SpaceX

Vulcan climbs away from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station shortly after sunrise on Oct. 4, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. In an announcement highly anticipated by United Launch Alliance and others in the spaceflight community, the U.S. Space Force’s Assured Access to Space (AATS) office affirmed that the Vulcan rocket is now fully certified to launch national security payloads. The completion of this multi-year process means that the USSF’s Space Systems Command can begin launching National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions on the two-stage, heavy-lift rocket. “Assured access to space is a core function of the Space Force and a critical element of national security,” said Brig. Gen. Panzenhagen, Program Executive Officer for AAST, in a stat...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the launch of the NROL-69 mission. Image: SpaceX The National Reconnaissance Office, which manages the American military’s spy satellites, is preparing to launch its fifth mission of the 2025 out of roughly a dozen planned for the year. The flight, dubbed NROL-69, will launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to an undisclosed orbital location. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 1:48 p.m. EDT (1748 UTC). Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.  The 45th Weather Squadron, based at Patrick Space Force Base, forecast a 90 percent chance of favorable weather for liftoff on Monday. In its o...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of the launch of the NROL-57 mission. Image: SpaceX The National Reconnaissance Office launched its eighth batch of satellites to support its proliferated architecture constellation. The mission includes a number of notable milestones for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket program, including a record-fast turnaround time for its booster. The rocket carried an unspecified number of satellites that are believed to be Starshield, a government variant of the Starlink satellites that are built by SpaceX in partnership with Northrop Grumman. This was SpaceX’s 450th Falcon 9 launch to date. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened on March 2...

Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander captures photo of its shadow on the Moon with the volcanic feature, Mons Latreille, visible on the top right side of the lunar surface. Image: Firefly Aerospace The journey of Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander came to an end over the weekend. The 14-day operation on the surface of the Moon was officially declared over on Sunday, March 16, when the robotic lander sent its final transmissions back to Earth. Firefly Aerospace said that its 346-hour-long mission was the longest lunar surface operation for a commercial company to date. It began with touchdown at Mare Crisium near Mons Latreille on March 2 at 3:34 a.m. EST (0834 UTC). “The last 24 hours I think have been really, really special. I don’t think I’ve really processed that the mission is co...

Support teams work around a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft shortly after it landed with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Hague, Gorbunov, Williams, and Wilmore are returning from a long-duration science expedition aboard the International Space Station. Image: NASA/Keegan Barber Update March 18, 6:30 p.m. EDT: Dragon Freedom splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, and the spacecraft was brought aboard the recovery vessel, Megan. Shortly before 6 p.m. EDT (2200 UTC) on Tuesday evening, the four members of the Crew-9 mission splashed down in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee, Florida. The quartet began their journey hom...