Spaceflight - News About Space Travel and Exploration

A Rocket Lab Electron booster carrying satellites for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, NASA and more stands atop Launch Complex 1 at Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand ahead of the "Don't Stop Me Now" mission launching on June 11, 2020.

Rocket Lab to launch satellites for US spysat agency and NASA Saturday. Here's how to watch.

By Tariq Malik

The small-satellite launch company Rocket Lab will loft a mini-fleet of payloads for NASA, a U.S. spy satellite agency and universities early Saturday (June 13) and you can watch it live online.

Boeing software engineer Connie Miller tries out a Varjo virtual reality headset, which astronauts that ride on Boeing's Starliner capsule will use to train for their missions.

Virtual reality will be a big part of Boeing's Starliner astronaut training

By Mike Wall

Astronauts will get some next-gen training before they ride Boeing's next-gen spacecraft.

NFL player Chris Peace completing a short internship at NASA's Johnson Space Center in February, 2020.

NASA recruits NFL football players for space-y internships (video)

By Chelsea Gohd

Ten NFL players are officially part of the NASA family after completing internships at the space agency.

An image from the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory shows streaks left by Starlink satellites.

Astronomers and SpaceX coming together to make Starlink megaconstellation less disruptive to science

By Meghan Bartels

Astronomers are praising SpaceX's response to months of outcry over the visibility of the company's Starlink internet satellites from scientists dismayed by interference with observations.

NASA astronaut Doug Hurley gives a thumbs up as he and his Demo-2 crewmate Bob Behnken sit inside the capsule ahead of their second launch attempt on May 30, 2020.

New SpaceX spacesuits get five-star rating from NASA astronauts

By Elizabeth Howell

The movie-star look to SpaceX's new spacesuits is just one of the innovative features the Crew Dragon astronauts enjoyed during the Demo-2 test flight to the International Space Station.

STEREO-A's view of the inner solar system between May 25 and June 1, 2020. Comet ATLAS streaks down across the screen as the planet Mercury enters at the left of the frame; meanwhile, the solar wind blows out from the sun on the left.

NASA sun observatory spies Comet Atlas in the solar wind. (Mercury, too!)

By Meghan Bartels

You'll need a minute to take it all in, there's a lot going on in this stunning view of the inner solar system, including a comet, Mercury and some solar weather.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, on May 30, 2020, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The most amazing photos of SpaceX's historic 1st astronaut launch for NASA

By Elizabeth Howell

Here are some of the most iconic shots of the historic SpaceX Crew Dragon launch and mission.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover explains why sometimes we can't just stick to space

By Meghan Bartels

As Americans took to the streets in protest and NASA astronauts took to the skies on a commercial spacecraft, some space fans had a question: "Can't we just do space?"

A SkySat satellite operated by San Francisco-based company Planet captured this image of the "Black Lives Matter" message painted on 16th Street in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2020. The White House is at right, and Lafayette Square is in the center.

Satellite sees 'Black Lives Matter' message from space (photo)

By Mike Wall

The White House is also in the scene.

An artist's depiction of NASA's Parker Solar Probe at work observing the sun.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe flies by the sun in 5th close encounter

By Meghan Bartels

NASA's daring Parker Solar Probe made its fifth daring flyby of the sun this weekend.

A Chinese Long March 2D rocket launches the Gaofen-9 satellite to Earth orbit on May 31, 2020.

China launches 2 rockets in 2 days, lofting 4 satellites to orbit

By Elizabeth Howell

While NASA and SpaceX were busy supporting the historic Demo-2 mission last weekend, the Chinese were making space strides of their own.

Artist's concept of the Gateway power and propulsion and Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) in orbit around the moon.

Northrop Grumman snags $187 million to design NASA's lunar Gateway habitat for astronauts

By Mike Wall

NASA has awarded Northrop Grumman $187 million to design the habitat module for Gateway, the agency's planned moon-orbiting space station.

Here's what scientists heard when Mercury-bound BepiColombo flew past Earth

By Gemma Lavender

BepiColombo captured five eerie recordings as it whizzed past Earth at a speed of 2.159 miles (3.474 kilometers) per second.

President Donald Trump (right), Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence watch the Demo-2 launch from the balcony of Operations Support Building II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on May 30, 2020.

Trump's 'Make Space Great Again' ad was like nothing we've ever seen

By Mike Wall

President Donald Trump's "Make Space Great Again" ad blazed new ground during its very brief life.

The new SpaceX Crew Dragon pictorial postmark offered through the Nassau Bay Post Office in Houston, Texas celebrates the first and future crewed dockings by the U.S. commercial spacecraft at the International Space Station.

SpaceX Crew Dragon docking depicted on new Houston postmark

By Robert Z. Pearlman

SpaceX's Crew Dragon has arrived at the International Space Station, both in orbit and on a new postmark.

President Donald Trump speaks inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after SpaceX's successful astronaut launch on May 30, 2020.

Trump campaign pulls 'Make Space Great Again' video that may have violated NASA regulations

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA was unaware of the video before its release on June 3.

NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft commander Doug Hurley, flanked by his crewmate Bob Behnken and Expedition 63 commander Chris Cassidy, displays the U.S. flag "captured" by SpaceX as the first U.S. company to launch astronauts to the space station, on Monday, June 1, 2020.

Astronauts 'capture the flag' for SpaceX in race to reach space station

By Robert Z. Pearlman

SpaceX has won NASA's "capture the flag" contest for commercial space companies racing to be the first to launch astronauts to the International Space Station.

SpaceX's debut Falcon 9 rocket soars into space on its maiden flight during a June 4, 2010 test launch.

Happy birthday, Falcon 9! SpaceX's workhorse rocket debuted 10 years ago today

By Mike Wall

SpaceX's famous Falcon 9 rocket has now been flying for a decade.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 60 Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 3, 2020.

SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites and lands rocket in dazzling nighttime liftoff

By Amy Thompson

SpaceX successfully launched a new batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit today (June 3) and nailed a rocket landing at sea to top off the mission.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket seen here, carrying the Iridium-8 mission in 2019, will launch on its fifth flight to carry 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on June 3, 2020.

SpaceX to launch 60 Starlink satellites for megaconstellation tonight. Here's how to watch.

By Tariq Malik

SpaceX will launch its next batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit tonight (June 3) after two weeks of weather delays and the company's historic first astronaut flight.