Tag: Kennedy Space Center
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NASA Selects ULA’s Centaur 5 as Upper Stage for SLS Starting With Artemis 4
NASA has selected United Launch Alliance’s Centaur 5 upper stage for use on its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket beginning with the Artemis 4 mission, currently scheduled to launch no earlier than early 2028, according to contract documents released by the agency. Centaur 5 was originally developed as the upper stage for United Launch Alliance’s…
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Stoke Space Raises Additional $350 Million Ahead of Nova Rocket Debut
U.S. launch startup Stoke Space has secured an additional $350 million in funding, extending the $510 million Series D round announced in October and bringing its total capital raised to $1.34 billion. The Washington-based company said it had sufficient funding at the end of last year to support the first few flights of its reusable…
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FAA Approves Starship Launches From Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A
The Federal Aviation Administration has approved SpaceX’s plans to launch its Starship system from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, potentially enabling the first mission from the site before the end of the year. Until now, all Starship test flights have been conducted from SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas. The…
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NASA Targets March for Artemis II Launch After Rocket Rehearsal Issues
NASA is now targeting March for the earliest possible launch of its Artemis II mission after encountering technical issues during a critical prelaunch test of its Space Launch System rocket, the agency said. The Artemis II mission is set to carry four astronauts into deep space, marking the first crewed lunar mission since the Apollo…
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NASA Rolls Artemis II Moon Rocket to Launchpad as Final Preparations Begin
NASA on Saturday began the final phase of launch preparations for its Artemis II mission, moving the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket toward its Florida launchpad ahead of the first crewed flight under its lunar return programme. The 322-foot-tall SLS rocket was rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center…
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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Splashes Down in Pacific After Five-Month ISS Mission
NASA said its SpaceX Crew-11 mission safely returned to Earth early Thursday, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego and concluding a more than five-month stay aboard the International Space Station. The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui,…
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NASA Prepares Artemis 2 for February Lunar Mission After Schedule Acceleration
NASA is entering the final phase of preparations for its Artemis 2 mission, the first crewed flight toward the Moon in more than 50 years, as the agency moves up its launch timeline to February 2026. The U.S. space agency had previously targeted April 2026 for the mission, which will send four astronauts on a…
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Orion spacecraft arrives at VAB ahead of stacking for Artemis 2
NASA’s Orion spacecraft, named ‘Integrity’ by her crew, rolled about seven miles from the Launch Abort System Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 16, 2025. The spacecraft will be the first crewed vehicle to travel to the Moon since Apollo 17, when it launches on the Artemis 2…
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SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke, and others make major progress on Cape launch facilities
The two spaceport launch facilities in the Cape Canaveral area — NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the U.S. Space Force’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) — are on the verge of even bigger changes than have been seen in the last few years. In a recent flyover of the Cape, NSF obtained new…
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Launch Roundup: Starship and multiple Falcon 9 launches planned
Seven launches are scheduled this week by SpaceX and CSNA. CSNA will kick off the week with another Guowang launch, SpaceX launched the NAOS (LUXEOSys) & Others mission, as well as Starship on its tenth flight. Then, SpaceX wrapped up the week with four Starlink missions. Chang Zhang 8A | Guowang LEO Group 10 Starting…