SpaceX wants to start flying its Starship megarocket a lot more often. The company has requested permission to launch Starship from its Starbase site in South Texas up to 456 times per year. That’s a big jump from the currently allowed cadence of 25. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is in the early stages…
Methanol, coming as part of the ‘chemical starter kit’ around young stars, has produced some unexpected surprises that could ultimately reveal some of the conditions in which planets and potentially life form around protostars. The methanol discoveries were made by astronomers using ALMA (the Atacama Large millimeter/submillimeter Array) in the Atacama Desert in Chile, as…
Light pollution is the astronomer’s biggest enemy, especially if you’re gazing into deep space. And while some of the best telescopes can make a difference, there’s no way to eliminate it. That’s why, if you want to observe the cosmos without obstruction, you need to seek out darker skies, get a smart telescope or combine…
A new image from the Mars Express spacecraft reveals windblown ridges known as yardangs, seen here as wrinkled sections on the left and right sides of the image. (Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin) A new image from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft reveals the powerful erosive forces that have shaped and re-shaped the surface…
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, seen in the company’s Kennedy Space Center hangar in July. Image: Boeing NASA is working with Boeing to launch an unpiloted Starliner capsule in the December-January time frame to test upgrades and improvements ordered in the wake of a 2024 mission that suffered multiple propulsion system failures, stranding two astronauts on the…
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, named Grace, sits atop a Falcon 9 rocket at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It will launch NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update: The Crew 13 mission lifted off on time. A full report will be posted soon. SpaceX…
A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready for launch from Vandenberg in this file photo. Image: SpaceX. An artificial intelligence prototype from Google, a methane-tracker, pharmaceutical manufacturing labs, and more are hitching a ride onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flying from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Thursday afternoon. The Transporter-18 mission is SpaceX second launch…
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 on Oct. 1, 2026. Image: John Pisani/Spaceflight Now A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off on a flight to the International Space Station Thursday carrying two NASA astronauts, a cosmonaut and a…
SpaceX launches the NROL-97 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office on Oct. 1, 2026. This was the first NRO payload to fly onboard a Falcon Heavy rocket. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update Oct. 1, 12:21 a.m. EDT (0421 UTC): SpaceX landed its two side boosters. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launched from Florida Thursday night…
SpaceX scrubbed its launch attempt of the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer A mission on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. Image: SpaceX via livestream Update Oct. 7, 10 p.m. EDT (0200 UTC): SpaceX is targeting launch no earlier than Saturday, Oct. 10. Update Oct. 5, 8:48 p.m. EDT (0048 UTC): SpaceX is foregoing its…