Commercial Crew Program

‘Very lucky day’: NASA, SpaceX ace astronaut launch to the space station on Friday the 13th

February 14, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

This was the first time that the space agency happened to launch a crewed mission to the International Space Station on a Friday the 13th. The Crew-12 mission took flight onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:15 a.m. EST (1015 UTC).

Further delays of Starliner’s next flight mark anniversary of its first crewed Space Station docking

June 7, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

NASA said the next launch of the Boeing crew vehicle is now targeting no earlier than early 2026. However, that hinges on testing campaign set to take place at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico.

Fresh crew docks at space station; Starliner astronauts expected to return to Earth Tuesday

March 17, 2025 William Harwood

Approaching from behind and below, the Crew Dragon, launched Friday evening from the Kennedy Space Center, passed 1,300 feet directly under the station before looping up to a point 720 feet directly ahead of the outpost. From there, it glided straight in for docking at the Harmony module’s forward port at 12:04 a.m. EDT.

As it happened: Boeing’s Starliner returned to Earth, marking the end of the Crew Flight Test mission

September 6, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The spacecraft will journey back to Earth without the two astronauts it launched with back on June 5. Undocking is set for 6:04 p.m. EDT (2204 UTC) with landing just after midnight on Saturday.

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 return to flight mission from the Kennedy Space Center

July 26, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The rocket launched more than 340 times successively and successfully before it encountered an issue with its upper stage on July 11. Liftoff of the Starlink 10-9 mission happened at 1:45 a.m. EDT (0545 UTC).

Third time’s the charm for the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test

June 5, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The launch of two NASA astronauts dealt with two previous scrubs due to a valve issue on the Atlas 5 rocket and then a ground system issue at the launchpad. Liftoff happened at 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 UTC) on Wednesday, June 5.

Atlas 5 valve repair will delay Starliner’s first crewed mission to May 17 at the earliest

May 8, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

United Launch Alliance (ULA) is set to roll its Atlas 5 rocket and the Starliner spacecraft back to the Vertical Integration Facility on Wednesday to begin working on the problematic valve. The new launch date is no earlier than Friday, May 17, at 6:16 p.m. EDT (2016 UTC).