All articles tagged with #cape canaveral
SpaceX launched 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral in the early hours of July 9, 2026 (5:25 a.m. EDT). The rocket’s exhaust cooled and froze into ice crystals, creating a spectacular plume that, when lit by sunrise, looked like a glowing jellyfish in the night sky. It’s a natural byproduct of rocket launches, not an extraterrestrial visitation.
SpaceX will launch its most-flown Falcon 9 booster, B1067, for the 36th time on the Starlink 10-42 mission from Cape Canaveral, deploying 29 satellites; liftoff is scheduled for 5:25 a.m. EDT with a landing on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic. Weather is forecast to be favorable (about 90%); minor concerns include cumulus clouds and Saharan dust potentially suppressing cloud formation.
SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday, July 5, with a 6:36 a.m.–10:36 a.m. ET window. Depending on weather, the morning liftoff could be visible from the Florida Space Coast, potentially as far north as Jacksonville Beach and as far south as West Palm Beach. Live coverage will be provided by USA TODAY Network reporters, and NASA+ on Prime Video will offer related content.
ULA’s Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral is slated to launch a 29-satellite Amazon Leo mission in a 12:24 a.m. ET window on July 2, delivering a roughly 18-ton payload for Amazon’s low-Earth orbit broadband megaconstellation (aiming for about 3,200 satellites). The mission, Amazon Leo 8, continues Amazon’s effort to rival SpaceX’s Starlink, with live coverage provided by Space.com and ULA starting around midnight ET.
A ULA Atlas V rocket launching from Cape Canaveral on July 2, 2026, carrying Amazon's Leo satellites, could be visible across much of Florida including Tallahassee, weather permitting. Liftoff is scheduled for 12:24 a.m. ET with a possible extension to 12:53 a.m.; a visibility map indicates the view could extend along the East Coast to New England depending on conditions.
SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 carrying SiriusXM’s SXM-11 satellite from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with the first stage set to land on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic about 8.5 minutes after liftoff at 10:25 p.m. ET. The booster, on its 17th mission, previously flew multiple rides and SpaceX released a video of the landing; Brevard County deactivated its launch-support team after the success. SiriusXM says SXM-11 will expand signal coverage across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, including Alaska, and SpaceX’s webcast covered the countdown and liftoff.
SpaceX aims to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral tonight (June 28) within a four-hour window opening at 10:25 p.m. EDT, delivering the SiriusXM SXM-11 satellite (about 15,400 pounds) to a geosynchronous transfer orbit; deployment is scheduled roughly 34.5 minutes after liftoff, with the first stage expected to land on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas about 8.5 minutes later (booster B1085 in its 17th flight). Live coverage starts ~15 minutes before liftoff.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch the SiriusXM SXM-11 satellite from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, with a launch window of 10:25 p.m. ET Sunday, June 28, 2026, to 2:25 a.m. ET Monday, June 29, 2026, weather permitting; depending on conditions, the liftoff may be visible from Daytona to West Palm Beach, with prime viewing spots along the Space Coast and beaches, and NASA+ on Prime Video will carry live coverage.
SpaceX will launch its Starfall cargo capsule on June 23 from Cape Canaveral for the first Starfall reentry demo. The non-propulsive capsule is designed to haul payloads to low Earth orbit and return them to Earth, featuring a dual section with a carbon-fiber heat shield and relying on Falcon 9’s second stage for the deorbit, with a Pacific splashdown planned about 700 nautical miles off the West Coast and the booster targeting an Atlantic droneship landing; a backup window is set for June 24. Starfall can carry up to 2,200 pounds and is intended to retrieve materials from orbital manufacturing for research payloads, not to carry astronauts. The mission follows FAA filings and contrasts with prior smaller reentry efforts by companies like Varda Space.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn methane/LOX test at Launch Complex 36 ended in a fireball that shattered hangar windows about a mile away and damaged a weather facility, but it yielded crucial real‑world data on methalox blasts. Space Force and NASA will use the measurements to improve blast models and may shrink keep-out zones from the current 100 percent TNT equivalency as data accumulates, though the policy remains conservative for now. The Space Force estimates the blast danger area for such flights at roughly 7,174 feet in diameter (about two‑thirds of a mile) with debris up to half a mile away, and there were no injuries. With SpaceX, Stoke Space, Relativity Space and Blue Origin expanding methane-fueled rocket pads, the Cape Canaveral area is projected to support up to 500 launches per year by 2036.
SpaceX launched 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 8:57 a.m. EDT, deploying them into low Earth orbit, just hours after Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during a static-fire test.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 29, lifting 29 Amazon Leo internet satellites into orbit. It was the seventh Amazon Leo mission on Atlas V and tied the rocket's record for heaviest payload (~18 tons). The 29 new satellites join Amazon's network of 300 spacecraft already in orbit, bringing the total to about 329. Deployment occurred in groups of three over roughly 10 minutes, with the final two satellites released about 38 minutes after liftoff. The flight underscores Amazon's push to scale its Leo constellation to compete with SpaceX's Starlink.
ULA is preparing to launch 29 Amazon Leo satellites on an Atlas 5-551 from Cape Canaveral's SLC-41 in the Amazon Leo 7/LA-07 mission within a 29‑minute window; this is the seventh Leo production batch and the penultimate Atlas 5 mission for Amazon, leaving one Atlas 5 launch remaining after LA-07. Weather is forecast to be challenging with about a 30% chance of acceptable conditions; broader context includes delays to Blue Origin's New Glenn, the Vulcan program, and FCC requirements for the constellation, while Amazon's satellites were at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and not harmed by the New Glenn explosion on May 28.
Blue Origin’s heavy-lift New Glenn rocket erupted in a massive fireball during a routine hotfire test at Cape Canaveral’s LC-36, causing significant pad damage but no injuries. The company said an anomaly occurred and a thorough investigation will follow. The incident could delay NG-4 activities and potentially impact NASA moon/m Artemis plans, though officials emphasized ongoing efforts to inspect, rebuild, and resume flight as soon as feasible.
Blue Origin's large New Glenn rocket exploded on the Cape Canaveral pad during a pre-launch engine-firing test. No injuries were reported, though nearby homes shook and the sky briefly glowed orange. Bezos said Blue Origin will investigate and rebuild, as the company pushes ahead with plans tied to NASA's Artemis program and a future lunar lander. The incident comes after a previous April setback for New Glenn, but Space Force officials said it will not derail other launches from the pad or nearby missions.