Tag: rocket

Russia Debuts Next-Generation Soyuz 5 Rocket with First Successful Flight

SPACE reports, “Russia’s new Soyuz 5 rocket has taken to the skies at long last. The Soyuz 5 lifted off for the first time ever on Thursday (April 30), rising off a pad at the Russia-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT; 11:00 p.m. local time in Baikonur).”
Full Story (SPACE)

Video

Launch of the new Soyuz-5 rocket (Launch occurs at the 21:14 mark)
Мир авиации; YouTube

New Glenn Booster Completes Hot Fire as Blue Origin Eyes Sunday Launch

Spaceflight Now reports, “Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket roared to life in a critical pre-launch demonstration of its main engines Thursday, less than an hour after the Sun crested over the horizon in Florida. The seven BE-4 engines fired for about 20 seconds, at 7:45 a.m. EDT (1145 UTC). Engineers will now pore through the data and if everything looks good, the launch with AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird-7 satellite could take place as soon as Sunday, April 19.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

SpaceX Grounds Falcon 9 After Upper Stage Deorbit Issue

SpaceX has temporarily grounded its Falcon 9 rocket after an upper stage failed to deorbit as planned during a Feb. 2 launch. As SPACE reports, “‘Teams are reviewing data to determine root cause and corrective actions before returning to flight,’ SpaceX said via X on Monday evening, in a post that announced the rocket’s grounding.”
Full Story (SPACE)

NASA Readies Artemis 2 Rocket for Rollout Ahead of Historic Crewed Lunar Mission

SPACE reports, “NASA said Friday that it plans to return the Crew 11 to Earth next week, just one day after announcing that a crew member had suffered a medical issue that would require the crew to shorten its trip to the International Space Station. According to NASA, Crew 11 is targeting a departure from the space station aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule ‘no earlier’ than 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 14, with a splash down off the coast of California at about 3:40 a.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 15.”
Full Story (CBS News)

Blue Origin Successfully Test-Fires New Glenn Rocket Engines at Cape Canaveral

Ars Technica reports, “The road to the second flight of Blue Origin’s heavy-lifting New Glenn rocket got a lot clearer Thursday night with a success test-firing of the launcher’s seven main engines on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Standing on a seaside launch pad, the New Glenn rocket ignited its seven BE-4 main engines at 9:59 pm EDT Thursday (01:59 UTC Friday). The engines burned for 38 seconds while the rocket remained firmly on the ground, according to a social media post by Blue Origin.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

SpaceX Performs 11th Test Flight of its Mega Starship Rocket

AP News reports, “SpaceX launched another of its mammoth Starship rocketson a test flight Monday, successfully making it halfway around the world while releasing mock satellites like last time. Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built — thundered into the evening sky from the southern tip of Texas. The booster peeled away and made a controlled entry into the Gulf of Mexico as planned, with the spacecraft skimming space before descending into the Indian Ocean. Nothing was recovered.”
Full Story (AP News)

Video

SpaceX Starship Flight 11, Oct. 13, 2025.
NASASpaceFlight; YouTube

Firefly Alpha Rocket Destroyed During Preflight Testing

Aviation Week reports, “The first stage of a Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket being prepared for launch on a commercial mission for Lockheed Martin was destroyed Sept. 29 during preflight testing at the company’s Briggs, Texas, facility. ‘During testing at Firefly’s facility in Briggs Texas, the first stage of Firefly’s Alpha Flight 7 rocket experienced an event that resulted in a loss of the stage,’ the company said in a statement.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Europe’s Ariane 6 Rocket Launches for Third Time

SPACE reports, “Europe’s Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket launched for the third time ever” on the evening of August 12, “sending an advanced weather and climate satellite to orbit. The powerful Ariane 6 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana … at 8:37 p.m. EDT (9:37 p.m. local time in Kourou; 0037 GMT on Aug. 13).”
Full Story (SPACE)

 Video

Ariane 6 Rocket Launches for Third Time Ever (Launch at the 30:12 mark)
Arianespace; YouTube