Tag: SpaceX
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NASA, SpaceX conduct ‘medical evacuation’ Crew-11 return to Earth
SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft drifts away from the International Space Station on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, as NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission winds down. Image: NASA via livestream Update Jan. 14, 6:30 p.m. EST (2330 UTC): NASA, SpaceX confirm safe undocking of the Dragon Endeavour. The SpaceX Crew-11 mission is coming to a close with the…
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U.S. Space Force switches rockets for upcoming GPS satellite launch
The GPS III Space Vehicle 09, the ninth GPS III spacecraft, is pictured traveling by road from Lockheed Martin facilities in Denver, CO, to Florida’s Space Coast. Image: Lockheed Martin The next Global Positioning System satellite is switching from a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket to a SpaceX Falcon 9, a spokesperson for the U.S.…
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U.S. FCC Approves Expansion of SpaceX’s Second-Generation Starlink Network
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved SpaceX’s request to deploy an additional 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites, a move that expands regulatory clearance for the company’s low-Earth-orbit broadband network as it seeks to enhance global internet coverage. The decision brings the total number of authorized Gen2 Starlink satellites to 15,000, roughly half of the…
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ISS gains new commander as Crew-11 prepares midweek departure
Four SpaceX Crew-11 members gather together for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module on Jan. 9, 2026. Clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)…
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SpaceX Wins $739 Million in U.S. Military Launch Contracts for Missile Tracking Missions
SpaceX has secured $739 million in new U.S. military launch contracts to support missile warning and tracking missions, reinforcing the company’s role in America’s national security space architecture. The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) said on Friday that the contracts were awarded under National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 task…
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Launch Preview: Launches from China, U.S., and Norway scheduled for upcoming week
Eight orbital launch attempts are scheduled for this week, with SpaceX and Chinese launches comprising a majority of the launch manifest. SpaceX is scheduled to launch two batches of Starlink satellites into the constellation’s Group 6 shell, as well as a batch of reconnaissance satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. Four rockets will launch from…
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SpaceX’s Twilight rideshare mission launches from Vandenberg
Fresh off a record-shattering launch cadence in 2025, SpaceX successfully launched its first rideshare mission of 2026 from Space Launch Complex-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base on the central California coast. This rideshare was the first of its kind for SpaceX, and not part of the Transporter or Bandwagon series. The Twilight rideshare mission, including…
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SpaceX deploys NASA’s Pandora, other smallsats amid 1st ‘Twilight’ rideshare mission
NASA’s Pandora spacecraft deploys from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket roughly 2.5 hours after the liftoff of the Twilight rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 11, 2026. Image: SpaceX via livestream Update Jan. 11, 11:33 a.m. EST (1633 UTC): SpaceX completed the deployment of all payloads. SpaceX debuted a new class of rideshare…
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The future of Starship’s Pad 1 tower and launch mount
With the last Block 2 flight lifting off on Oct. 14th, 2025, SpaceX has no more need for Pad 1’s current infrastructure. However, Pad 1 still has a significant future ahead; it is undergoing major rework and redesign that will enable it to accommodate Block 3 launches, resembling Pad 2, but without starting entirely from…
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FCC gives SpaceX “green light” to expand Starlink constellation to 15,000 satellites
SpaceX launches its Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Jan. 9, 2025, on the Starlink 6-96 mission. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update Jan. 9, 6:14 p.m. EST (2214 UTC): SpaceX confirms satellite deployment. Adding FCC announcement details. The Federal Communications Commission granted SpaceX the ability to…