Launches & Spacecraft
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Old Soviet Kosmos 482 Venus lander's fall to Earth will be no ordinary space junk crash. Here's why
By Mike Wall published
The Soviet Union's failed Kosmos 482 Venus probe will fall back to Earth from orbit soon, and it may well make it to the ground in one piece.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 28 Starlink satellites to orbit from Florida (video, photos)
By Josh Dinner published
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida's Space Coast on Tuesday night (May 6), carrying 28 Starlink broadband satellites into low Earth orbit.

'Right now, we are in what has to be a Golden Age of asteroid exploration.' Scientists celebrate NASA's latest space rock flyby
By Leonard David published
Asteroid experts are pondering the scientific output from the NASA Lucy spacecraft after it shot by its celestial destination, the main belt asteroid named Donaldjohanson.

'Falcon' flies on Star Wars Day: SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from Florida
By Robert Z. Pearlman published
Living up to its Star Wars' namesake, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took flight again, delivering 29 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit on Sunday, May 4th, 2025 — Star Wars Day.

SpaceX fires up Starship spacecraft ahead of 9th test flight (photo)
By Mike Wall published
SpaceX conducted a static fire test of a Starship upper-stage vehicle this week, continuing to gear up for the megarocket's ninth test flight.

New images of Soviet Venus lander falling to Earth suggest its parachute may be out
By Leonard David published
The soon-to-reenter Soviet Cosmos 482 Venus probe is getting increased attention by satellite trackers – and new imagery provides some interesting details.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 28 Starlink satellites to orbit from Florida (photos)
By Josh Dinner published
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida's Space Coast on Thursday night (May 1), carrying 28 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit.

FAA grounds Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket until failure investigation is complete
By Mike Wall published
The Federal Aviation Administration is grounding Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket until the company completes an investigation into the vehicle's April 29 launch failure.

See photos snapped in space by Europe's 1st private reentry capsule
By Mike Wall published
A European reentry capsule notched some important milestones on its first-ever spaceflight last week — and took some photos to commemorate the trip.

Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket fails during launch, falls into the sea near Antarctica
By Mike Wall published
Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket suffered an anomaly during its sixth-ever launch today (April 29), resulting in the loss of its payload, a Lockheed Martin technology demonstration.
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