NASA shared updated renders of the SpaceX and Blue Origin cargo landers that will bring rovers and other equipment to the Moon. In addition to landing humans, SpaceX and Blue Origin are providing cargo landers to carry next-generation Moon rovers and other equipment to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis program. These cargo landers will be capable of delivering between 26,000 to 33,000 pounds to the Moon to support future astronauts and are planned to be ready in time for the Artemis VII mission, which is currently planned for no earlier than 2031. A closer look at Blue Origin’s cargo lander (Cred ..read more

Rocket Lab successfully launched the “Beginning of the Swarm” mission, its 47th overall yesterday. Electron took the skies at 10:32 am NZT from Launch Complex 1B on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand, sending two small payloads to vastly different orbits. Our 47th Electron launch…and counting pic.twitter.com/yCbaHXukMV — Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) April 24, 2024 The launch was originally scheduled for 10:15 a.m. NZT, just 2 minutes before a Falcon 9 mission from Florida, but it held at t – 12 minutes as the Rocket Lab team worked on a ground support system issue. It didn’t take long for teams t ..read more

During its most recent Starlink mission, which occurred last night, SpaceX landed the 300th Falcon rocket. The 300 mark is split between both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy but does not count as recovered rockets, as two of these rockets, a Falcon Heavy center core and a Falcon 9, tipped over at sea after successful landings. Engines full power and liftoff! pic.twitter.com/FeW78mZio2 — SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 23, 2024 This is a significant milestone for the company as it continues to push its flight cadence further than what nearly anyone in the industry thought was possible. SpaceX is currently o ..read more

Last week, SpaceX launched two Starlink missions from Florida just over 24 hours apart, sending a total of 46 satellites to orbit. The missions took place from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center and Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, respectively. Both missions were part of the Group 6 Starlink shell (Group 51 and 52) and were inserted into an orbit with a 43-degree orbital inclination. The first launch, which took place from LC-39A, was carried out by Falcon 9 Booster 1077, which completed its 12th flight to space and back. B1077 last flew 38 days prior to ..read more

Vast and SpaceX have reached an agreement to use Starlink on its future commercial space station. Haven-1, which is planned to launch atop a Falcon 9 no earlier than August 2025, will be outfitted with Starlink terminals to ensure occupants aboard the station will have access to high-speed communications courtesy of the SpaceX Starlink network. Announcement: Haven-1 to be the world’s first commercial space station connected by SpaceX Starlink: https://t.co/jAwG5TbkxL @SpaceX @Starlink pic.twitter.com/tLY15HB0a0 — VΛST (@vast) April 9, 2024 Vast CEO Max Haot commented: “If you need to provide ..read more

SpaceX successfully launched and landed a Falcon 9 for the 20th time on Friday, April 12th, marking a new milestone for flight-proven rockets. The launch took place from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which broke its own turn-around record with just 2 days, 19 hours, and 42 minutes between launches. According to a post on X from Space Launch Delta 45, the previous record was 3 days, 17 hours, and 24 minutes. Liftoff of Falcon 9! pic.twitter.com/aMZKAFr897 — SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 13, 2024 The ability of SpaceX to turn the launch pads around this quickly is wha ..read more

SpaceX successfully launched a new-generation weather satellite for the Department of Defense on Thursday, April 11th, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Falcon 9 launched from Space Launch Complex 4 East at 7:25 a.m. PT to complete the USSF-62 mission. The payload on board was the Weather System Follow-on – Microwave (WSF-M1) satellite. Liftoff of USSF-62 – SpaceX’s 12th National Security Space Launch on a Falcon rocket pic.twitter.com/PPryxZnOCE — SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 11, 2024 WSF-M1, built by BAE Systems, will primarily focus on providing real-time data on ocean surface ..read more

Blue Origin is preparing its next crewed mission this month, its first with a crew in a year and a half. This will be the first crewed mission since and second overall launch since a nozzle failure caused the flight termination system to trigger during a launch in September 2022. The mission will launch from the company’s West Texas launch site. #NewShepard #NS25 crew will include Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Ed Dwight, Ken Hess, Carol Schaller, and Gopi Thotakura. Read more : https://t.co/KbAJkbRTvj pic.twitter.com/8QBFYPJkYj — Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 4, 2024 The company returned to ..read more

Rocket Lab is readying for its next launch no earlier than April 24th from Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. The mission, Beginning of the Swarm, will feature two payloads being deployed to completely different orbits. Welcome to LC-1, @KAISTPR! NEONSAT-1 is going through checkouts in the cleanroom at Launch Complex 1 in the lead up to KAIST’s mission on Electron in the coming days, NET April 24th. Launch info: https://t.co/xyg2Ghty8K pic.twitter.com/vpjq0kYRPp — Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) April 9, 2024 The primary payload for this mission, NEONSAT-1, is for the Korea Adva ..read more

The Delta IV Heavy has flown for the final time, successfully launching a top-secret payload to orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office. The launch took place from Space Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station yesterday afternoon, taking to the skies one last time with its iconic fireball engine start-up at 12:53 pm ET. Let’s relive liftoff of the final #DeltaIVHeavy rocket carrying #NROL70 for the @NatReconOfc, closing Delta’s six decade legacy of excellence in space! #TheDeltaFinale pic.twitter.com/wOuFFza2ac — ULA (@ulalaunch) April 9, 2024 Originally meant to launch ..read more