SpaceX's 25th Dragon Mission Splashes Down

By Mark Carreau Aug 20, 2022
SpaceX's CRS-5 Dragon capsule splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Aug. 20.
Space

Private Axiom-1 Crew Docks To ISS Late But Safely

By Mark Carreau Apr 09, 2022
Axiom Mission-1's (Ax-1) four private astronauts successfully docked to the International Space Station (ISS) April 9, to begin an eight-day visit filled with medical and scientific research and technology development activities.
Space

OneWeb Signs With SpaceX For Launch Services

By Irene Klotz Mar 21, 2022
Eighteen days after OneWeb decided to suspend launches of its broadband satellites from Russia in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the company has signed with SpaceX.
Space

NASA, Roscosmos Still Striving For Crew Swap Launch Agreement

By Mark Carreau Dec 24, 2021
NASA and Roscosmos continue to pursue an astronaut/cosmonaut crew exchange agreement for Soyuz and NASA Commercial Crew launches to the International Space Station.
Space

SpaceX Beefs Up Crew-3 Dragon 

By Irene Klotz Oct 05, 2021
The upgrades should help prevent issues encountered during previous flights, including a debris strike that damaged a drogue parachute used during the descent of the Crew-1 mission in May.
Space

Inspiration4 Crew Returns After Three Days In Orbit

By Irene Klotz Sep 19, 2021
The SpaceX Dragon Resilience splashed down off the coast of Cape Canaveral at 7:06 p.m. EDT, concluding the company’s fourth human spaceflight and first without NASA oversight and NASA astronauts.
Commercial Space

FAA Schedules Hearings On SpaceX Boca Chica Launch Plans

By Irene Klotz Sep 17, 2021
SpaceX cannot launch the Starship/Super Heavy vehicle until FAA completes its licensing process, which includes the environmental review and other safety and financial responsibility requirements.
Commercial Space

Inspiration4 Civilian Mission Launches to Orbit on SpaceX Falcon 9

By Guy Norris Sep 16, 2021
A SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched Inspiration4, the first all-civilian, non-government human spaceflight, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to begin its three-day mission in low Earth orbit.
Space

NASA Awards Contracts To Advance  Human Lunar Landing Systems

By Mark Carreau Sep 15, 2021
NASA has awarded five companies $146 million in contracts to develop and evaluate lunar Human Landing System concepts beyond the planned Artemis III landing.
Space

Private Pilot Found Crew Dragon Training ‘Intense’

By Irene Klotz Sep 14, 2021
Private pilot Jared Isaacman and three-member crew train for first all-civilian private space charter, aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
Commercial Space

SpaceX Expands Starlink Network, Adds Laser Links

By Irene Klotz Sep 14, 2021
The first of new generation of SpaceX Starlink satellites reached near-polar orbit Sept. 14, adding to growing broadband constellation.
Commercial Space

NASA’s Hopes For 2024 Human Lunar Return Fading

By Mark Carreau Sep 13, 2021
NASA is gradually acknowledging that efforts to return human explorers to the surface of the Moon in 2024 through the Artemis initiative are fading.
Budget, Policy & Operations

Bezos Adds Big Fee Cut To Lunar Lander Proposal

By Irene Klotz Jul 26, 2021
Fresh off Blue Origin’s first human spaceflight, founder Jeff Bezos is offering to cut his company’s fee for a human lunar landing demonstration mission dramatically and add—at company expense—an orbital flight test.
Space

SiriusXM Digital Radio Satellite Reaches Orbit

By Irene Klotz Jun 06, 2021
SpaceX conducted its 18th Falcon 9 launch of the year on June 6, pausing the deployment of its own Starlink communications network to deliver a 7,500-lb. satellite into orbit for SiriusXM’s digital radio service.
Space

SpaceX’s 22nd Cargo Dragon Mission Reaches International Space Station

By Mark Carreau Jun 05, 2021
Launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on June 3 at 1:29 p.m. EDT, the commercial freighter with 7,300 lb. of cargo docked to the space-facing port of the station's Harmony module at 5:09 a.m. EDT, for a monthlong stay.
Space

SpaceX Plans Pacific Splashdown For First Starship Orbital Test

By Guy Norris May 14, 2021
Just over a week after conducting the first successful high-altitude flight and landing of a full-scale Starship prototype, SpaceX has revealed details of how it intends to perform the first orbital test flight of the complete two-stage vehicle and Super Heavy booster.
Space

SpaceX Sticks Starship Landing

By Guy Norris May 06, 2021
SpaceX successfully landed a full-scale Starship prototype after a high-altitude flight test on May 5, marking a key milestone towards the development of the company’s next generation launch system.
Space

Crew-1 Astronauts Splash Down Safely, a Milestone

By Mark Carreau May 02, 2021
Four NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronauts made a weather-delayed return to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) on May 2.
Defense and Space

SpaceX Resumes Starlink Deployment Campaign

By Irene Klotz Apr 29, 2021
After a brief pause to send the SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA last week, SpaceX on April 28 resumed launching its Starlink broadband constellation into low Earth orbit.
Space

Planned SpaceX Crew-1 Return Moves to May 1

By Mark Carreau Apr 27, 2021
NASA and Space X have announced that the planned splashdown of four Crew-1 Dragon astronauts returning from the International Space Station will now take place on May 1 rather than April 28.
Space

Blue Origin, Dynetics Protest NASA HLS Award To SpaceX

By Irene Klotz Apr 26, 2021
Blue Origin and Dynetics filed separate protests on April 26 with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) over NASA’s $2.9 billion award to rival SpaceX for a human lunar landing system demonstration mission.
Space

SpaceX Falcon Rocket Lifts Off With Next ISS Crew

By Irene Klotz Apr 23, 2021
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center an hour before dawn on April 23, sending a Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts on a one-day journey to the International Space Station (ISS.) 
Space

NASA Awards Lunar Human Landing System To SpaceX

By Irene Klotz Apr 16, 2021
SpaceX proposed an HLS based on its Starship, a fully reusable, two-stage, human-class, deep-space transportation system currently in development.
Space

USAF IDs F-35 For Starlink Internet Experiment

By Steve Trimble Mar 30, 2021
Lockheed Martin received a $12.8 million contract award from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) on March 25 for the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

Space Force, NRO Order Launches From SpaceX, ULA

By Jen DiMascio Mar 10, 2021
The U.S. Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office on March 9 awarded task orders worth a total of $385 million to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA) for four upcoming launches, Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) said in a statement.
Space