SpaceX Falcon

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket broke apart in the final stage of flight, leaving some Starlink satellites in lower-than-intended orbits and sidelining the vehicle.

A group of recently launched startups are bucking the strategy.

Al Yah Satellite Communications says it has selected SpaceX and the Falcon 9 to launch the Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 satellites it recently ordered from Airbus.

The newcomer joins incumbents ULA and SpaceX on the Space Force’s launch vendor list.

The EarthCARE satellite is designed to determine what role clouds and aerosols play in heating and cooling the atmosphere to better understand climate change.

NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft arrived at Kennedy Space Center on May 23 for final preparations ahead of launch in October to a Jupiter moon.

The mission, designated NROL-146, is targeted for launch on May 19 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flying from Vandenberg SFB in California.

SpaceX’s plan to launch its Starship-Super Heavy reusable Mars-class space transport from KSC will require a full environmental impact statement, the FAA said.

SpaceX took on the mission of delivering two new members of Europe’s Galileo global navigation satellite system into orbit on April 28.

Lower launch costs—driven by SpaceX’s partially reusable Falcon 9—are driving down the cost of building, launching and operating satellites in space.

A Falcon 9 rocket has delivered 11 satellites into mid-inclination, low Earth orbit, marking the inaugural run of a new rideshare service called Bandwagon.

Startups Isar Aerospace, PLD Space and Rocket Factory Augsburg already have agreed to use the refurbished ELM-Diamant launch complex in Kourou, French Guiana.

Armor Harris, the newly hired vice president of Aircraft Engineering for San Diego-based Shield AI, wants to lead a new revolution in aircraft design.

Satellite crowding and military conflict create new dangers in space.

SpaceX completed a pair of overlapping Falcon 9 missions on March 4.

Three U.S. astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut began a 28-hr. ride to the ISS March 2, setting the stage for a six-month mission onboard the orbital outpost.

Scrappy Houston startup Intuitive Machines puts the U.S. back on the surface of the Moon.

A privately owned lunar lander positioned itself into orbit around the Moon on Feb. 21, setting the stage for an attempted touchdown on Feb. 22.

Varda Space Industries’ reentry capsule has received permission from the FAA to leave orbit, pass through the atmosphere and land back on terra firma.

U.S. startup Vast has picked Singapore space connectivity firm AddValue to provide Inter-satellite Data Relay System connectivity for its Haven-1 space station.

Intuitive Machines will attempt the first U.S. landing on the Moon in 52 years following a successful launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 early Feb. 15.

The Space Development Agency plans to launch its last group of Tranche 0 missile Tracking Layer demonstration satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

NASA and SpaceX are retargeting the launch of the four-person Dragon Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station from Feb. 22 to no earlier than Feb. 28.

A NASA environmental sat designed to help scientists probe the relationships between Earth’s oceans, atmospheric aerosols and cloud formations reached orbit.

The Houston-based company is poised to become the fourth private entity to attempt a lunar landing.