SpaceX

Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 2 West at Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of the launch of the ‘Message in a Booster’ mission. Image: Trevor Mahlamann / Firefly Aerospace A perfect storm of range restrictions and suboptimal weather seems to finally be clearing for Firefly Aerospace. After delaying the flight of their sixth Alpha rocket for more than a month, the company announced a new launch window, which opens on Sunday. Onboard the rocket, designated FLTA006 by Firefly Aerospace, is a technology demonstration for Lockheed Martin’s LM400 satellite bus. The mission, dubbed ‘Message in a Booster,’ has its first launch opportunity during a window that runs from 6:37-7:29 a.m. PDT (9:37-10:29 a.m. EDT, 1337-1429 UTC). That roughly one-hour window is the firs...

SpaceX launches their Falcon 9 rocket on April 21, 2025 with a rideshare mission towards mid-inclination orbits from SLC-40 in Cape Canaveral, FL. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update 9:38 p.m. EDT: The Falcon 9 first stage booster successfully landed at Landing Zone 2. SpaceX completed its third Falcon 9 rocket launch in less than 48 hours with a rideshare mission carrying payloads to a mid-inclination orbit. Liftoff of the Bandwagon-3 mission happened at 8:48 p.m. EDT (0048 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the 245th orbital launch for SpaceX from SLC-40 and the 300th total orbital flight from this pad. This flight was the third launch in SpaceX’s rideshare program to mid-inclination orbits. It followed Bandwagon-1 from Kennedy Space Ce...

SpaceX launches their Falcon 9 rocket on April 21st, 2025 with a cargo resupply mission towards the ISS from SLC-39A in Cape Canaveral, FL. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now SpaceX launched an uncrewed Cargo Dragon to the International Space Station early Monday on a resupply mission with increased importance after a transportation mishap derailed a flight by another U.S. cargo ship. Liftoff from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center happened on Monday, April 21, at 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 UTC). The Cargo Dragon mission, dubbed Commercial Resupply Services 32 (CRS-32), carries 6,700 pounds (3,000 kg) of science and supplies to the station. About 9.5 minutes after launch, Dragon separated from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket. Docking with the ISS forward port of the Harmony module is exp...

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in the launch position during sunset at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Image: SpaceX The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is preparing to launch its ninth mission supporting its so-called proliferated architecture satellite constellation using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission, dubbed NROL-192, also marks a big milestone for SpaceX. It will be the 400th launch of a previously flown Falcon booster. It is the third such launch so far in 2025. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base is targeting Saturday, April 12, at 5:25 a.m. PDT (8:25 a.m. EDT, 1225 UTC). Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff. The Falcon 9 first sta...

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket sits on Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral at sunset. The Atlas V will launch the Kuiper 1 mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband satellite constellation. Image: United Launch Alliance A band of off-shore thunderstorms forced United Launch Alliance to scrub a launch attempt of the first of dozens of missions on behalf of its largest commercial customer, Amazon. Its Atlas 5 551 rocket will carry 27 Project Kuiper satellites onboard. The mission, referred to as Kuiper 1 by ULA and Kuiper Atlas 1 (KA-01) by Amazon, will send the first batch of its full production satellites into low Earth orbit. Amazon’s satellite internet constellation, called Project Kuiper, is designed to rival others, like SpaceX’s Starlink and Eutelsa...