Tag: Launches & Spacecraft

Just months after SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 rocket in the Bahamas for the first time, the country has hit pause on future landings pending an environmental review, according to news wire reports. A top Bahamas government official announced on Tuesday (April 15) that the country was suspending future SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket landings until a “full environmental assessment” is complete, Reuters reported. “No further clearances will be granted until a full environmental assessment is reviewed,” Reuters quoted Bahamian Director of Communications Latrae Rahming as writing on the social media…

Read More

For the first time in nearly a decade and a half, a Minotaur has streaked through Californian skies. A Minotaur IV rocket lifted off from the Golden State’s Vandenberg Space Force Base today (April 16) at 3:33 p.m. EDT (1633 GMT; 12:33 p.m. local California time), kicking off the NROL-174 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). It was the first launch of a Minotaur from the site since 2011, the NRO said via X. The NROL-174 mission patch. (Image credit: NRO) The Minotaur rocket family, built by aerospace…

Read More

SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of rocket reuse. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 27 of the company’s Starlink internet satellites lifted off at midnight (0400 GMT) on Monday (April 14) from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the 27th launch for the rocket’s first stage, breaking a reflight record that this same booster set two months ago. Sixteen of its liftoffs have been Starlink flights, SpaceX wrote in a mission description. You may like Booster 1067 missions The booster came back to Earth safely for the…

Read More

Another batch of Starlink wireless internet satellites is in orbit after a full moon-lit SpaceX launch from Florida. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Starlink 12-17 mission Saturday night (April 12) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The Falcon 9 lifted off from KSC’s historic Launch Complex-39A at 8:53 p.m. EDT (0053 on April 13 GMT), carrying a stack of 21 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit (LEO). The Falcon 9 rests on the deck of a drone ship at sea shortly after its touchdown on April 12, 2025.…

Read More

Amazon may be a whiz at fast online deliveries, but the massive company will have to wait to launch the first satellites of its new space internet constellation after bad weather thwarted a liftoff on Wednesday night. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket attempted to launch 27 of Amazon’s first Project Kuiper internet satellites to orbit from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on April 9, but persistent clouds near the pad violated launch rules, ULA officials said. “It is confirmed that we will not continue with the Amazon…

Read More

NASA’s next special delivery to the International Space Station has a launch date, but it’s going to be one for early-birds. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch an uncrewed Dragon cargo ship packed with tons of supplies on Monday, April 21, from the historic Pad 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Liftoff is set for 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 GMT), making it a predawn launch. “Along with food and essential equipment for the crew, Dragon is delivering a variety of experiments, including a demonstration of…

Read More

A never-before-flown Falcon 9 rocket launched the newest round of Starlink internet satellites Monday (April 7), in an afternoon liftoff from the U.S. West Coast. The booster, likely the one designated B1091, was the second new rocket that SpaceX has launched so far this year, both of which supported Starlink missions. Monday’s flight, known as Starlink 11-11, lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 7:06 p.m. EDT (2306 GMT), lofting 27 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit (LEO). About eight minutes after liftoff, B1091 completed its descent…

Read More

SpaceX sent another big batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Florida on Saturday night (April 5). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 28 Starlink craft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Saturday at 11:07 p.m. EDT (0307 GMT on Sunday, April 6). About eight minutes after launch, the rocket’s first stage came back to Earth for a landing on the SpaceX drone ship “Just Read the Instructions,” which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the 19th launch and landing for this particular booster,…

Read More

SpaceX sent 27 of its Starlink internet satellites toward low Earth orbit from California this evening (April 3). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink craft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base today at 9:02 p.m. EDT (6:02 p.m. local California time; 0102 GMT on April 4). A little over eight minutes later, the rocket’s first stage touched down on the SpaceX drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You,” which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean. It was the fifth launch and landing for this particular booster, according…

Read More

SpinLaunch has unveiled its plans for a new broadband satellite constellation known as Meridian Space. The Meridian Space constellation will consist of small “microsatellites” that can be sent to low-Earth orbit with as many as 250 spacecraft on a single launch vehicle, according to SpinLaunch. The company received $12M in funding from Kongsberg NanoAvionics to help develop and commercialize the satellites, with a planned launch date of 2026 for its first on-orbit demonstrator. It’s unclear if SpinLaunch will be launching the demonstrator itself with its revolutionary rocket-flinging centrifuge or if…

Read More