Spaceflight - News About Space Travel and Exploration

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft returned to the factory Aug. 19, 2021 to fix some stuck valves ahead of its OFT-2 test flight for NASA later this year.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is back in the factory to fix stuck valves

By Elizabeth Howell

There's no new launch date yet for Orbital Flight Test 2.

CAPSTONE will be the first cubesat to fly in Earth-moon space, settling into a near rectilinear halo orbit around the moon.

CAPSTONE, a small cubesat bound for the moon, is preparing for an October launch

By Leonard David

NASA's plan to "reboot" human exploration of the moon will get kick-started soon by a spacecraft the size of a microwave oven.

You can now pledge for your own museum-quality, full-scale replica of the Apollo command module control panel to hang on your home or office wall.

Hollywood artists offer full-scale replica of Apollo spacecraft controls

By Robert Z. Pearlman

A team of Hollywood prop and visual artists are offering replicas of the Apollo command module control panel.

After its June 30, 2021 launch, SpaceX paused Starlink liftoffs to add lasers to the satellites. In this photo, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Florida on Feb. 15, 2021, during a successful Starlink launch.

SpaceX paused Starlink launches to give its internet satellites lasers

By Chelsea Gohd

SpaceX hasn't launched any Starlink internet satellites since June. It turns out it's because the company has been adding "lasers."

Artist's illustration of ispace's Series 2 robotic lander on the surface of the moon.

Japanese company ispace unveils new, bigger moon lander

By Mike Wall

Tokyo-based ispace unveiled its next-generation "Series 2" robotic moon lander Tuesday (Aug. 24) at the 36th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.

Bezos shows the aviation glasses that once belonged to Amelia Earhart, which he took with him during the flight, at the post-flight press conference.

Why Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin gets so much hate

By Chelsea Gohd

These days, it feels as though billionaire-backed space companies are launching off Earth all the time. So why does Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin seem to be in the hot seat?

A Chinese Long March 4B carrying two Tianhui-2 radar-mapping satellites.lifts off from Tiayuan on Aug. 19, 2021 local time to deliver the twin satellites into orbit.

China launches twin radar satellites for 3D mapping

By Andrew Jones

China conducted its 29th orbital launch of a busy year to boost the country’s remote sensing and satellite mapping capabilities.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson addresses the crowd Aug. 24, 2021 at the 36th annual Space Symposium.

NASA chief Bill Nelson optimistic about Artemis moon landing goals amid big delays

By Chelsea Gohd

NASA has no plans of backing down from its moon landing goal despite recent obstacles, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said today (Aug. 24) at the 36th annual Space Symposium.

SpaceX's first orbital Starship SN20 is stacked atop its massive Super Heavy Booster 4 for the first time on Aug. 6, 2021 at the company's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas. They stood 395 feet tall, taller than NASA's Saturn V moon rocket.

Elon Musk says SpaceX could launch a Starship to the moon 'probably sooner' than 2024: report

By Elizabeth Howell

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says he may be able to launch the company's new Starship to the moon for NASA "probably sooner" than the agency's 2024 target

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei does a spacesuit fit check to prepare for an upcoming spacewalk at the International Space Station.

Astronaut says pinched nerve is why NASA called off space station spacewalk

By Hanneke Weitering

"Today just wasn't the right day," NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei tweeted after a minor medical issue postponed his spacewalk.

3D illustration of Tiangong, the Chinese space station, orbiting Earth, with Earth in the background.

China's Tiangong space station

By Andrew Jones

Tiangong will be much larger than the Tiangong 1 and 2 space labs, but still much smaller than the ISS.

Virgin Orbit's carrier aircraft Cosmic Girl takes off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California with the LauncherOne rocket underwing for the company's "Tubular Bells: Part 1" mission on June 30, 2021.

Small-satellite launch company Virgin Orbit is going public

By Mike Wall

Small-satellite launch outfit Virgin Orbit, part of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, announced on Monday (Aug. 23) that it plans to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital vehicle launches on an uncrewed mission in December 2019. The company's next New Shepard flight is targeted for Aug. 26, 2021.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin targeting Aug. 26 for next spaceflight

By Mike Wall

Blue Origin is targeting Aug. 26 for the next flight of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle.

An illustration of the planned spaceport in Sutherland, Scotland, that will be used for vertically launched rockets.

Scottish court rejects billionaire's challenge against UK spaceport

By Tereza Pultarova

A Scottish court has thrown out objections of a billionaire landowner against a planning permission granted to an operator of a prospective spaceport in the north of Scotland.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei on a spacewalk outside the International Space Station in 2017.

Astronaut medical issue forces NASA to call off spacewalk at space station

By Tariq Malik

NASA has called off a spacewalk outside the International Space Station this week due a medical issue with one of the astronauts due to join the excursion.

A microwave-powered rocket? Drone project suggests it may be possible

By Scott Dutfield

Scientists have demonstrated that beamed microwaves can be converted to electricity to power drones.

Arianespace Soyuz rocket launches 34 OneWeb internet satellites into space

By Mike Wall

Arianespace launched dozens of internet satellites for the communications company OneWeb this evening (Aug. 21).

SpaceX's Starship SN8 prototype explodes during a crash landing after a 6-minute, 42-second test flight from its Boca Chica, Texas test site on Dec. 9, 2020..

Every SpaceX Starship explosion and what Elon Musk and team learned from them (video)

By Elizabeth Howell

Watch Space.com's video of every SpaceX Starship explosion and see what Elon Musk and team learned from them.

A Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket fires up its first stage in a 15-second static-fire test on a Vandenberg Space Force Base launchpad on Aug. 18, 2021.

Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket aces static fire test on California launchpad (video)

By Elizabeth Howell

Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket is one step closer to spaceflight.

SpaceX's CRS-22 Dragon cargo ship launches NASA supplies to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 2, 2021. A different Dragon will launch the CRS-23 mission on Aug. 28.

SpaceX will launch a Dragon cargo ship for NASA on Aug. 28. Here's how to follow it online.

By Elizabeth Howell

The next SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to visit the International Space Station will launch next Saturday (Aug. 28), and if you're an early-bird you can watch it all online.