SpaceX

After spending almost five months in space, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 astronauts will discuss their science mission aboard the International Space Station during a news conference at 4:15 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 20, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi will answer questions about their mission. The crew returned to Earth on Aug. 9. Live coverage of the news conference will stream on the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of additional platforms, including social media. This event is open to media to attend in person or virtually. For in-person, media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 12 p.m., Tuesday, ...

United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket roared off the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 to begin the USSF-106 mission for the U.S. Space Force. This was the first national security launch using a Vulcan rocket and the 101st national security mission for ULA. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now United Launch Alliance fired off it’s first fully operational Vulcan rocket Tuesday, boosting two military satellites into space in the first Space Force-sanctioned flight of a new launcher that eventually will replace the company’s Atlas 5 and already-retired Deltas. Equipped with four solid-fuel strap-on boosters for additional takeoff power, the 198-foot-tall Vulcan’s two methane-fueled BE-4 engines thundered to life at 8:56p.m. EDT, instantly propelling the rocket away from pad 41 at the Cape Cana...

The SpaceX Dragon Endurance splashes down in the waters of the Pacific Ocean near the coast of San Diego, California. Image: NASA Two NASA astronauts, a Japanese flier and a Russian cosmonaut plunged back to Earth Saturday, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego to wrap up a five-month mission. Strapped into SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance, commander Anne McClain, pilot Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and cosmonaut Kirill Peskov gently splashed down in calm seas at 11:33 a.m. EDT, 17-and-a-half hours after undocking from the International Space Station. SpaceX support crews deployed near the landing site quickly converged on the capsule to rig the craft for a lift onto the deck of a recovery ship. After hatch opening, the station fliers were helped out of ...

Editor’s Note: This release was edited Aug. 9, 2025, to update the International Space Station docking port for the Crew-10 mission. The first crew to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program completed the agency’s 10th commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station on Saturday. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov returned to Earth at 11:33 a.m. EDT. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew. After returning to shore, the crew will fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and reunite with their families. “Splashdown! Crew-10 is back on Earth from the Inte...

Poor weather in the booster recovery zone caused a scrub of the KF-02 mission, preventing the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for a fourth time in as many days. Image: SpaceX via livestream Update Aug. 10, 9:30 a.m. EDT: Poor weather in the booster recovery zone scrubs KF-02 launch; now targeting Monday, Aug. 11. For a fourth time in as many days, SpaceX was unable to launch 24 satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet service from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Technical issues with the Falcon 9 rocket prevented launches on Thursday and Friday and poor weather stymied launch attempts on Saturday and Sunday. “Just want to make everyone aware that we have no-go conditions on recovery weather,” the SpaceX launch director said about 1.5 minutes ahead of the planned liftoff. “W...