Space FrontPage

Article by Dhanushka Nilanga

Blue Origin encountered a setback in its push to scale up launch operations after its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket experienced a second-stage malfunction during its third flight on April 19, leaving its payload in an unintended orbit. The NG-3 mission lifted off at 7:25 a.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, following a brief hold in the countdown due to an unspecified technical issue. While the launch and ascent initially proceeded as planned, problems emerged during the upper stage phase of the mission.

Blue Origin inched closer to another major milestone in its heavy-lift ambitions Thursday morning as its powerful New Glenn rocket completed a crucial engine test at its Florida launch site. Just after sunrise, at 7:45 a.m. EDT (1145 UTC), all seven BE-4 engines on the rocket’s first stage ignited in a coordinated static fire that lasted roughly 20 seconds. The dramatic test marked a key pre-launch demonstration, with engineers now set to analyze performance data before clearing the vehicle for flight. If all systems check out, the rocket could lift off as early as Sunday, April 19, carrying AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird-7 satellite.

SpaceX has taken a significant step toward launching the next generation of its Starship megarocket, successfully completing a full-duration static-fire test of the upgraded “Version 3” upper stage. The test, conducted on the evening of April 14, saw the Starship V3 upper stage ignite its engines while secured to the launch pad—an essential preflight procedure used to validate performance and systems ahead of liftoff. In a brief statement posted on X, SpaceX confirmed the achievement, noting it was the first full-duration static fire for the new variant.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched early Saturday morning from Florida, delivering a heavily loaded cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS) and continuing a vital supply line to astronauts in orbit. Liftoff occurred at 7:41 a.m. EDT (1141 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station under clear skies and favorable conditions. The rocket carried Northrop Grumman’s upgraded Cygnus XL resupply spacecraft, marking the NG-24 mission—the company’s 24th commercial resupply flight to the ISS under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Florida early Saturday morning, sending a heavily loaded cargo spacecraft toward the International Space Station before executing a flawless booster landing just minutes later.  The rocket lifted off at 7:41 a.m. EDT (1141 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying Northrop Grumman’s upgraded Cygnus XL resupply freighter on a critical supply mission known as NG-24. The launch marked the 24th commercial resupply mission by Northrop Grumman to support NASA’s orbiting laboratory.

The first humans to journey toward the Moon in more than half a century have safely returned to Earth, marking a major milestone for NASA’s ambitious Artemis program. The four-member crew of the Artemis II test flight splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California at 5:07 p.m. PDT on Friday, concluding a nearly 10-day deep-space mission. The crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history. At their most distant point, they reached 252,756 miles (406,000 kilometers) from Earth, surpassing the record set during Apollo 13.

The debut launch of the Tianlong-3 rocket, developed by Chinese commercial aerospace firm Space Pioneer, ended in failure early Friday after the vehicle encountered an anomaly during its ascent phase. The rocket lifted off at 12:17 a.m. Eastern (0417 UTC) on April 3 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, specifically from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone. Amateur videos circulating on Chinese social media appeared to show irregularities during the rocket’s climb shortly after liftoff.

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket successfully launched its heaviest-ever payload early Saturday morning, marking a significant milestone in the growing race to build global satellite internet networks. The Atlas V lifted off at 1:46 a.m. EDT (0546 GMT) on April 4 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Riding atop the rocket were 29 satellites destined for Amazon’s low Earth orbit broadband constellation, now known as Amazon Leo.

In a landmark moment for human spaceflight, NASA launched a four-person crew toward the Moon on Wednesday, marking the first crewed lunar mission since the end of the Apollo program more than five decades ago. Riding atop the most powerful operational rocket ever built, the astronauts embarked on a trailblazing journey designed to lay the groundwork for future lunar landings and the construction of a long-term American presence on the Moon.

NASA’s Artemis II mission roared off the pad yesterday, marking the first crewed journey toward the Moon in more than 50 years. From the moment the astronauts suited up to the fiery liftoff and the start of their 10‑day lunar loop, the launch delivered a historic return to deep‑space exploration. 

With the Artemis II launch just days away, NASA has unveiled an ambitious new strategy to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon, backed by a planned $20 billion investment over the next seven years.