Rocket launches, missions, satellites
27 stories
AST SpaceMobile successfully placed three satellites in orbit on June 17, 2026, a crucial milestone that silenced skeptics and gave its direct-to-device network a needed boost. The 6% stock rally reflects eased fears over Blue Origin's launch reliability and keeps the 2026 deployment target alive.
NASA is entering the final countdown for Artemis II, a historic mission scheduled for April 2026 that will send four astronauts on a lunar flyby. This mission serves as the critical bridge between the uncrewed Artemis I test and the eventual return of humans to the lunar surface.
Russia has successfully resumed operations at Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, conducting its first launch since the facility was damaged in a November accident. The restoration of the pad is a critical step for Roscosmos as it seeks to maintain its orbital launch cadence amid increasing international isolation.
NASA has returned the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to the launch pad after addressing technical issues and weather-related delays. This mission, the first crewed lunar flight in over 50 years, is now targeting an early April liftoff following a successful rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building.
NASA has successfully transported its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket back to Launch Pad 39B following critical repairs in the Vehicle Assembly Building. The move sets the stage for a high-stakes lunar mission window opening in early April, marking a pivotal moment for the Artemis program.
NASA has confirmed the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 2 mission will return to Launch Pad 39B on March 20. This move marks a critical transition from assembly to final pre-launch operations for the first crewed lunar mission in over half a century.
China successfully placed a new remote sensing satellite into orbit on March 16, 2026, marking another step in its aggressive expansion of space-based Earth observation capabilities. This mission, likely part of the Yaogan series, enhances Beijing's ability to monitor global maritime and land-based activities with high-resolution data.
SpaceX successfully executed two Falcon 9 launches within a 48-hour window from California and Florida, deploying two separate batches of Starlink satellites. These missions demonstrate the company's unmatched operational capacity to manage simultaneous orbital deliveries across both U.S. coasts.
NASA has officially set an April 2026 target for the Artemis II mission, marking the first time humans will return to the lunar vicinity since 1972. The mission will send a crew of four on a high-stakes flyby to validate the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft for future deep-space exploration.
NASA has officially confirmed an April 1, 2026, launch target for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the lunar vicinity since the Apollo era. This 10-day mission will carry four astronauts on a high-stakes flyby to test life-support systems and deep-space navigation capabilities.
Officials at Vandenberg Space Force Base project a massive surge in orbital operations, with launch frequency expected to triple by 2031. This expansion is driven by the rapid growth of commercial satellite constellations and critical national security requirements for polar orbit access.
NASA has officially cleared the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission, scheduled for April 2026. This decision follows a rigorous period of repairs and testing to address technical anomalies discovered during the mission's preparation phase.
NASA has issued a comprehensive status update for the Artemis II mission, confirming the flight readiness of the SLS rocket and Orion capsule. This mission will mark the first time humans have traveled to the lunar vicinity in over five decades, serving as a critical precursor to the Artemis III moon landing.
NASA has officially selected United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur 5 to support the Artemis lunar program, marking a critical expansion of the agency's heavy-lift capabilities. This decision reinforces the shift toward a multi-provider commercial model for deep-space logistics and infrastructure.
The third consecutive failure of Space One's Kairos rocket has left Japan without a domestic commercial launch capability, dealing a severe blow to the nation's 'New Space' strategy. This latest setback forces Japanese satellite operators to remain dependent on state-run programs or foreign providers like SpaceX and Rocket Lab.
Skyroot Aerospace is finalizing preparations for the inaugural orbital flight of its Vikram-1 rocket, scheduled for April 2026. This mission marks a critical transition for India’s space sector as it moves from government-led initiatives to a commercially competitive private launch market.
NASA has officially postponed the Artemis II crewed lunar mission to April 2026 after a malfunction was detected in the rocket's helium system. The Space Launch System (SLS) stack must be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs, marking a significant setback for the lunar program's timeline.
NASA has initiated the rollback of the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) from Launch Pad 39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building following the identification of technical issues requiring a controlled environment. This maneuver signals a potential shift in the launch window for the first crewed lunar mission in over half a century.
NASA has officially postponed the Artemis II crewed lunar flyby mission, the first human-crewed flight of the Space Launch System (SLS), due to newly identified repair requirements on the rocket. This latest setback pushes the mission's timeline further into the late 2020s, complicating the broader goal of returning humans to the lunar surface.
NASA has officially delayed its upcoming lunar mission by approximately 30 days, marking the latest in a series of setbacks for the Artemis program. The delay underscores the persistent technical and logistical challenges of returning humans to the lunar surface.
NASA is preparing to announce a further delay for the Artemis II crewed lunar flyby mission following the discovery of a helium flow malfunction at Kennedy Space Center. The technical setback threatens the 2026 launch window and creates a cascading effect on the broader Artemis lunar exploration timeline.
NASA has officially delayed its upcoming crewed mission to the Moon, citing a newly identified technical issue within the rocket system. This latest setback further complicates the timeline for the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.
NASA has officially targeted March 6 for the launch of Artemis II, the first crewed mission of the Artemis program. The mission will carry four astronauts on a high-speed lunar flyby, marking the first human voyage to the vicinity of the Moon in over half a century.
NASA has officially rescheduled the Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, to March 6, 2026. This mission will carry four astronauts on a high-stakes lunar flyby, marking the first human journey to the Moon's vicinity in over half a century.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has issued a scathing public critique of Boeing and the agency’s internal oversight following the failed Starliner Crew Flight Test. The rare rebuke highlights systemic engineering lapses and a breakdown in safety culture that forced the agency to rely on SpaceX for astronaut recovery.
NASA leadership has issued a scathing critique of Boeing and internal agency managers following the continued technical failures of the Starliner spacecraft. The public rebuke signals a breakdown in the long-standing partnership and raises questions about Boeing's future role in the Commercial Crew Program.
NASA has initiated its second major rocket fueling test for the Artemis program, a pivotal milestone that will dictate the launch window for the next crewed lunar mission. This technical validation is essential for ensuring the integrity of the Space Launch System (SLS) and the safety of the astronauts slated for the historic journey.
This page aggregates the latest launches stories within our space & defense coverage area. Every story is cross-referenced across multiple primary sources, scored for sentiment and operational impact, and timestamped so fresh developments surface first. We track rocket launches, missions, satellites and surface the angles a domain expert would actually read.
Story selection follows our editorial methodology — impact scoring weights regulatory, financial, and operational developments distinctly. Sentiment is classified across five tiers via supervised classification trained on labeled industry corpora. See our glossary for term definitions and our trends index for longitudinal patterns across the space & defense beat.
| Signal | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Verified by N sources | Confidence the story isn't a single-source rumor — N≥2 means the development is independently corroborated. |
| Impact score (1-10) | Estimated regulatory, financial, or operational impact. 8+ indicates a story experienced operators should act on. |
| Sentiment | Five-tier classification (very bullish through very bearish) trained on labeled space & defense-specific corpora. |
| Time stamp | Recency. Fresh stories (under 1h) render with a highlighted timestamp; stale stories (≥24h) render dimmed. |