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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of the launch of the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions for NASA. Image: SpaceX NASA is preparing to launch its first ride share flight in support of the Science Mission Directorate with two missions flying on the same Falcon 9 rocket Monday night. Onboard are the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) observatory and four spacecraft that make up the Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base is set for 8:10 p.m. PDT (11:10 p.m. EDT, 0310 UTC). A joint NASA-SpaceX launch readiness review was held on Friday and the mission was then sched...

The Starship upper stage suffered multiple premature engine shutdowns, as indicated in telemetry shown at bottom right. Flight control was lost and the spacecraft broke apart in a spectacular shower of debris. It was the Starship program’s second upper stage failure in a row. Image: SpaceX SpaceX launched its huge Starship rocket on the program’s eighth test flight Thursday, but a malfunction of some sort triggered multiple upper stage engine shutdowns and for the second flight in a row, the vehicle failed to reach its planned sub-orbital altitude and broke apart in a shower of debris. “Obviously, a lot to go through, a lot to dig through. We’re going to go right at it,” said SpaceX launch commentator Dan Huot. “The primary reason we do these flight tests is to learn. We have some more to ...

Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, named Athena, is pictured on its side, lying on the Moon’s surface following touchdown on Thursday, March 6, 2025. Image: Intuitive Machines A day after its Nova-C class robotic lander touched down on the surface of the Moon, Intuitive Machines confirmed that its mission is now over. In a statement posted to its website, the company based in Houston, Texas, said that its lander, named Athena, touched down about 250 m (820 ft) away from its intended landing site, on its side and inside of a crater at Mons Mouton, near the lunar South Pole. “With the direction of the Sun, the orientation of the solar panels, and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, Intuitive Machines does not expect Athena to recharge,” the company wrote on Friday. “The mission has conc...