SpaceX

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off from New Zealand to begin the ‘Full Stream Ahead’ mission on June 2, 2025. Image: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab successfully launched its 65th Electron rocket to date on a mission in support of its customer, BlackSky, and the next launch for its Gen-3 satellite constellation. Teams launched the mission, dubbed ‘Full Stream Ahead,’ from Pad A at Rocket Lab’s launch complex in Mahia, New Zealand, at 11:57 a.m. NZT on June 3 (7:57 p.m. EDT, 2357 UTC on June 2). “With each successive launch BlackSky expands on-orbit capacity, introduces Gen-3 capabilities, and furthers our ability to meet the demands of the most time-dominant missions,” said Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CEO, in a post on X following the launch. “Our partnership with Rocket Lab has demonstrated excepti...

File: A Falcon 9 stands ready to launch the Starlink 12-5 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Image: Spaceflight Now. Update June 2, 12:14 p.m. EDT: SpaceX scrubbed the Monday morning launch attempt and is now targeting Tuesday, June 3. SpaceX decided to scrub its plans to launch 23 Starlink satellites in the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning, though the company didn’t state a reason for the change in plans. The launch team is now targeting a liftoff of the Starlink 12-19 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday, June 3 at 12:29 a.m. EDT (0429 UTC). Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.  On Sunday, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 75 percent chance...

Jared Isaacman, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next administrator of NASA, appears before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington. Image: NASA/Bill Ingalls Update May 31, 11:40 p.m. EDT: Added comments from President Trump and Jared Isaacman. In an abrupt about-face on Saturday, President Donald Trump pulled the nomination of his pick for the next person to lead NASA. His nomination was days away from a vote in front of the full U.S. Senate. The withdrawal of Jared Isaacman, an entrepreneur and commercial astronaut, came less than a day after NASA published its proposed budget, which fleshes out the deep cuts forecast in the “skinny budget” previously released. “I am incredibly ...

NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center, the center’s Launch Pads 39A and 39B, and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Florida’s Atlantic coast are pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above on May 27, 2024. Image: NASA Anyone who spends even a short number of days near Florida’s Space Coast can tell that the rate of launches is ramping up dramatically year over year. As of 10 a.m. EDT Wednesday morning, there were 45 completed orbital launches between NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Rob Long, the president and CEO of Space Florida, said there are about 85 launches remaining on the manifest this year, which would bring the total to 130, if all come to pass. For comparison, there were a total of 93 orbital launches from ...

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...