Tag: SpaceX
-
SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket on 90th Starlink mission of 2025
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin the Starlink 10-59 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein / Spaceflight Now Update Oct. 7, 4 a.m. EDT (0800 UTC): SpaceX confirmed deployment of 28 Starlink satellites. SpaceX launched its first Falcon 9 rocket launch from…
-
SpaceX to launch 4 Falcon Heavy rockets as part of newest U.S. national security missions award
A Falcon Heavy roars passed the Moon as it launches the X-37B for the U.S. military. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now. The latest missions carrying payloads for the U.S. Space Force (USSF) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) were announced on Friday with a combined value of $1.142 billion. SpaceX was tasked with five missions and…
-
SpaceX launches 3rd consecutive Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB, uninterrupted by a Cape mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base to begin the Starlink 11-39 mission on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. Image: SpaceX Update Oct. 3, 11:43 a.m. EDT (1543 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the Starlink satellites. SpaceX launched its 125th Falcon 9 rocket of…
-
How America fell behind China in the lunar space race—and how it can catch back up
For the last month, NASA’s interim administrator, Sean Duffy, has been giving interviews and speeches around the world, offering a singular message: “We are going to beat the Chinese to the Moon.” This is certainly what the president who appointed Duffy to the NASA post wants to hear. Unfortunately, there is a very good chance…
-
SpaceX intensifies testing to ready Pad 2 at Starbase
SpaceX is ramping up testing of its second launch pad at Starbase, conducting multiple checkouts of the water deluge system designed to mitigate the intense heat and acoustics of Starship launches. The flurry of activity highlights the company’s push toward operational readiness for Pad 2, including enhancements to water management and structural protections. The pad…
-
Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 launches Starlink and Kuiper satellites
SpaceX is scheduled to launch up to three times this week, with each mission planned to deploy internet communications satellites into low-Earth orbit: two for the company’s own Starlink megaconstellation and one for its competitor, Amazon’s Project Kuiper. China kicked off the week’s launch manifest, for those in UTC, with the launch of its 100th…
-
Preparation for East Coast Starship debut in 2026 continue to make progress
As SpaceX prepares for Starship’s Flight 11 in October from Texas, significant progress is being made in Florida at the Roberts Road facility, Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), and Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37). SpaceX is rapidly expanding its Starship program, with teams working in parallel to conduct test flights and set the stage for Starship’s…
-
Preparation for East Coast Starship debut in 2026 continue to make progress
As SpaceX prepares for Starship’s Flight 11 in October from Texas, significant progress is being made in Florida at the Roberts Road facility, Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), and Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37). SpaceX is rapidly expanding its Starship program, with teams working in parallel to conduct test flights and set the stage for Starship’s…
-
The space race is tightening up for Blue Origin and SpaceX, and for America and China
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have both celebrated space victories, but they’ve also faced setbacks. (Musk at left: GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota, 2020. Bezos at right: Blue Origin Photo, 2021) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture has only just begun to launch a heavy-lift rocket that was a decade in the making — its orbital-class New Glenn launch vehicle, which…
-
SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke, and others make major progress on Cape launch facilities
The two spaceport launch facilities in the Cape Canaveral area — NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the U.S. Space Force’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) — are on the verge of even bigger changes than have been seen in the last few years. In a recent flyover of the Cape, NSF obtained new…