Launch

A first-of-a-kind NASA launch took place over the weekend, setting the agency's Lucy spacecraft on a pioneering path toward Jupiter to study an unprecedented number of asteroids as part of a single mission.

The Inspiration4 mission has lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission differs from any previous crewed mission in that it is the first conducted entirely as a private venture.

NASA has finally set a date for the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). If all goes to plan, the long-awaited flagship mission will blast into orbit on December 18, 2021, from French Guiana onboard an Ariane 5 rocket.

The ISS is about to receive its third robotic arm, which will be capable of "walking" around the Russian segment of the orbital outpost all by itself. It will do so hand-over-hand thanks to the flexibility afforded by its seven motorized joints.

The US Space Force has launched a tactical satellite developed in only four months with only 21 days notice, demonstrating the ability to adapt and respond to changes in space or on the ground by quickly adding or replacing assets in orbit.

Startup Rocket Lab has suffered a setback during the 20th outing of its Electron booster, with the rocket experiencing an issue in flight and losing its payload along the way. The mission wasn't a complete failure, however.

NASA has announced that it will be using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the first elements of its future Moon-orbiting space station. The initial outpost modules are currently expected to launch no earlier than May 2024.

SpaceX's has set a new record for the most spacecraft launched by a single rocket at one time, deploying 143 CubeSats and microsats, including another 10 Starlink communication satellites, during the first of its SmallSat Rideshare Program missions.

It was the second time's a charm as Virgin Orbit's airdropped LauncherOne rocket put 10 NASA payloads into orbit on the second attempt in less than eight months, sending 10 NASA CubeSat payloads into low-Earth orbit under the Launch Services Program.

Virgin Orbit is preparing its pilots, Cosmic Girl mothership and LauncherOne rocket for a second attempt at orbital flight, today announcing that its Launch Demo 2 mission will take place a week before Christmas.

A booster failure in early July threatened to derail Rocket Lab's momentum, but the company appears to have taken the setback in its stride with a successful return to the launchpad today that saw it deliver a 100-kg satellite into orbit.

SpaceX’s rocket landings have now become so routine that it’s easy to forget such a thing had never been accomplished five years ago. Today, it sent up and welcomed back the same refurbished Falcon 9 rocket for a record sixth time.