Spaceflight Insider

  • SpaceX set to launch its 100th Mission with Starlink and SkySat

    Cullen DesforgesAugust 18th SpaceX is on the cusp of launching its 100th mission, due to loft the eleventh batch of Starlink satellites on Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, atop their Falcon 9 rocket.

  • Fourth GPS satellite arrives safely in Florida

    Cullen DesforgesAugust 10th On July 14, the fourth satellite in the Global Positioning System III (GPS III) system arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, for processing in preparation of its launch in September.

  • Demo-2 Crew Dragon Capsule returns to Space Coast

    Sean CostelloAugust 7th “Endeavour”, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft which made history as the first commercial vehicle to ferry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, has returned to the Space Coast.

  • SES awards launch contracts to ULA & SpaceX

    Matt HaskellAugust 7th SES has contracted both United Launch Alliance (ULA) and SpaceX to fly its newest four C-band satellites into orbit in 2022.

  • Starship ‘SN5’ takes flight as SpaceX marches forward

    Cullen DesforgesAugust 4th For the second time in just three days, SpaceX has succeeded in showcasing their team’s capabilities and readiness to redefine the future of commercial space travel. Earlier today, August 4, 2020, the company completed a test flight of its Starship prototype vehicle, dubbed SN5, ‘hopping’ to an altitude of 150 meters above its rocket development […]

  • Demo-2 Crew Dragon splashes down after 2-month mission

    Derek RichardsonAugust 2nd After two months aboard the International Space Station, Dragonship Endeavour with its two-person astronaut crew is back on Earth, having splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.

  • Weather being watched ahead of Demo-2 return

    Theresa CrossJuly 31st SpaceX and NASA, in preparation for the upcoming undocking of the DEMO-2 Crew Dragon from the International Space Station, are continuing to monitor weather patterns in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

  • Perseverance rover launches on its journey to explore Mars

    Matt HaskellJuly 30th CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – At 7:50 a.m. EDT, the ULA Atlas V rocket lifted off on its journey to Mars with NASA’s Perseverance rover, and Ingenuity helicopter.

  • NASA, ULA on the eve of launch of Perseverance Mars rover

    Matt HaskellJuly 29th Years of hard work and preparation have culminated in NASA’s newest Mars rover, Perseverance, sitting  atop its United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral, set to leave Earth as early as 7:50 a.m. EDT (11:50 UTC) Thursday morning.

  • Mars 2020 Flight Readiness Review complete, Launch Readiness Review tomorrow

    Theresa CrossJuly 26th Preparations continue at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the upcoming Mars 2020 launch, currently scheduled to liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Thursday, July 30, 2020. Most recently completed was the Flight Readiness Review, the critical review step which confirmed the readiness of the equipment, teams and resources required […]

  • First GEM 63 solid motors delivered to Cape Canaveral

    Matt HaskellJuly 24th Northrop Grumman has delivered the first 3 of their new 63-inch Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM 63) rocket motors to Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in preparation for their first launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

  • Progress MS-15 cargo ship takes ‘express lane’ to ISS

    Derek RichardsonJuly 23rd The Russian Progress MS-15 cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station in a reported record time to deliver supplies and experiments to the Expedition 63 crew, despite a last-second misalignment.

  • Minotaur IV sucessfully sends NROL-129 into blue, Virginia skies

    Steve HammerJuly 15th Virginia based Northrop Grumman today launched classified mission NROL-129 for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) aboard a Minotaur IV rocket from launchpad 0B at The Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), adjacent to NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia. The countdown clock was held at T-minus 16 minutes for 46 minutes, allowing for multiple […]

  • Northrop Grumman set to loft NROL-129 atop Minotaur IV

    Sean CostelloJuly 14th Teams from Northrop Grumman, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the Mid-Atlantic Spaceport (MARS) are all reporting as being poised and ready to launch the NROL-129 mission tomorrow, July 15, 2020, atop a Minotaur IV rocket. Even the weather appears to be supportive, with the latest forecast indicating only a 10% chance of violating acceptable […]

  • OneWeb to receive USD $1 Billion from United Kingdom, Bharti Global

    Theresa CrossJuly 8th On July 3, OneWeb announced that a consortium of Her Majesty’s Government (through the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) and Bharti Global Limited had committed to provide more than USD$1 billion to acquire OneWeb and fund the full restart of its business operations.

  • SpaceX set to launch third GPS-III satellite, SV03

    Matt HaskellJune 30th SpaceX is poised to launch the next satellite in the GPS-III series atop its proven Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday, marking the newest launch of the new satellite constellation.

  • Perseverance mission scientist outlines rover’s instruments, mission

    Laurel KornfeldJune 23rd One month before the scheduled launch of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, Roger Wiens, who serves as both principal investigator of its SuperCam laser instrument and as co-investigator of its SHERLOC team, discussed the mission’s science instruments and its purpose in a virtual webinar presented by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI).

  • Locked and Loaded: Artemis I’s muscle delivered to KSC

    SpaceFlight InsiderJune 16th NASA, still riding high on regaining the ability to launch astronauts to low-Earth-orbit is now preparing to turn the dial up to eleven. LEO is nice and all - but flying to the Moon is way better. The agency is pulling this pieces to achieve just that.

  • NASA TAPS ASTROBOTIC TO DELIVER VIPER ROVER TO THE MOON

    Michael ColeJune 16th NASA awarded a nearly $200 million contract Thursday to Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic, to deliver NASA’s VIPER rover to a destination at the moon’s south pole in 2023.

  • 3 SkySat, 58 Starlink satellites fly during first SpaceX Rideshare launch

    Cullen DesforgesJune 13th At 5:21 a.m. EDT, SpaceX’s ninth set of Starlink satellites departed Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40, flying with three SkySat satellites, part of the company’s first commercial ride share arrangement.

  • OPINION: A booster return like no other

    Matt HaskellJune 10th For many residents on the space coast, seeing a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster being returned to the Cape on the company’s autonomous drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” is a regular occurrence. But this one was special.

  • First Starlink VisorSat takes flight aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

    Sean CostelloJune 3rd On Wednesday June 3, SpaceX successfully launched its eighth batch of Starlink satellites, lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at 9:25 p.m. EDT, 1:25 UTC on June 4.

  • Demo-2’s Falcon 9 Booster 1058.1 arrives in Port

    Sean CostelloJune 2nd Less than 72 hours after lofting the Crew Dragon carrying Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken on the historic Demo-2 journey to the International Space Station, the Falcon 9 first stage booster 1058.1 has arrived in Port Canaveral.

  • Crew Dragon Endeavour docks with International Space Station

    Derek RichardsonMay 31st Less than 19 hours after soaring into orbit from Florida, SpaceX’s Demo-2 Crew Dragon mission with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken has reached the International Space Station.

  • Historic Launch Day for SpaceX, NASA: Demo-2 In Images

    Sean CostelloMay 30th For a day which began with a forecast offering 50% odds of violating launch weather rules, it seemed to proceed fairly well.

  • The drought is over: NASA and SpaceX successfully launch Demo-2

    Cullen DesforgesMay 30th History has been made and an almost nine-year drought has ended. SpaceX has successfully launched its first crewed mission, marking the beginning of a new era in human spaceflight. The SpaceX Crew Dragon is now officially on her way to the International Space Station for the first time with humans on board.

  • Demo-2 Launch Day: Countdown time schedule

    Sean CostelloMay 30th The launch countdown timeline schedule is out for SpaceX Demo-2 launch attempt day #2, and SpaceFlight Insider correspondents are onsite at the Kennedy Space Center LC39 Press Site, on the river’s edge in Titusville and just south in Port Canaveral; Falcon 9 is vertical on the pad and all eyes are now on the weather.

  • Scrub! Historic Demo-2 mission delayed due to weather

    Cullen DesforgesMay 27th NASA’s historic Demo-2 mission has been scrubbed due to weather over the launch site and off the Florida coast. The next attempt is set to occur on Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 pm local time.

NewerOlder