Falcon 9

The Starlink missions keep on coming. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 27 of the company's internet satellites to orbit this morning (Sept. 2), lifting off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base at 4:42 a.m. EDT (0842 GMT; 1:42 a.m. local California time). It was the 35th flight for this Falcon 9's first stage, which is known as Booster 1063. That's just two shy of the SpaceX reuse record, which was set by B1067 last week . A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sept. 2, 2026. (Image credit: SpaceX) And B1063 will almost certainly fly again:…

SpaceX's next astronaut mission to the International Space Station won't launch on Sept. 12 after all. That flight, known as Crew-13 , has been delayed due to an oxidizer leak in the propulsion system of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, NASA announced on Saturday (Aug. 29). "Joint NASA and SpaceX teams are performing additional tests and data review and will complete any necessary rework prior to launch," NASA officials wrote in an update on Saturday . "A new target date will be announced once available." Crew-13 will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. As its…

NASA and SpaceX are adjusting the launch date for the agency’s Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station to address an oxidizer leak on Dragon’s propulsion system which was detected during standard prelaunch spacecraft processing. Joint NASA and SpaceX teams are performing additional tests and data review and will complete any necessary rework prior to […]

SpaceX's launch from Florida early this morning (Aug. 25) was memorable in more ways than one. The mission, which sent 29 Starlink internet satellites skyward from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:33 a.m. EDT (0933 GMT), was the 100th flight of 2026 for SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. It was also the 37th flight for this particular vehicle's first stage, setting a new reuse record for the company. And we learned a few hours after liftoff that it was also the last-ever Falcon 9 Starlink mission to fly from the Sunshine State. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink Group 10-49…

SpaceX launched 27 more of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit today (Aug. 26), in a predawn liftoff from California's central coast. The spacecraft rode atop a Falcon 9 rocket, which lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 5:35 a.m. EDT (0935 GMT; 2:35 a.m. local California time). The rocket's first stage came back to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes later, landing atop the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 24th flight for this particular booster, which is designated B1082. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Starlink 15-22…

The Falcon 9 rocket will fly on a south-easterly trajectory upon launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff is scheduled for 2:34 a.m. PDT (5:34 a.m. EDT / 0934 UTC).

Pandora, NASA’s newest exoplanet mission and the first satellite to launch through the agency’s Astrophysics Pioneers program, is now making unique observations of worlds beyond our solar system and the stars they orbit. The mission will determine the atmospheric make-up of at least 20 exoplanets, including the presence of hazes, clouds, and water. “Pandora’s data […]

The Starlink 10-49 mission is set to be the 100th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket in 2026. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 5:33 a.m. EDT (0933 UTC).

The rumors are true. SpaceX plans to retire its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket once the company's giant next-generation Starship begins regular operational flights. SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 for the first time in 2010, and the rocket soon chiselled itself a place in spaceflight history. The Falcon 9 has lifted off nearly 700 times to date, and it's the first orbital rocket ever to land and refly its first-stage booster. Russia's Soyuz rocket , which has been in operation since 1957, is the only launch vehicle with more missions under its belt, but the Falcon 9 is on track to pass it next year.…

Starlink launches may have become commonplace, but this one was definitely worth staying up for. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with 29 Starlink internet satellites lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Aug. 25), at 5:33 a.m. EDT (0933 GMT). It was the 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 and the record-breaking 37th mission for this rocket's first stage, a booster designated B1067. SpaceX set a new rocket-reuse record early Tuesday morning (Aug. 25), on its 100th Falcon 9 flight of the year. (Image credit: SpaceX) The Falcon 9 is by far the busiest rocket in…

HOUSTON — What does NASA's astronaut training hub look like these days, as the agency aims to bring more commercial space stations into the fold? It's an interesting mix of government and private companies, of space agency personnel and of contractors, all working together to keep U.S. and international astronauts flying through the end of the ISS — currently expected around 2030 — and the new breed of commercial space stations expected to take its place. Canadian reporters like myself were invited on a tour of Johnson Space Center (JSC) on Aug. 4 ahead of the launch of SpaceX Crew-13, which…

SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites this morning (Aug. 22) on a milestone mission for the company's Falcon rocket family. A Falcon 9 carrying 27 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California today at 3:25 a.m. EDT (0725 GMT; 12:25 a.m. local California time). It was the 99th Falcon 9 liftoff of the year, and the 100th Falcon mission of 2026 overall. The other flight was performed by a Falcon Heavy, which lofted the telecom satellite Viasat-3 F3 in April. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 27 Starlink internet satellites from…