SpaceX

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX SpaceX launched its latest batch of 21 Starlink satellites on a Thursday night Falcon 9 launch from California. The Falcon 9 rocket launch set a new record for Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking the first time that 31 orbital missions have taken off in a calendar year. Thirty of those launches were from SpaceX and one was from Firefly Aerospace. Liftoff of the Starlink 9-6 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) happened at 6:45 p.m. PDT (9:45 p.m. EDT, 0145 UTC). The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1071 in the SpaceX fleet, launched for an 18th time. It previously flew three missions for the National Reconnaissance Office (NROL-87, NROL-85 and NROL-146), two rid...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch five of AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird satellites from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: SpaceX A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch with the first five commercial satellites for AST SpaceMobile’s new cellular constellation. The satellites, called ‘BlueBird,’ are a precursor to the next generation of its satellites. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 4:52 a.m. EDT (0852 UTC), which is the opening of a four-hour window. However, weather may prove to be a spoiler for the launch opportunity. Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about one hour prior to liftoff. Weather heading into the launch opportunity is far from ideal. The 45th Weather Squadron forec...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Polaris Dawn mission. Image: SpaceX Update 3:05 a.m. EDT: SpaceX pushed back to the second launch opportunity due to poor weather at the launch pad. SpaceX is preparing to try once again to launch the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission, even as weather continues to prove challenging in and around Florida. The company said it hopes to launch the four astronauts aboard its Crew Dragon spacecraft, named ‘Resilience,’ no earlier than Tuesday at 5:23 a.m. EDT (0923 UTC). However, weather conditions at liftoff are only 40 percent favorable for launch, according to SpaceX. Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about four hours prior to liftoff. Polaris Dawn, the first of three planned missions for the Polaris Program, will fe...

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft rests in the desert of the White Sands Space Harbor following its return to Earth from the International Space Station. Image: Boeing Leaving its crew behind in orbit, Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station Friday and chalked up a successful unpiloted return to Earth, closing out a disappointing test flight with an on-target and apparently problem-free New Mexico touchdown. Despite NASA’s concerns about earlier thruster problems and multiple helium leaks in the ship’s propulsion pressurization system, the Starliner had no trouble undocking and moving away from the station at 6:04 p.m. EDT and executing a critical 59-second deorbit braking maneuver at 11:17 p.m. to drop out of orbit. Slamming into the discernible at...

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands at the ready to support the Starlink 10-4 mission, which will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 28, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now SpaceX is targeting Wednesday morning for the 85th launch Falcon 9 rocket so far in 2024. The mission, dubbed Starlink 8-11, will add another 21 Starlink satellites to the company’s megaconstellation. If successful, this launch will mark the 7,000th Starlink satellite launched to date, according to statistics compiled by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and expert orbital tracker. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 8:59 a.m. EDT (1259 UTC). Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff. According to th...