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'STP-3' Launch Gallery
Photo gallery of the 'STP-3' mission aboard an Atlas V 551 rocket.
Starlink 4-3 Launch
Coverage of the SpaceX 'Starlink 4-3' mission on December 2nd, 2021 from Cape Canaveral, FL.
Rocket Lab updates reusable "Neutron" launch vehicle design
This morning at 8 am EST, Rocket Lab announced an update to their upcoming launch vehicle Neutron, which was initially announced back in March of this year. This new design is a Carbon Composite structure made in-house at Rocket Lab, which enables it to be strong, lightweight, and put up with the thermal loads from reentry. A large reason for this redesign is based on trying to reuse as much of the launch vehicle as possible. The fairing for the payloads is built into the first stage so both of
ULA to Launch 'STP-3' Mission
ULA will launch the 'STP-3' mission for the US Space Force, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and NASA.
'DART' Launches from Vandenberg
By Jon Reino NASA's mission to impact an asteroid has launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc, CA. Here is everything you need to know about this ambitious mission to avert a potential Armageddon.Liftoff of 'DART' (Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls) On November 23rd at 10:21 PM local Pacific Time (11/24/21 6:21 UTC), the 'Double Asteroid Redirection Test' launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Its destination is known as "Didymos", a binary asteroid system containing a large asteroid half a
'Crew 3' Launch Recap
On November 10th, 2021, at 9:03 pm EST four astronauts launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft bound for the International Space Station.
Landsat 9 Delivers First Photos From Orbit
NASA releases 'first light' images from the Landsat 9 satellite.
NASA Prepares for 'Crew 3'
NASA is planning to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station on October 31st
Lucy's Asteroid Grand Tour
Early Saturday morning, if all goes to plan, a mission spanning the course of twelve years will take flight to explore some of our solar system’s most ancient objects. The mission in question is Lucy, named after the 3.2 million year old hominin skeleton discovered in 1974. This archeological discovery gave us an unprecedented look into our early ancestors, advancing our theories of evolution. Correspondingly, the Lucy mission aims to dramatically expand humanity’s knowledge of our solar system,
Inspiration 4 - First all-civilian crew will launch into orbit tonight
At 8:02pm, SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft will be launching 4 Civilians into a 575km Orbit above the Earth, higher than the ISS and Hubble Space Telescope. The 5-hour launch window opens at 8:02pm EDT from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the crew will stay in orbit for 3 days before returning just off the coast of Florida. SpaceX's live webcast for the launch will start at 4pm EDT. Inspiration4 is being commanded and was organized by Jared Issacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments.
SpaceX successfully deploys Cargo Dragon into orbit
At 3:14am EDT, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched from LC-39a at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Launching on top of the Falcon 9 was their newly upgraded Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft, carrying important experiments and supplies being brought to the International Space Station. This was also the 4th successful flight and landing of this first stage booster, also marking the first landing on SpaceX's new droneship, A Shortfall of Gravitas. Cargo Dragon is expected to dock with the International Spac
SpaceX is ready to launch CRS-23
Earlier this week, SpaceX rolled out their Falcon 9 rocket out of the hangar at LC-39a for the first time in almost 2 months. They raised it vertical with their new Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft and conducted a successful hold-down firing of the 9 Merlin engines on the first stage, putting them on track to launch their CRS-23 mission early Saturday at 3:37am. The Falcon 9 will liftoff with Dragon from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida en-route to the International Space Station carrying supplies
NROL-111 Mission Overview
The NROL-111 mission launches from Wallops on a Minotaur 1 Rocket carrying three satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office
Crew-2 successfully launches and docks to the ISS
Yesterday morning, SpaceX launched their Falcon 9 rocket from LC-39a in Florida, carrying 4 Astronauts inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft. This launch included the first time Crew launched on a flight proven Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon spacecraft, the first time 2 Commercial Crew spacecraft are docked to the ISS at the same time, and the first Commercial Crew mission to fly 2 International partners. Following the launch at 5:49am EDT, the Falcon 9 first stage successfully landed on their droneshi
NASA is attempting to fly a Helicopter on Mars this morning
NASA is planning to fly their Ingenuity Helicopter on the surface of Mars at approximately 3:30am EDT, but it will take a few hours for the teams at JPL to receive the data from the flight. A livestream will begin at 6:15am EDT as they prepare to see how the helicopter did during this autonomous flight in the Martian Atmosphere. This is the first time ever that a vehicle will propellers will fly on another celestial body other that Earth. The original date for this flight was April 11th, but w
NASA chooses SpaceX's Starship to land Humans on the Moon
On April 16th, NASA announced they had selected SpaceX for the HLS (Human Landing System) contract to land the first Astronauts on the Lunar Surface since 1972. SpaceX's Starship rocket has been going through a series of tests in Boca Chica, Texas, and SpaceX has been working closely with NASA experts to ensure everything meets the requirements for human spaceflight. They were award $2.89 Billion to continue the development of the Starship architecture to carry Artemis Astronauts to the Lunar s
SpaceX Launches Another Stack Of 60 Starlink Satellites
(Cape Canaveral Space Force Station)- Today SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket on yet another Starlink mission. The mission deemed Starlink 23 lifted off from the Space Force Station on Florida's east coast just after noon (12:34 pm). The mission brought another stack of SpaceX’s internet connectivity satellites known as Starlink.The mission was a success and a nominal stage separation was confirmed at T+2 minutes and 36 seconds. The second engine relit shortly followed by entry burn startup.
Artemis 1 Back on Track After a Short Misfire.
On March 18th, 2021, on a cloudless day above the B-2 Test Stand, the largest single stage of a rocket ever built waited patiently. At 3:37 pm CDT, 4 RS-25 engines roared to life, bringing this massive stage under load once more. They burned the fuel on board at for the full duration of nominal flight of 485 seconds before shutting down. However this isn't the first time this stage attempts this test.On January 16th, this very same SLS Core Stage attempted to conduct its 8 test for the Green Run
SpaceX successfully lofts 60 more Starlink satellites into orbit
(Cape Canaveral Space Force Station)- Liftoff! those were the words that were heard on the countdown net during a pre-dawn launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket roared to life at 3:13 AM est. At T+1:15 seconds into flight Falcon 9 went through MAX-Q (maximum aerodynamic pressure). The main engine cutoff occurred around T+2:36 followed shortly by stage separation and fairing separation. The camera that was mounted on the first stage revealed a beautiful view of a dark F
Starlink-17 finally launches to orbit
(The Kennedy Space Center, FL) - The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center early this morning. The rocket roared into the Florida skies at 3:24 am EST. Seconds after liftoff the rocket disappeared into a thick cloud layer. The mission was Starlink V1 L17. Starlink is SpaceX’s way of providing internet to those in lower connectivity regions. After a successful liftoff, the rocket started its successful pitch toward orbit. SpaceX successfully landed their 1st stage boo
NASA's Perseverance rover successfully lands on Mars, sends back mind-blowing imagery
Yesterday at 3:43pm EST, NASA's Perseverance rover touched down on the surface of Mars, we found out it did ~12 minutes later at 3:55pm EST. NASA's Perseverance rover is their 5th one to land successfully on the Martian surface, the second one to utilize the rocket-powered Skycrane method, Curiosity being the first. Not only does this rover have new modern technologies onboard to gather more data for scientists, it also has a suite of 19 video cameras with microphones, capturing the entire En
NASA selects SpaceX to launch the SPHEREx Astrophysics Mission
NASA has selected SpaceX to launch their "Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) spacecraft on the Falcon 9 rocket from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch is expected to launch as early as Mid-June, 2024 from the West coast. NASA's SPHEREx mission will use optical and near-infrared methods to survey the sky every 6 months to look for water and organic molecules in distant Nebulae. This 2-year mission will
Starship completes 10km flight test, just barely misses the landing
Yesterday at 3:25pm EST, SpaceX's Starship prototype "SN9" ignited its 3 Raptor engines and lifted off from Pad B in Boca Chica, Texas. The mission was to ascend to 10km in Altitude, re-orientate horizontal to slow down using its flaps, and flip itself vertical and perform a propulsive landing back at their landing zone.After lifting off successfully, SN9 ascended into the Texas skies flawlessly, shutting down Raptors 1-by-1 to maintain the needed acceleration to reach 10km and begin descending
Space is for Everyone: SpaceX set to launch "Inspiration-4" Civilian Crew mission to Orbit
Private Aerospace Company, and Crewed Launch provider, Space X, today, alongside inspiration4.com, announced the first fully civilian commercial launch of human Astronauts to Low Earth Orbit. The mission, aptly titled "Inspiration-4", was initiated by philanthropist and CEO, Jared Isaacman, as an inspiration campaign to gain awareness & fundraise for the St. Judes Children Hospital. Commanded by Isaacman himself, the flight will feature a total Crew of four civilians. Two Crew members, which Ins
"Another One Leaves The Crust" launches from New Zealand
At 2:27am EST, Rocket Lab's Electron rocket lifted off from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand after fighting with some strong ground winds. Inside the fairing of Electron, sits a single communication micro satellite for OHB Group, through OHB Cosmos International Launch Service GmbH. After successfully deploying the satellite into a Polar Orbit around the Earth, that marks the first launch from Rocket Lab this year and the 18th launch of Electron. The Electron rocket is a 2 stage launch vehic
Virgin's 'LauncherOne' Reaches Orbit
Virgin Orbit successfully achieved orbit with their 'LauncherOne' air dropped rocket for the first time on Sunday, January 17th at about 11:49 am PST. Carrying the 'ELaNa-20' mission for NASA, this comes as a welcome relief after last year's initial orbital test ended prematurely when a leak in a propellant line triggered an abort shortly after ignition.LauncherOne dropping from its carrier plane (Virgin Orbit/Greg Robinson) Nothing says 'we can make it to orbit' like making it to orbit, and no
NASA's (partially) Successful SLS Hot Fire Test
Details following NASA's first hot fire test of a complete SLS first stage rocket core.
Turksat-5A Kicks Off 2021
On Thursday January 7th, 2021, SpaceX kicks off the new year with the launch of Turksat-5A from SLC-40 in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9;15 pm. The launch was a total success and marked the forth flight of this particular booster, B1060. The Turksat-5A satellite is a 3,500 kg (7,700 lb) communications satellite built by Airbus using its Eurostar E3000EOR bus as its platform. It is to be situated in Geostationary Orbit, nearly 36,000 km (22,000 miles) above the surface. It will at 31 deg
SpaceX kicks off 2021 with the 50th flight of a fight-proven booster
At 9:15pm EST last night, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket roared off Launch Complex 40 on its first mission of the year, Turksat 5A. This satellite is a telecommunications satellite that was started in 2011 by the state-owned Turksat AS. This was the 4th launch and recovery of this specific booster, previously being flow on GPS III-3 and Starlink missions 11 and 14. With this launch it marked the 50th time a flight-proven first stage has been reflown, with the first one being at the end of March in 201