SpaceX

The GPS III-7 Space Vehicle 08 pictured as it was encapsulated inside a pair of SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairings. Image: SpaceX The latest addition to the United States’ Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation is set to be launched into medium Earth orbit on Friday afternoon. The GPS III-7 Space Vehicle 08 (SV-08) will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Launch teams are targeting liftoff at 1:23 p.m. EDT (1723 UTC), the opening of a 15-minute window. Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about two hours prior to takeoff.  During a prelaunch news briefing on Wednesday, Launch Weather Officer Mark Burger said that there was a 45 percent chance for favorable weather for launch on Friday. That outlook rema...

SpaceX’s Starship upper stage, tail number S35, is shown in an uncontrolled reentry during the Starship Flight 9 mission on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Image: SpaceX via livestream SpaceX hit another roadblock on its quest to “make life multiplanetary.” During the ninth flight of its integrated Starship-Super Heavy rocket on Tuesday, the vehicle once again failed to complete a full flight as intended, losing its ability to control its orientation a little more than 20 minutes into the flight. SpaceX pulled away from showing live imagery from the upper stage for about 10 minutes. When camera views resumed about 30 minutes into the flight, Starship could be seen beginning to spin. “Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight! Also, no significant loss...

A SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy rocket stands stacked at Pad A at Starbase, Texas, ahead of the Starship Flight 9 mission. Image: SpaceX SpaceX is gearing up for a critical flight test for its Starship program. Launch teams are preparing to send the world’s largest rocket on its ninth test flight for the fully integrated vehicle on Tuesday eventing. The company is betting on the testing and improvements made since the first flight of its Block 2 Starship upper stage will allow that part of the rocket to fly as intended. It’s a feat that eluded SpaceX in its previous two launches for the program. SpaceX is aiming for the mission, dubbed Starship Flight 9, to launch from Pad A at Starbase, Texas, during a window that opens on Tuesday, May 27, at 6:30 p.m. CDT (7:30 p.m. EDT, 2330 UTC). Spacefl...

SpaceX conducted a long-duration, six-engine static fire test on the Starship upper stage, tail number S35, that will be used on the Starship Flight 9 mission. Image: SpaceX A return to flight for SpaceX’s Starship program could be a just a holiday weekend away, after the Federal Aviation Administration gave the company the go ahead. In a statement published on Thursday, May 22, the regulator said that SpaceX “implemented all corrective actions” in response to the mishap seen during Flight 8 in March. Similarly to Flight 7 back in January, the Ship upper stage failed to complete its first burn following stage separation and broke up over The Turks and Caicos Islands. “With the Starship vehicle return to flight determination, Starship Flight 9 is authorized for launch,” the FAA said in a st...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Starlink 15-3 mission. Image: SpaceX SpaceX is moving ahead with expansion plans at Vandenberg Space Force Base that will double its West Coast launch cadence and enable Falcon Heavy rockets to fly from California. Last week, the Department of the Air Force issued its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which considers proposed modifications from SpaceX to Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6) at Vandenberg. At the heart of the request are three key items: Modifying the pad to support the launches of both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets Constructing two new landing pads adjacent to SLC-6 Increasing SpaceX’s permitted launch cadence from Vandenberg from 50 launches to 100 The trans...