In a teleconference on July 17th, NASA and SpaceX provided additional information about the United States Deorbit Vehicle (USDV), the spacecraft which will be tasked with pushing the International Space Station out of orbit at the end of its lifetime.
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The end of the International Space Station will mark a tectonic shift in human spaceflight. The ISS program united the efforts of fifteen nations, including a landmark union between the United States and Russia, and citizens from eight other countries have since visited the orbiting laboratory. Now, approaching retirement, we begin to ask the question of what comes next?
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At 7:30 Pacific Standard Time on July 11th, 2024, a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket carrying the Starlink Group 9-3 satellites lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Nearly 2 hours later, SpaceX confirmed that the mission had experienced an anomaly.
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On Wednesday, June 26 2024, in a media roundtable hosted by United Launch Alliance, company President and CEO Tory Bruno laid out the path for Vulcan Centaur’s second flight, Cert-2.
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NASA and SpaceX have launched GOES-U, the final Earth observation satellite in the GOES-R series. The spacecraft was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, dodging inclement weather to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at 5:26 PM EDT on July 25th, 2024.
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In an announcement on June 13th, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin were selected for the Department of Defense’s National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 program. All three providers are now eligible to compete for a series of 30+ launches, with a combined value of $5.6 billion.
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On June 5, 2024 at 10:52 AM, America’s newest crew capable spacecraft lifted off from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. 61 years, 21 days, 1 hour, 48 minutes and 1 second since Atlas LV-3B 130-D launched Gordon Cooper into orbit aboard Faith 7, the mighty Atlas V continues the dream.
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SpaceX’s Starship-Super Heavy launch vehicle has completed its fourth Integrated Flight Test (IFT-4), lifting off from the company’s Starbase facility at 7:50 AM Central Time on Thursday, June 6th, 2024.
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The European Space Agency (ESA) and SpaceX are preparing to launch the long-anticipated EarthCARE mission on May 27, 2024, set to improve climate models and weather forecasts by studying Earth’s radiation budget in new detail.
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Sierra Space’s first Dream Chaser spaceplane, Tenacity, arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on May 20th, 2024, entering the next phase of development as the company proceeds towards flight.
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NASA has enlisted the help of commercial partners to respond to two fronts in exploration, aiming to remove some of the technical and financial burden on the agency, so that larger and more ambitious goals can be accomplished in the next 15 to 20 years.
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On May 6th, 2024, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is set to fly for the third time, this time carrying its most important cargo to date: a human crew. Flown by veteran NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, this mission intends to fully certify the vehicle for human flight.
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With testing already underway ahead of Starship’s fourth Integrated Flight Test (IFT), and several more flight tests planned in 2024, one may ask how quickly the dream will become reality. The answer, however, as many things are regarding spaceflight, is complicated and prone to delays.
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It seems that Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane, Tenacity, may be waiting a bit longer to fly, as indicated by Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice.
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On April 9th, 2024 at 12:53 PM EST- the final rocket of the Delta family lifted off from SLC-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, ending a career and lineage with roots as far back as the dawn of the space program.
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On Wednesday, April 3rd, NASA announced the three teams of commercial companies that will develop concepts for the Lunar Terrain Vehicle, an unpressurized rover which will provide mobility for astronauts as part of NASA’s Artemis program.
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US-New Zealand based company Rocket Lab is preparing for their next mission to fly out of Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia: a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office on March 21, 2024.
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On Thursday, March 14th, SpaceX completed the third Integrated Flight Test (IFT-3) of its Starship launch vehicle. Notably, IFT-3 successfully achieved the first complete ascent of the combined Starship and Super Heavy system.
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SpaceX has begun the final prep work for a third flight of their Starship heavy lift reusable launch vehicle, with March 14 as the currently projected liftoff date, pending approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
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NASA’s next crew to depart for the International Space Station, Crew-8, are nearly ready for launch, set to embark on a voyage of scientific discovery onboard the orbiting laboratory for the benefit of all on Earth.
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On Thursday, February 22nd, Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander Odysseus successfully touched down on the Moon, achieving the “ultimate milestone” for the IM-1 mission and marking the first major victory for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
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On February 15th, at 1:05 AM Eastern Time, Intuitive Machine’s NOVA-C, Odysseus, lifted off in support of the IM-1 mission – with the aim of becoming the first American spacecraft to make it to the lunar surface in over 50 years.
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After nearly nine years of planning, preparation, and even once being slated for cancellation entirely, NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Earth-observation mission lifted off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on February 8, at 1:33:36 AM.
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Intuitive Machines is targeting February 14th for the launch of IM-1, the first flight of its NOVA-C robotic moon lander as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
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Starlab Space, a joint venture of Voyager Space and Airbus Space and Defense, announced Jan. 31 it reached an agreement with SpaceX to launch the consortium’s Starlab space station on the currently under development Starship system.
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On January 30th, at 12:07:15 PM Eastern Time, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lofted the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft as part of the NG-20 mission in a historic first for both Commercial Cargo providers.
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AS NG-20 prepares to fly, Space Scout’s Scarlet Dominik takes a closer look at the current state of the launch industry, and analyzes how a monopoly on launch may be something to avoid.
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Final preparations are underway for the launch of Northrop Grumman’s 20th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (NG-20), currently set to launch on January 29th 2024.
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Amidst schedule delays and uncertainties surrounding the return to flight of the Vega launch vehicle, the European Space Agency and European Commission are considering the purchase of an American Falcon 9 rocket to launch their Sentinel-1C climate satellite, with a decision expected in the coming days or weeks.
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Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere on January 18th, 2024, ending its mission after a 10 day, tumultuous journey through cislunar space.
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On January 18th, 2024 at 4:49 PM, SpaceX and Axiom Space launched their third mission to the International Space Station,
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SpaceX and Axiom Space are targeting January 18th, 2024 at 4:49 PM for the launch of their third mission to the International Space Station, Ax-3, carrying a historic all-European crew on a 14-day mission.
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Set for release on January 22nd, these highly-anticipated documents will provide key insights into NASA’s overarching Moon to Mars exploration strategy, including new details in its vision for sending humans to Mars.
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While the Commercial Crew Program seems fairly straightforward, it has already had huge implications on the immediate future of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and beyond.
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On January 8th, 2024, at 2:18:34 AM, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket flew for the first time, carrying the Astrobotic Peregrine Lunar Lander towards the Moon.
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On Friday, January 5, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket rolled to the pad for the first time, ahead of its first flight scheduled for January 8, 2024.
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After considerable delay, USSF-52/OTV-7 has gotten underway, lifting off at 8:07 PM on Thursday, December 28th atop a Falcon Heavy.
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After several delays due to uncooperative weather, Firefly’s Alpha launch vehicle has flown for the fourth time as part of the Fly the Lightning mission. However, an anomaly has resulted in the orbit for the Tantrum satellite being lower than planned.
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At the National Space Council meeting on December 20, 2023, Vice President Kamala Harris and her advisors announced that the Artemis Program will land an international astronaut on the moon “before the end of the decade.”
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After over a year of waiting, New Shepard has returned to flight. Following a scrubbed launch on the 18th, New Shepard cleared the tower flying the NS-24 mission on December 19th at 10:43 AM.
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Sierra Space has entered the final test and checkout campaign for their Dream Chaser spaceplane; delivering the first flight article, Tenacity, to NASA’s Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio.
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After completion of a successful Wet Dress Rehearsal this week, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket is one step closer to its debut – entering a new chapter of American rocketry for both military and civilian space launch.
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2024 is shaping up to be a year of triumphant lunar return, with several missions planned to welcome in a new age of international exploration of Earth’s nearest neighbor.
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On November 30th, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report detailing the various challenges remaining for SpaceX, Axiom, and NASA as they work towards the first Moon landing in more than 50 years as part of the Artemis III mission.
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Space Scout lead photographer David Diebold reflects on his experience travelling to cover SpaceX’s second Integrated Test Flight of Starship
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Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket is once again looking towards the skies, poised to return to flight no earlier than November 28th following a mission failure and loss of payload on September 19th.
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On the 6th of October, 2023, United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket lifted off from SLC-41 carrying Amazon’s first two prototype Kuiper internet satellites. This marks the beginning of a new internet age…
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After weeks of reshuffling, NASA and SpaceX’s CRS-29 mission lifted off from Historic Launch Complex 39A for the International Space
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A next generation optical communications system known as ILLUMA-T is ready for flight onboard the CRS-29 mission to the International Space Station.
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At NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, work on NASA’s next lunar explorer has begun. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is now in assembly ahead of its projected launch in 2024 onboard a Falcon Heavy.
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Blue Origin has unveiled their latest, full size mockup of their Blue Moon MK1 Cargo lander at their Huntsville facility, showcasing an updated design of their uncrewed cargo vehicle.
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As NASA prepares to go back to the moon, the CLPS program stands on a dangerous fulcrum – will program structure help or hurt our lunar return?
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Blue Origin’s spaceflight plans have continued to grow, and the latest addition looks to position itself as a “Space Truck”. This dedicated space tug, known as Blue Ring, will be used for a multitude of tasks in Cislunar space.
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On Friday the 13th, 2023 SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy beat the odds and
lifted off carrying NASA’s Psyche spacecraft on a two billion mile trek to the asteroid of its namesake.
With a rumble that has become routine, Falcon 9 lifted off on September 3rd, 2023 with Starlink 6-12, setting SpaceX’s new record for their number of launches in a given year.
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Rocket Lab has suffered a fourth failure of their Electron small launch vehicle this morning while carrying Capella Space’s Acadia-1 synthetic aperture radar satellite.
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SpaceX and the Space Development Agency (SDA) are gearing up to launch their next batch of satellites as part of their Tranche program.
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On August 27th, 2023 at 9:16 AM Eastern Standard Time, Crew Dragon Endurance docked to the Zenith port of the Harmony Module of the International Space Station.
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Six years into the future and 177 years after its discovery, the massive asteroid 16 Psyche will receive its first visitor from Earth.
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As SpaceX’s Crew – 7 gears up for launch in August, 2023 – the crew of the sixth rotation mission to the International Space Station are wrapping up a record setting, history-making long duration segment.
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Rocket Lab is currently gearing up for its inaugural launch from the United States this weekend.
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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission is set to lift off on Tuesday, October 5 at 12:00 p.m. EDT, carrying a crew of four aboard Crew Dragon Endurance.
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On April 8th, Axiom-1, the first all-private crew will launch to the International Space Station.
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Views of the launch of Transporter-3, carrying 105 satellites to a polar orbit on January 13, 2022.
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NOV. 14, 2022—ABL Space Systems plans to launch its RS1 rocket as soon as November 14- the first of at least 78 flights on contract.
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Astra has filed with the FCC ahead of a first-time launch from KSC’s Launch Complex 48.
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JULY 17, 2021–A Shortfall of Gravitas, a new, modernized drone-ship, joins the SpaceX fleet.
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Crew-2 is set to liftoff April 23 at 5:49 a.m. ET – here’s everything you need to know, including full detailed timelines of the mission.
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MAR. 1, 2021–Rocket Lab announces a SPAC merger valued at $4.1 billion, and a new, reusable launch vehicle capable of lifting 8 tons.
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JAN. 23, 2021–SpaceX is set to launch a mission carrying over 140 satellites. We tracked 142 out of 143.
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JAN. 12, 2020–SpaceX successfully undocked the CRS-21 Dragon resupply vehicle from the ISS this morning, ahead of splashdown in just over a day.
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DEC. 12, 2020–Virgin Galactic’s first suborbital, crewed flight out of Spaceport America didn’t go as planned this morning and was forced to glide home.
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DEC. 11, 2020–Two days ago, SpaceX’s massive SN8 prototype completed a successful test – by blowing up on the landing pad.
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DEC. 7, 2020–SpaceX is preparing for its first high-altitude Starship flight – a 12.5km test using “SN8”, a prototype Starship test vehicle.
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NOV. 20, 2020–Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is launching from Vandenberg in just 12 hours. If “launching from Vandenberg” isn’t a phrase you’ve heard lately – we don’t blame you.
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NOV. 20, 2020– With just twelve hours to go to the launch of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, here’s everything you need to know to watch the first Vandenberg launch in over a year and a half.
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NOV. 14, 2020–With just a day and a half to go before the first operational Commercial Crew mission, we’ve compiled some information as a guide to help you get the best experience out of Crew-1.
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Dragon capsule Endeavour and its two-man crew, Bob Behnken, and Doug Hurley, prepare to come home after over two months in space.
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JUNE 25, 2020–Relativity Space has announced that they will be constructing a new launch site at Vandenberg AFB, along with a contract from Iridium to launch six spare satellites on an as-needed basis.
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JUNE 2, 2020– SpaceX’s Starship development program in South Texas seemed to be right on track until it met a swift (and explosive) halt last Friday.
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JUNE 2, 2020– Rocket Lab has announced a return to flight of the Electron rocket with a new launch date of Don’t Stop Me Now, Electron’s 12th flight. Electron, will now launch on June 11, 2020.
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MAY 14, 2020–Firefly Aerospace, a small-sat startup from Austin TX, has earned their AS9100 certification.
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