SpaceFlight Now

• SpaceX West Coast launch surge continues with Starlink mission

  Liftoff of the Starlink 17-38 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 9:35 a.m. PDT (12:35 p.m. EDT / 1635 UTC).

• Blue Origin identifies engine issue behind New Glenn explosion

  The Aug. 5 update from Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp offered the first explanation for what caused the company’s 98-meter-tall (320 ft.) to explode at the pad on May 28.

• NASA, Northrop Grumman repurpose Gateway elements for Moon Base demo missions

  The shift amplifies the agency’s marked shift from crewed operations in lunar orbit to focus on surface-based missions.

• SpaceX launches 3 AST SpaceMobile BlueBird satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral

  The BlueBird 11-13 mission was the third time SpaceX flew satellites to orbit supporting AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-device constellation. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 3:49 a.m. EDT (0749 UTC).

• SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB

  The Starlink 17-53 mission is the 90th Falcon 9 rocket launch of the year. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for 10:05 a.m. PDT (1:05 p.m. EDT / 1705 UTC).