Space Explored

Image: NASA NASA’s next great observatory is no longer a distant concept sitting quietly in development labs. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now entering its final stretch toward launch, and across the space community, anticipation around the mission has grown dramatically in recent months. NASA is targeting an Aug. 30 launch for Roman aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the same historic pad once used for Apollo missions.

Image: Blue Origin Blue Origin suffered a major blow last month when its New Glenn rocket experienced a catastrophic anomaly during a static fire test at Launch Complex 36 on Florida’s Space Coast. The test was being conducted without its mission payload attached – a batch of Amazon LEO internet satellites that had been scheduled for launch in early June. Early reports indicate portions of the launch infrastructure sustained substantial damage.

Image: Blue Origin On June 29, a Blue Origin New Glenn exploded during a pre-launch test on SLC-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Debris is now expected to wash up on public beaches in the coming days; here is what officials are telling you to do if you find it. Officials state that the debris is hazardous and could be harmful to humans if you come in contact with it. Do not touch, move, or pick up any debris you suspect is from a rocket.

Image: Blue Origin During a pre-launch static fire, a fully stacked rocket for Blue Origin’s fourth New Glenn rocket suffered a failure, leading to its destruction and damage to the launch pad’s infrastructure. The explosion took place at LC-36, Blue Origin‘s New Glenn launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Blue Origin’s goal was to complete a pre-launch static fire, where the rocket’s booster is fueled and its engines ignited for a short duration.

Image: SpaceX Sometime this year, SpaceX will officially hit the public market as what is the largest IPO in history. The company hopes to raise $75 million through share sales and continue to grow its valuation. But why does SpaceX think it’s worth so much? SpaceX has set its IPO, Initial Public Offering, valuation at $1.75 billion; there’s room for that to move, but for now, that’s what SpaceX believes the company is valued at.

Image: Steven Madow / Space Explored In the month of April, the US launched 18 rockets into space. Nearly all of them were successful. While the vast majority were for SpaceX Falcon 9s launching the company’s Starlink satellites, it was still a diverse set of rockets, including NASA’s Space Launch System, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, and ULA’s Atlas V. All five of those rockets had a launch take place from Florida’s Space Coast, also known by the US Military as the Eastern Range.

Image: Blue Origin Blue Origin is set to launch its third New Glenn rocket tomorrow, April 19, in the early morning hours. The mission will carry with it a satellite for AST SpaceMobile, but it will also fly something that has already flown before: the booster. Blue Origin is looking to become the second company to reuse an orbital rocket booster, a feat only achieved by rival SpaceX.

Image: SpaceX In what is likely the biggest week in Starship development since the last flight of its full rocket, SpaceX completed two static fires of its next-generation Starship rocket down in Starbase, Texas. Both tests are major steps forward in getting both the booster and upper stage, called the ship, ready for Starship flight 12. On Tuesday, April 14, SpaceX conducted what it calls a “full duration static fire” of its Ship 39 vehicle down at Starbase.

Image: Steven Madow / Space Explored On April 1, 2026, NASA launched its biggest mission in recent years. With that, photos of the Artemis 2 mission have taken the internet by storm as the general public have found interest in the historic mission. Our team of photographers, along with other media outlets, were able to place photos closer to view the launch closer than any human can witness the launch, here are our favorites.

Image: NASA At 6:32 PM ET Wednesday afternoon, NASA launched its Artemis 2 mission from Kennedy Space Center. This mission is the first crewed mission of the Artemis Program, an initiative to return humans to the surface of the Moon. The Space Launch System, the rocket NASA designed for its Artemis crewed missions, completed a nominal ascent into space after lifting off from LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center.