ULA’S ATLAS 5 ROCKET LAUNCHES ITS HEAVIEST PAYLOAD EVER WITH FIFTH AMAZON LEO MISSION - United Launch Alliance launched its latest Atlas 5 rocket, which carried a batch of 29 Amazon Leo satellites to low Earth orbit. The mission was the largest and heaviest payload carried to orbit by an Atlas 5 rocket to date, according to ULA. The mission was called Amazon Leo 5 by ULA and Leo Atlas 5 (LA-05) by Amazon. This was the fifth launch of operational satellites by ULA and the ninth for the constellation, which included one flight by Arianespace’s Ariane 6 rocket and three flights on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 5)
SPACEX TO LAUNCH MILITARY MISSILE TRACKING SATELLITES THROUGH NEW SPACE FORCE CONTRACT - The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX a $178.5 million task order on April 1, 2026 to launch missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency. The contract, designated SDA-4, covers two Falcon 9 launches beginning in Q3 2027, one from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and one from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The satellites, built by Sierra Space, are designed to bolster the nation’s ability to detect and track missile threats from orbit. More (Source: Teslarati - Apr 4)
ARTEMIS 2 ASTRONAUTS HEAD FOR THE MOON AFTER MAKE-OR-BREAK ENGINE BURN - Artemis 2 is on its way to the moon. The mission's Orion capsule aced a crucial translunar injection (TLI) burn this evening (April 2), firing its main engine to leave Earth orbit and head toward our planet's natural satellite. It was a huge milestone for the Artemis 2 mission, and one of its crewmembers marked it with some poignant words. More (Source: Space.com - Apr 3)
NASA LAUNCHES 4 ASTRONAUTS TO THE MOON ON HISTORIC ARTEMIS 2 VOYAGE, A LUNAR LEAP FOR THE 21ST CENTURY - For the first time in over 50 years, astronauts from Earth have launched to the moon. NASA's most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System, lit up the evening sky over Florida's Space Coast today (April 1) in a stunning liftoff to send four astronauts on a 10-day voyage around the moon. The historic Artemis 2 mission launched at 6:35 p.m. EDT (2235 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, beginning the first astronaut voyage to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 More (Source: Space.com - Apr 1)
WEATHER FOR NASA’S ARTEMIS II MISSION LAUNCH 80% FAVORABLE - Ahead of call to stations at 4:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, and the countdown clock beginning at 4:44 p.m., engineers continue preparations toward the launch of the Artemis II mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The agency is targeting no earlier than Wednesday, April 1, for launch. The weather forecast shows an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions, with cloud coverage and potential for high winds on the ground as primary weather concerns. More (Source: NASA - Apr 1)
SECOND STARLINK SATELLITE SUFFERS ANOMALY, GENERATING DEBRIS - For the second time in just over three months, a SpaceX Starlink satellite has generated debris from an apparent on-orbit malfunction. SpaceX confirmed March 30 that Starlink-34343 “experienced an anomaly” March 29, causing a loss of communications with the spacecraft. The satellite, launched in May 2025, was in orbit at an altitude of 560 kilometers. More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 1)
FIVE NEW GREEK MINI-SATELLITES LAUNCHED INTO ORBIT - Five new Greek miniature satellites have successfully entered orbit after being launched into space Monday by a SpaceX rocket, officials said. The experimental CubeSats will be used for research in new technologies developed in Greece on secure satellite communications, the Ministry for Digital Governance said. They were launched by a Falcon 9 rocket that took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. More (Source: eKathimerini.com - Mar 31)
IN PIECES? SPACEX MYSTERIOUSLY LOSES CONTACT WITH STARLINK SATELLITE - A Starlink satellite has suffered a mysterious “anomaly” that seems to have caused it to eject debris into Earth’s orbit—an apparent repeat of a similar incident in December. On Monday, SpaceX tweeted that it had lost contact with Starlink satellite 34343, which launched in May 2025. The satellite was orbiting from about 560 kilometers above Earth, but on Sunday it “experienced an anomaly on-orbit,” the company says. More (Source: PCMag - Mar 31)
ARTEMIS 2 MOON MISSION LATEST NEWS: T-2 DAYS TO NASA'S APRIL 1 LAUNCH - NASA is preparing to launch Artemis 2, its first astronaut mission to the moon since 1972, with liftoff set for no earlier than April 1. Liftoff is set for 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 GMT). Artemis 2 will launch four astronauts on a 10-day voyage around the moon. Below, you'll find complete coverage of the mission from Space.com's spaceflight news team. More (Source: Space.com - Mar 31)
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