Launches & Spacecraft

Rocket Lab successfully launched a sharp-eyed Earth-observing radar satellite for the Japanese company Synspective today (Aug. 2).

SpaceX launched 23 more of its Starlink satellites to orbit early Friday (Aug. 2), continuing the company's bounceback from a July 11 failure.

United Launch Alliance's venerable Atlas V rocket flew its final national security mission early Tuesday (July 30).

SpaceX launched two Starlink satellite missions less than five hours apart in the early hours of Sunday morning (July 28).

SpaceX launched 23 of its Starlink broadband satellites early Saturday morning (July 27), on the company's first mission since a July 11 failure.

SpaceX has fixed the problem that caused its Falcon 9 rocket to fail during a July 11 launch, according to the company, which is eyeing a July 27 return to flight.

China has test-fired a new engine for its planned Long March 10 rocket, which is designed to take astronauts to the moon.

SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 is one of the most reliable and prolific rockets ever flown. But it's not invulnerable, as we saw earlier this month.

A fire at the launch pad shortly after an engine test "caused irrecoverable damage" to ABL Space Systems' second RS1 rocket, the company announced on Monday (July 22).

Learn more about rockets while having a blast with these fun NASA experiments.