Gen-3 – Spaceflight Now

May 6, 2026

Breaking News

[ May 5, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB Falcon 9
[ May 4, 2026 ] Lockheed Martin joins collaboration with Firefly Aerospace and Seagate for off-shore launches Alpha
[ May 2, 2026 ] SpaceX launches South Korean Earth observation satellite, plus 44 more payloads on midnight Falcon 9 rideshare mission Falcon 9
[ May 1, 2026 ] SpaceX marks May Day, National Space Day with Starlink mission on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Falcon 9
[ April 29, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB Falcon 9

Rocket Lab launches BlackSky’s next Gen-3 satellite on Electron rocket from New Zealand

June 2, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission will be Rocket Lab’s seventh Electron rocket launch of the year and its second in 2025 in support of BlackSky. Teams are targeting liftoff from Mahia, New Zealand at 11:57 a.m. NZT on June 3 (7:57 p.m. EDT, 2357 UTC on June 2).

Rocket Lab launches BlackSky Gen-3 satellite on 60th Electron flight

February 18, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission, dubbed ‘Fasten Your Space Belts,’ was Rocket Lab’s second launch of the year and its ninth launch supporting BlackSky as a customer. Liftoff from New Zealand happened at 12:17 p.m. NZDT on Feb. 19 (6:17 p.m. EST, 2317 UCT on Feb. 18).