A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 on the Starlink 6-53 mission on April 23, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 7:32 p.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of the 23 Starlink satellites. SpaceX completed a Falcon 9 launch, highlighted by the company’s 300th booster landing to date. The Starlink 6-53 mission also marked the 30th orbital launch from Florida in 2024. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 6:17 p.m. EDT (2217 UTC). The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a greater than 95 percent chance of favor ..read more

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket supporting the Starlink 6-52 mission transits the Moon moments before Main Engine Cut-off (MECO). Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now SpaceX completed its 40 Falcon 9 mission of the year with a launch from the Cape. The Starlink 6-52 mission added 23 more satellites to the growing low Earth orbit constellation. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 6:40 p.m. EDT (2240 UTC), the opening of a nearly four-hour window. The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions heading into launch. A Fa ..read more

The Weather System Follow-on – Microwave (WSF-M) space vehicle was successfully encapsulated April 8, 2024, ahead of its scheduled launch as the U.S. Space Force (USSF)-62 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., marking a major milestone on its upcoming launch into low Earth orbit. Image: SpaceX SpaceX launched a military weather satellite designed to replace aging satellites from a program dating back to the 1960s. The United States Space Force-62 (USSF-62) mission featured the launch of the first Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) spacecraft. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket ..read more

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A on the Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission on April 7, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein SpaceX launched the first in a new series of rideshare missions that it dubbed “Bandwagon.” The 11 satellites rode onboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff occurred at 7:16 p.m. EDT (2316 UTC). A day before the mission, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast better than 95 percent odds of favorable conditions at launch time. Like the “Transporter” rideshare flights, the Falcon 9 rocket for the Bandwagon-1 mission l ..read more

  The opportunity to see a total solar eclipse is capturing the attention of millions across the country, spacecraft are going through key environmental testing and a Florida resident is dealing with an out-of-this-world garbage problem. These are just some of the topics on deck for this week’s edition of News from the Press Site. The hour-long, live show begins at 4 p.m. EDT (2000 UTC) on the Spaceflight Now YouTube channel. This week, we’re joined by Emilee Speck, space journalist with FOX Weather, and Stephen Clark, space reporter with Ars Technica. Join the conversation by using the ..read more

A Falcon 9 rocket streaks across the night sky above Florida on the Starlink 6-45 mission on March 30, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update: Falcon 9 launched at 9:30 p.m. EDT (0130 UTC). SpaceX followed the successful launch of a European television satellite with the first of a planned pair of its own Starlink missions from both Florida and California. The first Falcon 9 flight, Starlink 6-45, departed from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at pad 40 at 9:30 p.m. EDT (0130 UTC). This was the 20th Starlink mission of 2024. Launch weather for the mission was about as ideal as it g ..read more

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Eutelsat 36D satellite lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on March 30, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now SpaceX was aiming for an ambitious launch cadence on Saturday evening with potentially three launches on tap in fewer than five hours. The first two Falcon 9 rockets are departed from Florida’s Space Coast with the last mission hoped to take off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. However, poor weather scuttled the third launch in the end. First up to the plate was the Eutelsat 36D mission, which lifted off f ..read more

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX Update 2:33 p.m. EDT: SpaceX is standing down from a Friday night launch attempt and targeting no earlier than Saturday, March 30. As the month of March winds down, SpaceX hopes to squeeze in one more launch from California with a batch of 22 of its Starlink satellites on board. Without stating a reason why, the company decided to call off a launch attempt on Thursday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base. SpaceX later also scuttled a Friday night launch attempt, which would’ve taken place as poor weather was m ..read more

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on the Starlink 6-46 mission on Monday, March 25. This marked the 175th launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Monday evening with 23 Starlink satellites on board. This mission marked the 175th flight for SpaceX from its workhorse pad to date. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-46 mission occurred at 7:42 p.m. EDT (2342 UTC) from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40). This was also the 20th mission launching from Florida in 2024. The Falcon 9 first sta ..read more

For a third time, a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster achieves its 19th flight, tying it as a launch leader. Liftoff on the Starlink 6-42 mission came following a weather scrub on Friday, March 22. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 11:45 p.m. ET: SpaceX launched the Starlink 6-42 mission close to the end of the launch window. SpaceX managed to thread the needle with the weather and launch the first of two planned Starlink missions from Cape Canaveral in 48 hours. A Falcon 9 rocket launched from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday at 11:09 p.m. EDT (0309 UTC on Sunday ..read more