SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaks across the sky above California in this long exposure image of the Starlink 9-8 launch on Sept. 24, 2024. Image: SpaceX SpaceX launched its latest Falcon 9 rocket on a Starlink mission as Tropical Storm Helene pushed back the launch of the next mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the Starlink 9-8 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 9:01 p.m. PDT (12:01 a.m. EDT, 0401 UTC). This was SpaceX’s 64th Starlink launch of the year. The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1081 in the SpaceX fleet, launched for a 10th time. It previously supported the launch of two missions to the space station (Crew-7 and CRS-29), two climate monitoring satellites (NASA’s PACE and ESA’s EarthCARE) and ...

SpaceX static fires its Falcon 9 rocket at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) in preparation for the Crew-9 mission on Saturday, Sept. 28. The test came following a dry dress rehearsal of launch activities earlier in the day. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now NASA and SpaceX pushed ahead with planned prelaunch activities Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s pad 40 on Tuesday even as the date of liftoff for the Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station had to be delayed due to expected impacts from Tropical Storm Helene. In a statement late Tuesday afternoon, NASA announced that the launch, originally set for Thursday, Sept. 26, was being delayed to no earlier than Saturday, Sept. 28, at 1:17 p.m. EDT (1717 UTC). The agency said the storm, which is expected to strengthen into a hu...

Representatives from NASA participate in a media event at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Sept. 21, upon the arrival of NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, in advance of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Image: NASA/Kim Shiflett Update Sept. 23, 2:54 p.m.: NASA’s Kennedy Space Center shifted its status to HURCON 4, due to Potential Tropical Cyclone 9. A crew scaled-back in the wake of this summer’s troubled Boeing Starliner test flight, arrived at the Kennedy Space Center this weekend to begin final preparations for their launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon on a six-month mission to the International Space Station. NASA astrona...

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX SpaceX sent 20 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit on a Friday morning Falcon 9 rocket departing from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Onboard the Starlink 9-17 mission were 13 satellites that include the Direct to Cell capability. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) happened at 6:50 a.m. PDT (9:50 a.m. EDT, 1350 UTC). Deployment of the satellites was confirmed by SpaceX shortly before 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) The Falcon 9 booster supporting this mission, tail number B1075 in the SpaceX fleet, flew for a 13th time. It previously supported the launches of the Transporter-11 rideshare mission, SDA-0A for the Space Development Agency and nine previous batches of Starlink satellites. A little more than...

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying a pair of Galileo navigation satellites. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 7:23 p.m. EDT: SpaceX landed its first stage booster, B1067, on the droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions.’ SpaceX launched the latest pair of Galileo spacecraft for the European Union’s navigation satellite constellation. The mission marked the second time that Galileo satellites will launch from U.S. soil, following the so-called L-12 mission, which flew on another Falcon 9 rocket back in April 2024. Liftoff of the L-13 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 6:50 p.m. EDT (2250 UTC). Deployment is expected a little more than 3.5 hours after liftoff. Heading i...