Lab will launch a 55-pound CubeSat from Wallops Island, Virginia, toward the moon in early 2021 on a demonstration mission to test lunar navigation techniques and scout a unique elliptical orbit for the planned Gateway mini-space station.

NASA to fly CubeSat pathfinder for Gateway in unique lunar orbit

September 26, 2019 Stephen Clark

As soon as next year, NASA plans to launch a CubeSat the size of a microwave oven into a unique elliptical orbit around the moon as a scout for the future lunar Gateway, a mini-space station NASA intends to use as a staging point for crewed lunar landings beginning as soon as 2024.