Launch Delay: SpaceX Pushes Polaris Dawn Astronaut Launch Due to Splashdown Weather Concerns

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and a Crew Dragon spacecraft are ready to launch the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission from Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is set for no earlier than 3:38 a.m. EDT (0738 UTC) on August 27, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update 10:18 pm EDT: SpaceX is … Read more

SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 return mission

A Falcon 9 rocket soars through the skies over Florida’s Space Coast during the Starlink 8-10 mission. This was SpaceX’s return to the flight mission, following a failed booster landing on Wednesday. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update 4:04 am EDT: SpaceX has launched the mission and landed its first stage booster on its drone, “Read … Read more

FAA Grounds SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket After Landing Incident

A Starlink 8-6 mission strip showing the Falcon 9 rocket flying away from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on August 28, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration for the second time in less than two months, following the … Read more

ESA completes the swan song of its Vega rocket with the launch of Sentinel-2C

Sentinel-2 in the Vega launch tower. Image: ESA-CNES-ARIANESPACE/CSG-T video optics. Leduc Update 10:52 pm EDT: Arianespace has confirmed the successful deployment of the Sentinel-2C spacecraft. The European Space Agency (ESA) has completed its transition to its Vega-C mission with the final launch of its first generation Vega. The mission, called VV24, brought an Earth imaging … Read more

SpaceX launches 7,000th Starlink satellite to date on Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Station on the Starlink 8-11 mission on September 5, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 1:12 pm EDT: SpaceX has confirmed the deployment of all 21 Starlink satellites. SpaceX managed to find good enough weather to launch its 85th Falcon … Read more