All articles tagged with #falcon 9
SpaceX’s final Falcon 9 Starlink mission launched from Cape Canaveral with 29 satellites, marking the 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 and the rocket’s 37th reuse; it also signals a shift to Starship-based Starlink launches from Vandenberg, with future Florida launches moving to Starship, as observers in New York City witnessed a dawn jellyfish plume across the skyline.
SpaceX lofted 27 Starlink broadband satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on a Falcon 9, with booster B1082 landing on the drone ship, marking the end of Falcon 9 Starlink flights from Florida as future deployments pivot to Starship.
SpaceX will end Starlink-related Falcon 9 flights from Florida to prioritize Starship, with future Starlink missions from Florida moving to Starship while other Falcon 9 payloads (including some Starlink missions) switch to Vandenberg. The company also plans a heavy-lift Starbase Louisiana to support thousands of Starship flights annually starting around 2029, including deployment of some V3 satellites on the next Starship test flight, as it shifts resources from Falcon 9 to Starship amid questions about near-term launch availability.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral carrying 29 Starlink satellites; the first-stage booster later landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic, as spectators from Florida to the Carolinas captured sightings of the glowing plume and SpaceX released post-launch video.
SpaceX will launch Starlink 10-49 on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, using booster B1067 on its 37th flight to deploy 29 satellites; the booster is slated to land on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, and this could be the last Starlink flight from Cape Canaveral for a while as the company shifts focus to Starship preparations, with the majority of Starlink missions this year having flown from Vandenberg.
SpaceX is slated to launch a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral carrying 29 Starlink satellites in what will be the 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 and the booster B1067’s 37th mission; the first stage is expected to land on a drone ship about 8.5 minutes after liftoff and the upper stage will deploy the satellites roughly 61.5 minutes later, underscoring SpaceX’s ongoing focus on rapid reuse as the Starlink constellation expands beyond 11,000 satellites and Starship’s orbital test is anticipated later this year.
SpaceX launched 27 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg aboard a Falcon 9, marking the year’s 99th Falcon 9 liftoff and the 100th Falcon mission overall; the first stage landed on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, and the Starlink satellites deployed roughly 62 minutes later, as SpaceX’s constellation surpasses 11,000 satellites and the company eyes future expansion (including Starship-era plans).
SpaceX launched its 100th orbital mission of 2026 from Vandenberg, deploying Starlink 15-20 satellites and adding 29 more to the constellation; the Falcon 9 booster B1100 landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You on its ninth flight, and SpaceX’s Starlink fleet now exceeds 11,000 satellites in orbit.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured before-and-after images showing an 18-meter-wide, under-3-meter-deep crater on the Moon created when SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage crashed there during a January 2025 mission to deliver two landers; the predicted impact site was accurately confirmed from diverse viewing angles and timing.
SpaceX is set to launch its 75th Starlink mission of 2026 from Cape Canaveral, delivering 29 satellites on Starlink 10-39 and marking the year’s 2,000nd Starlink satellite; the Falcon 9 booster B1078 will fly for the 30th time and aim for a drone-ship landing on A Shortfall of Gravitas about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, with liftoff scheduled at 11:38 a.m. EDT and an initial 80% weather window (falling to 40% as storms approach).
SpaceX launched its 11,000th Starlink satellite on Aug. 19, deploying 24 Falcon 9–launched V2 Mini satellites from Vandenberg; the first stage landed on a droneship, marking another milestone in the rapid expansion of Starlink, which SpaceX is positioning for Gen3 with plans to scale up to 100,000 satellites for multi-gigabit global broadband.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured images showing a 60-foot-wide crater near Einstein crater on the Moon, created when the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 impacted the lunar surface on Aug. 5, 2025. The discarded upper stage hit at about 5,400 mph (8,700 km/h) after a Jan. 15, 2025 mission to deliver lunar landers. First spotted by independent astronomer Bill Gray, NASA refined the impact location with LRO observations taken Aug. 11–12, revealing dust and rock ejecta streaks around the crater. The event was difficult to observe from Earth due to lighting and the Moon’s geometry, and the crater is relatively small compared with typical meteoroid impacts.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured the first detailed views of a fresh crater on the Moon formed when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage slammed into the surface on Aug. 5. The crater is about 18 meters (60 feet) wide and under 3 meters (10 feet) deep, with bright and dark ejecta rays indicating recent excavation. The Danuri spacecraft helped pinpoint the site, and the images shed light on lunar impact processes and the hazards posed by space debris for future Moon missions.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured a new 60-foot-wide, 12-foot-deep crater on the Moon after SpaceX Falcon 9’s upper stage crashed there on Aug. 5 from the Jan. 15, 2025 Blue Ghost mission. The imagery, taken Aug. 11–12, required tilting LRO to look straight down with the Narrow-Angle Camera. The impact, traveling about 5,400 mph, involved a stage roughly 39 feet long, 13 feet wide, weighing ~4,000 kg. The darker ejecta rays reflect older surface material, while lighter rim material comes from deeper underground. Independent analysts predicted the collision and helped confirm the event.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter released before-and-after images showing a roughly 60-foot-wide, less-than-10-foot-deep crater carved into the Moon by SpaceX’s upper‑stage impact on Aug. 5, 2026, at about 5,400 mph; the fresh ejecta rays and bright material were captured from about 60 miles up, illustrating a recent lunar impact and highlighting NASA’s ongoing push to commercialize lunar exploration.