rocket

SpaceX aces 100th rocket landing after Dragon cargo ship launch to space station

by

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched its 31st rocket of the year early Tuesday (Dec. 21), sending a used Dragon cargo capsule toward the International Space Station  before nailing the company’s 100th landing.  A new two-stage Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Launch Complex 39A here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 5:07 a.m. EST … Read more

SpaceX lofts Turkish communications satellite to orbit in 2nd Falcon 9 rocket launch of the day

by

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched its second rocket in less than 24 hours on Saturday night (Dec. 18), delivering a Turkish communications satellite into orbit before capping off the successful mission with a landing at sea.  A 230-foot-tall (70 meters) Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Space Launch Complex 40 here at Cape Canaveral … Read more

SpaceX will launch its 2nd Falcon 9 rocket in less than 16 hours tonight. Watch it live.

by

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX will launch its second rocket in less than 24 hours Saturday (Dec. 18) and you can watch the action live online.  The private spaceflight company will launch the Turksat 5B communications satellite for Turkey on one of its previously flown Falcon 9 rockets. The mission is set to lift off … Read more

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket on record 11th flight carrying 52 Starlink satellites

by

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket for a record 11th time Saturday (Dec. 18), sending a new stack of Starlink satellites into orbit from California in a predawn liftoff.  The previously flown Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 7:41 a.m. EST (1241 GMT, 04:41 a.m. local time) from Space Launch … Read more

Watch SpaceX attempt a record 11th flight of a Falcon 9 rocket with Starlink launch early Saturday

by

SpaceX will launch its second stack of Starlink satellites from the West Coast early Saturday morning (Dec. 18), and you can watch the action live online.  The private spaceflight company will launch a stack of 52 Starlink satellites on one of its previously flown Falcon 9 rockets. The mission is set to blast off at … Read more

Chinese Kuaizhou-1A rocket fails after launch, 2 satellites lost

by

A Kuaizhou-1A solid rocket by Chinese commercial company Expace failed to make it to orbit Tuesday (Dec. 14), taking two commercial satellites with it during its demise. The rocket launched from the China National Space Administration‘s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 9 p.m. EST (0200 GMT or 10 a.m. local time … Read more

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope secured atop rocket ahead of Dec. 24 launch (photos)

by

NASA’s next big space telescope just took another step toward its highly anticipated launch this month. On Saturday (Dec. 11), the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope was secured atop the Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket that will send it into the final frontier from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.  “After its arrival in the final … Read more

Russian Proton rocket launches two communications satellites to space

by

A Russian Proton rocket overcame a one-week delay to launch two communications satellites into space Monday (Dec. 13). The Express-AMU3 and Express-AMU7 spacecraft flew to space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7:07 a.m. EST (1207 GMT or 5:07 p.m. local time). Russian space agency Roscosmos reported launch success and said the upper stage … Read more

Space calendar 2021: Rocket launches, sky events, missions & more!

by

LAST UPDATED Dec. 8: These dates are subject to change, and will be updated throughout the year as firmer dates arise. Please DO NOT schedule travel based on a date you see here. Launch dates are collected from NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, Spaceflight Now and others. Watch NASA webcasts and other live launch coverage on our webcast page. Find out what’s up in … Read more