spaceflight
Latest
ESA’s new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, is poised to launch for the first time on Tuesday
Ariane 6, the European Space Agency’s next-gen heavy-lift rocket, is expected to take its inaugural flight on July 9, ending a yearlong gap in Europe’s ability to access space on its own.
Cheyenne MacDonald07.07.2024
NASA and Boeing say Starliner astronauts ‘are not stranded,’ but will be on the ISS for a few more weeks
NASA and Boeing plan to spend the next few weeks conducting tests on the ground in order to better understand issues with the Starliner spacecraft’s thrusters before giving its crew the go-ahead to fly back to Earth, officials said in a press conference Friday.
Cheyenne MacDonald06.29.2024
This is what it looks like to reenter Earth’s atmosphere from a space capsule’s POV
Varda Space Industries has shared incredible footage captured by a camera on its W-1 capsule during its reentry through Earth's atmosphere on February 21.
Cheyenne MacDonald03.02.2024
Intuitive Machines’ moon lander sent home its first images and they’re breathtaking
Intuitive Machines has shared the first images transmitted by its lander, Odyseus, from space as it makes its way toward the moon. The pictures show a look at Earth and the Falcon 9 second stage falling away after separation.
Cheyenne MacDonald02.17.2024
Peregrine Mission 1 heralds the beginning of the moon’s commercialization
Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander is scheduled to launch on January 8 atop United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan Centaur rocket. The mission is the first of those contracted under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
Cheyenne MacDonald01.07.2024
SpaceX dominated private spaceflight in 2023, but its competitors (mostly) aren't quitting
In 2023, there were at least 200 successful orbital launches, and nearly half of them were conducted by SpaceX. Private space companies have been ramping up their activities as they compete to serve as launch providers and facilitate space tourism. But it wasn't a milestone year for all.
Cheyenne MacDonald12.21.2023
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket will return to flight tomorrow after over a year grounded
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has announced its return to flight with the New Shepard rocket, targeting Monday December 18 at 9:30AM ET for liftoff. New Shepard was grounded for over a year after a failure on September 2022 during an uncrewed mission.
Cheyenne MacDonald12.17.2023
Virgin Galactic's first private passenger spaceflight will launch as soon as August 10th
Virgin Galactic's first spaceflight with private passengers is now slated to launch as soon as August 10th.
Jon Fingas07.17.2023
Blue Origin is investigating why a rocket engine exploded during testing
Blue Origin says a rocket engine exploded during testing last month.
Jon Fingas07.11.2023
Virgin Galactic completes its first commercial spaceflight
After building to this point for 10 years, Virgin Galactic has successfully completed its first commercial flight.
Steve Dent06.29.2023
Watch the launch of Virgin Galactic's first commercial spaceflight
After years of testing and delays, Virgin Galactic's first commercial spaceflight is finally taking off — today, if the company's plan goes as intended.
Mariella Moon06.29.2023
Virgin Galactic will start commercial spaceflight on June 29th
Virgin Galactic will start commercial spaceflight service as soon as June 27th.
Jon Fingas06.26.2023
Virgin Galactic completes its final VSS Unity flight test before space tourism debut
Virgin Galactic has completed the last VSS Unity test before it starts space tourism service.
Jon Fingas05.25.2023
Virgin Galactic's final VSS Unity flight test is slated for May 25th
Virgin Galactic's last flight test before paid service is now set for May 25th.
Jon Fingas05.17.2023
Watch Japan's ispace try to land on the Moon today at 12:40PM ET
A Japanese company could be the first private outfit to land on the Moon — you can watch the attempt live.
Jon Fingas04.25.2023
SpaceX's Starship completed its first fully integrated launch before exploding
SpaceX's Starship rocket has completed its first fully integrated flight test, but it didn't reach orbit.
Jon Fingas04.20.2023
Blue Origin pins last summer's NS-23 rocket failure on a faulty engine nozzle
Blue Origin says a flawed engine nozzle brought down a rocket last September.
Jon Fingas03.24.2023
SpaceX's first attempt to fire all 33 Starship engines at once ends with mixed results
SpaceX has successfully fired all 33 of Starship's engines in a test.
Mariella Moon02.09.2023
Russia will send a 'rescue' spacecraft to the ISS following leak
Russia is rushing a Soyuz capsule to the ISS to replace a damaged one.
Jon Fingas01.12.2023
NASA is funding ideas for a Titan seaplane and faster deep space travel
NASA is backing studies into new technologies that include a seaplane that could explore Titan.
Jon Fingas01.10.2023