SpaceFlight Insider

Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne system achieves orbit

Cullen DesforgesJanuary 18th After several hours filled with hopeful anticipation, California-based Virgin Orbit successfully air-launched its LauncherOne rocket Jan. 17 over the Mojave Desert.
Hot fire test of NASA’s SLS Rocket ends prematurely, placing 2021 launch date into question

Derek RichardsonJanuary 17th For the first time, NASA fired up the core stage for its Space Launch System rocket, which is designed to send humans into deep space. However, an anomaly prompted the engines to shut down much earlier than planned.
Orion is on the move, across the grounds of Kennedy Space Center

Sean CostelloJanuary 16th Under blue Florida skies, NASA put in motion the next phase of preparations for the first Space Launch System (SLS) mission, Artemis I, with the moving of the Orion capsule from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility.
NASA adds New Glenn to Launch Services Program

Nicholas D'AlessandroJanuary 14th Last month, the U.S. space agency awarded a NASA Launch Services contract to Blue Origin and its New Glenn rocket.
CRS-21 cargo Dragon splashes down off the Florida coast

Derek RichardsonJanuary 13th SpaceX’s CRS-21 cargo Dragon spacecraft has returned to Earth, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of Tampa, Florida.
Moon Dialogs bring together stakeholders in near-future lunar activity

Laurel KornfeldJanuary 12th Moon Dialogs, a partnership that seeks to bring together a wide variety of stakeholders to brainstorm about near-future lunar activity, organized Zoom sessions throughout 2020 exploring the wide range of topics pertinent to policy and governance on the Moon.
Remembering Apollo 8, celebrating Christmas from a distance

Sean CostelloDecember 24th As 2020 draws to a close, families worldwide are gathering for Christmas Eve celebrations in various degrees of isolation, driven in large part to public health restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
SpaceX launches latest satellite for SiriusXM Radio

Cullen DesforgesDecember 13th On Dec. 13, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying the SXM-7 satellite to a geostationary transfer orbit.
NASA announces “Artemis Team” of 18 astronauts

Cullen DesforgesDecember 11th In a somewhat unannounced and surprising fashion, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence announced the 18 astronauts that will be focused on advancing the Artemis program, including those who will be first to fly aboard the Orion capsule as early as 2023.
Following extensive delays, ULA successfully launches NRO satellite

Matt HaskellDecember 11th Following a series of scrubs, delays and aborts, United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy rocket finally took to the skies at 8:09 p.m. EST, Dec. 10, lofting the NROL-44 payload into a geostationary transfer orbit.
Starship makes successful first, high altitude test flight

Nicholas D'AlessandroDecember 11th At 4:45 p.m. CDT Dec. 9, 2020, the SpaceX Starship prototype SN8 finally launched in an unprecedented and long-awaited flight test of the vehicle.
15-kilometer test flight approaching for Starship SN8

Nicholas D'AlessandroDecember 2nd The most complex test yet for SpaceX's Starship design, prototype SN8, is fast approaching, according to road closure notices from Cameron County, Texas.

Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne system achieves orbit

Cullen DesforgesJanuary 18th After several hours filled with hopeful anticipation, California-based Virgin Orbit successfully air-launched its LauncherOne rocket Jan. 17 over the Mojave Desert.
Hot fire test of NASA’s SLS Rocket ends prematurely, placing 2021 launch date into question

Derek RichardsonJanuary 17th For the first time, NASA fired up the core stage for its Space Launch System rocket, which is designed to send humans into deep space. However, an anomaly prompted the engines to shut down much earlier than planned.
Orion is on the move, across the grounds of Kennedy Space Center

Sean CostelloJanuary 16th Under blue Florida skies, NASA put in motion the next phase of preparations for the first Space Launch System (SLS) mission, Artemis I, with the moving of the Orion capsule from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility.
CRS-21 cargo Dragon splashes down off the Florida coast

Derek RichardsonJanuary 13th SpaceX’s CRS-21 cargo Dragon spacecraft has returned to Earth, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of Tampa, Florida.
SpaceX launches latest satellite for SiriusXM Radio

Cullen DesforgesDecember 13th On Dec. 13, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying the SXM-7 satellite to a geostationary transfer orbit.
NASA announces “Artemis Team” of 18 astronauts

Cullen DesforgesDecember 11th In a somewhat unannounced and surprising fashion, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence announced the 18 astronauts that will be focused on advancing the Artemis program, including those who will be first to fly aboard the Orion capsule as early as 2023.
Following extensive delays, ULA successfully launches NRO satellite

Matt HaskellDecember 11th Following a series of scrubs, delays and aborts, United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy rocket finally took to the skies at 8:09 p.m. EST, Dec. 10, lofting the NROL-44 payload into a geostationary transfer orbit.
Starship makes successful first, high altitude test flight

Nicholas D'AlessandroDecember 11th At 4:45 p.m. CDT Dec. 9, 2020, the SpaceX Starship prototype SN8 finally launched in an unprecedented and long-awaited flight test of the vehicle.
15-kilometer test flight approaching for Starship SN8

Nicholas D'AlessandroDecember 2nd The most complex test yet for SpaceX's Starship design, prototype SN8, is fast approaching, according to road closure notices from Cameron County, Texas.
Damaged Arecibo Observatory collapses

Laurel KornfeldDecember 1st The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, a world-famous 1,000-foot-wide radio telescope through which major discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics were made, collapsed on the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 1, after one of its main cables broke on Nov. 6.
First operational Crew Dragon spacecraft docks to ISS

Derek RichardsonNovember 17th SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Resilience” and its four-person astronaut occupants arrived at the International Space Station a day after an evening launch from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
SpaceX Successfully launches first operational crewed mission

Matt HaskellNovember 16th At 7:27 PM EST on November 15, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with a Crew Dragon capsule containing 4 astronauts lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A in Florida.
NASA and SpaceX set to launch first operational Crew Dragon mission

Matt HaskellNovember 15th Following up on the successful launch and return of NASA Astronauts in May, SpaceX is on the cusp of flying the first certified operational mission of their Crew Dragon capsule.
ULA successfully launches NRO-101 mission into evening Florida sky

Sean CostelloNovember 13th With the tell-tale crackle of three GEM 63 solid rocket boosters, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket leapt from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 41 pad at 5:32 p.m. EST this evening, carrying a top-secret National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload skyward.
Breakdown of Crew-1 Flight Plan: an inside look

Cullen DesforgesNovember 13th On Tuesday November 10, teams at SpaceX and NASA completed the final launch readiness review for the first operational mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
ULA set for second launch attempt of classified NRO payload

Matt HaskellNovember 13th United Launch Alliance is set to re-attempt the launch of their Atlas V rocket and its NROL-101 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office on Friday evening.

The Range

NASA adds New Glenn to Launch Services Program

January 14th
Last month, the U.S. space agency awarded a NASA Launch Services contract to Blue Origin and its New Glenn rocket.
Moon Dialogs bring together stakeholders in near-future lunar activity

January 12th
Moon Dialogs, a partnership that seeks to bring together a wide variety of stakeholders to brainstorm about near-future lunar activity, organized Zoom sessions throughout 2020 exploring the wide range of topics pertinent to policy and governance on the Moon.
Remembering Apollo 8, celebrating Christmas from a distance

December 24th
As 2020 draws to a close, families worldwide are gathering for Christmas Eve celebrations in various degrees of isolation, driven in large part to public health restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Probe finds deep space is not completely dark

December 1st
Now more than four billion miles away from Earth, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, acting as a distant space observatory, has found that deep space is not entirely dark.
Arrokoth’s flattened shape could shed light on planetesimal formation process

November 15th
The flattened shape of the two lobes that make up Arrokoth, the Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) visited by the New Horizons spacecraft in January 2019, may hold clues to the formation process of planetesimals and even planets.
“All Systems Go”: Schedule of Crew-1 launch countdown events

November 15th
Following the confirmation by SpaceX via Twitter, that “All systems are go for tonight’s launch at 7:27 p.m. EST”, SpaceFlight Insider has produced this handy reference of the key countdown events and their approximate times.
OSIRIS-REx capsule closed following successful Bennu sample collection

November 1st
NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft collected enough soil samples of the asteroid Bennu on its first attempt that mission controllers commanded the spacecraft to close its Sample Return Capsule (SRC).
White mountain peaks on Pluto not caused by snow

October 24th
Images captured by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft during its July 2015 Pluto flyby reveal the small planet to be the only place in the solar system other than Earth to have white-capped mountains.
Boeing wins contract award for next generation SATCOM satellites

October 24th
In a press release earlier this month, Boeing announced the award of a developmental contract for the next generation communications satellite on behalf of the United States Space Force.
Remnants of ancient subsurface ocean observed on Ceres

October 5th
The bright spots in Ceres’s Occator Crater, which mystified scientists when first observed by the Dawn spacecraft in 2015, indicate the dwarf planet may harbor remnants of what was once a global subsurface ocean.
NASA town hall shares updates on science missions

October 2nd
At a community town hall which was broadcast live on September 10, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate provided updates on the agency’s many ongoing and upcoming science missions.
First segment of Orion capsule delivered for assembly ahead of Artemis III mission

September 10th
Lockheed Martin takes delivery and begins production of the Artemis III Orion capsule, as the first parts of the pressure vessel are delivered to the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.
Morning update: delayed Starlink mission set to fly in less than an hour

September 3rd
SpaceX is poised to launch their next batch of Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 today, currently scheduled to liftoff at 8:46 a.m. EDT.
Following schedule adjustment, Starlink now set to launch September 3

September 1st
SpaceX has officially shifted Tuesday’s planned launch of 60 Starlink internet satellites from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Representatives from SpaceX wrote on Twitter, “Now targeting Thursday, September 3 at 8:46 a.m. EDT for launch of Starlink from Launch Complex 39A, pending Range acceptance — team is using additional time for […]
SpaceX confirms back-to-back Sunday launch plans.

August 28th
SpaceX has confirmed their intent to proceed with back-to-back Falcon 9 launches on Sunday, August 30, from each of their two launch facilities on Florida’s Space Coast.