SpaceX

Nine Merlin 1D engines power the Falcon 9 rocket into space on the NROL-126 mission. Image: SpaceX. SpaceX launched a mission early Saturday that blends national security satellites with those supporting its non-governmental Starlink satellite network. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, occurred at 12:10 a.m. PST (3:10 a.m. EST, 0810 UTC) on Saturday, Nov. 30, hours after the successful launch of the Starlink 6-65 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The National Reconnaissance Office billed the NROL-126 mission as the fifth launch of its so-called ‘proliferated architecture. This low Earth orbit constellation is believed to consist of Starshield satellites, a government-specific variant of the more public-facing Starli...

File: A stack of SpaceX Starlink satellites, which included the first six featuring Direct to Cell capabilities. The batch launched on the Starlink 7-9 mission, which lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 2, 2024. Image: SpaceX Update 4:04 a.m. EST (0904 UTC): SpaceX pushed back the launch time of the mission. SpaceX is preparing to bolster the Direct to Cell component of its Starlink constellation with a Falcon 9 launch in the predawn hours of Monday morning. Following a launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base late Friday night, SpaceX will send up another 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to low Earth orbit. Liftoff of the Starlink 12-1 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 5:02 a.m. EST (1002 UTC). Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginni...

An artist’s rendering of AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird satellites in low Earth orbit. Graphic: AST SpaceMobile A company aiming to bring cell service to unmodified smartphones using a satellite network announced Thursday it had secured its ability to reach low Earth orbit. During a third quarter earnings call, AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) revealed new launch agreements with Blue Origin, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and SpaceX. Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile, said during the call that the missions would take place over the course of 2025 and 2026. “AST SpaceMobile has secured launch capacity to ultimately deliver continuous space-based cellular broadband service coverage in key markets, including the United States, Europe, Japan, U.S. government a...

SpaceX fueled its fully integrated Starship rocket at its Starbase facilities on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in preparation for the Flight 6 suborbital test mission. Image: SpaceX After launching three Falcon 9 rockets in less than 20 hours, SpaceX is preparing to use its fourth and final active launchpad in the United States to launch its massive Starship rocket. The mission, dubbed Flight 6, is set to be the fourth time SpaceX launches the nearly 400-foot-tall vehicle in 2024 and the sixth test flight of the fully integrated rocket in program history. Liftoff of the suborbital flight from Pad 1 at Starbase at Boca Chica Beach, Texas, is set for 4 p.m. CST (5 p.m. EST, 2200 UTC). Spaceflight Now will begin joint live coverage alongside LabPadre beginning about 1.5 hours before launch.  The mi...

Ship 31 and Super Heavy Booster 13 climb away from Starbase on the sixth test flight of SpaceX’s Starship vehicle. Image: Chuck Briggs/Spaceflight Now. With President-elect Donald Trump and newly-minted efficiency czar Elon Musk looking on, SpaceX launched the world’s most powerful rocket on its sixth test flight Tuesday, an up-and-down trip to space by a gargantuan Super Heavy-Starship to evaluate a variety of safety and performance upgrades. Shattering the afternoon calm with an ear-splitting roar, the huge 30-foot-wide, 397-foot-tall rocket blasted off from Musk’s sprawling Boca Chica, Texas, manufacturing and test facility on the Gulf Coast near Brownsville at 5 p.m. EST, the opening of a 30-minute launch window. With its 33 Raptor engines gulping 40,000 pounds of liquid oxygen and met...