Latest
Starship Flight 7: SpaceX delays until the 13th [Update: Delayed to 15th]
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GgyjKIJWAAAzzmG.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
SpaceX has delayed the launch of its seventh Starship rocket to Monday, January 15. Little details were shared about the delay, but this is likely due to poor weather conditions.
Expand Expanding CloseBepiColombo made its final flyby of Mercury, it’s closest yet
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Mercury_s_shadowy_north_pole_revealed_by_M-CAM_1_article.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=958)
After six long years, BepiColombo made its final flyby of the little planet Mercury. In 2026, the spacecraft plans to enter orbit around the closest planet to the Sun and begin a one-year-long science mission.
Expand Expanding CloseBlue Origin delays New Glenn launch due to recovery weather [Update: Delayed to Monday]
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/New-Glenn-Upend-Wide-1.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
Blue Origin announced it would be delaying its inaugural New Glenn launch to Monday morning due to recovery weather. The launch window will remain the same at 1:00 A.M. ET and last until 4:00 A.M. ET.
Expand Expanding CloseStarship Flight 7: SpaceX completes pre-launch rehearsal
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/starship-flight-7-wdr.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
SpaceX completed a wet dress rehearsal of its fully stacked Starship rocket Friday, clearing the way for launch this Monday. This mission will set the new record for the largest rocket ever launched, thanks to the slightly taller Block 2 Ship 33 second stage.
Expand Expanding CloseStarship Flight 7: 10 things SpaceX is testing
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/GgyjKIJWAAAzzmG.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
So far, each Starship flight has been first and foremost a test flight. Starship Flight 7 will be no different. SpaceX has a list of new hardware and changes to the vehicle and launch mount that will need to be tested during next week’s launch. Here’s a list of ten changes SpaceX has made for Starship Flight 7.
Expand Expanding CloseShould NASA move its headquarters out of DC?
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/nasa-hq-ai.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1024)
When you think of NASA buildings, you probably think of Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Johnson Space Center in Texas, or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory out in LA. You probably don’t think of its Washington, DC, headquarters. There have been two interesting proposals made for potentially new headquarters for the agency, neither of which is in DC. Is a move even possible?
Expand Expanding CloseBlue Origin’s first New Glenn launch is officially on for Friday
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/New-Glenn-Upend-2.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
Blue Origin has finally formally announced a launch date for New Glenn‘s first flight, which will be no earlier than this Friday at 1:00 A.M. ET. The mission will carry its Blue Ring Pathfinder payload and be the first mission to certify it for national security missions by the Space Force.
Update: Blue Origin delays New Glenn launch due to recovery weather
Expand Expanding Close![space explored podcast](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/01/SpaceExplored_FeatureImage.png?w=1600)
Space Explored Podcast: Blue Origin aiming for New Glenn debut and Starship Flight 7
Terminal Count is a weekly newsletter and podcast discussing the current events of the spaceflight industry. This week, Seth discusses the upcoming new administration, Blue Origin’s debut with its New Glenn rocket, Starship Flight 7, and more.
Subscribe:
Terminal Count: Blue Origin aiming for New Glenn debut and Starship Flight 7
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/itt_night_dsc03044_scaled.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
We’re only into the first full week of the new year, and it’s already looking pretty packed, with Blue Origin looking to debut its New Glenn rocket while SpaceX is gearing up for its seventh Starship rocket. Both of these missions could have dynamic schedules, so it’s possible we’ll just be stuck with a handful of Starlink missions as well.
Checkout the podcast version of Terminal Count here.
Expand Expanding CloseBlue Origin’s New Glenn rocket poised for pivotal maiden launch
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/image.webp?w=1600)
For years, Blue Origin has been preparing for the moment when its New Glenn rocket would rise from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and now the company is poised to make history. Its maiden liftoff is set to occur as soon as later this week from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Expand Expanding CloseStarship Flight 7: SpaceX to deploy dummy Starlink satellites using Starship
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/GcnMn2qbYAAPTf8.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
Next week, SpaceX is hoping to launch its next Starship test flight, its seventh overall. The company released a detailed flight plan and explained what changes are coming to the new Block 2 Starship upper stage and what will be inside its payload bay.
Expand Expanding CloseBlue Origin’s landing platform departs ahead of first New Glenn launch
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/GWpJThPXEAAwTMN.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
It’s not very often a brand new rocket debuts from the Space Coast, at most a once-a-year ordeal. But here we are, static fire done, droneship… I mean, Landing Platform departing, and a TFR putting New Glenn‘s inaugural launch potentially early next week.
Expand Expanding CloseIs 2025 the year we find a real SpaceX competitor?
![Falcon 9 dragon liftoff](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/1191082-Enhanced-NR.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
SpaceX has been the de facto launcher for most of the world ever since the Falcon 9 started ramping up its launch cadence and lowering costs about a decade ago. While many companies say they compete with SpaceX, in reality, they are a monopoly for commercial launch; if you need something done quickly, it’s going to be on a Falcon 9. Is 2025 finally the year we see another option emerge?
Expand Expanding CloseSpaceX 2024 launch stats: Starship, SLC-40 is king, and more
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/LA7C3208.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
SpaceX launched its final mission of the year early this morning. Unshockingly to anyone, that was a batch of Starlink satellites. Tomorrow starts a whole new year of launching rockets, but how did SpaceX do in 2024? What sort of takeaways can we get for what we’ll see in 2025?
After tracking all of SpaceX’s launches over the year, here are the highlights.
Expand Expanding Close![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/1211616.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
How many rockets did SpaceX launch in 2024?
SpaceX is aiming for 148 launches in 2024, once again another increase over the 98 it completed the year before. This cadence would mean the company would have to launch once every two and a half days. Keep track below of all of SpaceX’s 2024 launches.
Expand Expanding CloseOne-third of SpaceX’s Starlink missions launched from the West Coast in 2024
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/many-spacex-falcon-9-rockets-launching-from-a-single-launch.png?w=1024)
Before the year is out, SpaceX will have launched 138 rockets in 2024, the vast majority out of the busiest spaceport in the world, Cape Canaveral. With the need to fit more Starlink missions into its manifest, it turned to the quiet spaceport of Vandenberg, where it launched 46 Falcon 9s, a new record.
Expand Expanding CloseTerminal Count: 2024 spaceflight in review
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GZ45r9MagAAPXbL.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
It has been a busy year full of rocket launches, broken records, and new developments. While years past have been about the possibilities of what is to come, 2024 was about seeing those renderings come to life. Here are our top developments stories from 2024.
Expand Expanding CloseULA has big Vulcan launch plans for 2025
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/1649836-Enhanced-NR.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
For ULA, 2024 was supposed to be the year of Vulcan. The year it debuted and the year it began flying national security missions. While it debuted, and flew a few times, delays to its certification have pushed that second goal to 2025.
Expand Expanding CloseAn operational New Glenn rocket will be a game changer for the industry
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/image.webp?w=1600)
Blue Origin successfully hot-fired its first New Glenn rocket at its launch site at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday. The company also acquired permission to launch the rocket under the Part 450 launch license from the FAA, allowing it to finally make its dreams a reality and light the New Glenn candle.
Expand Expanding CloseSpaceX is expected to kick off 2025 with a triple-shot at landing on the Moon
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/Firefly-Blue-Ghost-Mission-3-Rendering-2048x1152-1.webp?w=1600)
As we wind down launches for 2024, we’re looking at what is to come in 2025. January looks to be a rather exciting time if you’re a Moon fan, as three companies will be starting their journey for their shot to land on the Moon, hopefully softly.
Expand Expanding CloseVarda Space Industries advances space-based manufacturing and hypersonic testing
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/GG9bUzaWAAAy7oI.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1024)
Varda Space Industries Inc., which specializes in in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing and hypersonic reentry technologies, is expanding its research and applications across multiple sectors. With innovations in microgravity-based drug development and reusable reentry systems, the company integrates space-based manufacturing processes with scalable solutions for defense and industrial applications.
Expand Expanding CloseTerminal Count: SpaceX gets approval to launch Starship Flight 7
![Starship Flight 6 booster and ship stacked on Starbse Orbital Launch Mount A](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/GcebFG0aMAICcR4.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
On this holiday week, we’re discussing SpaceX’s recent approval for Starship Flight 7’s launch license well ahead of the planned launch date, and almost overnight, Europe has another launch provider to bid on contracts with Avio’s takeover of the Vega C rocket.
Expand Expanding CloseAxiom Space revamps station assembly plans, targets 2028 for free-flying platform
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/67587fb01686d525192d152f_PPTMN2NadirBase_Post_02_Edit.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
Axiom Space announced a major revision to the assembly sequence for its Axiom Station, paving the way for it to operate as an independent orbital platform as early as 2028. This adjustment advances the timeline by approximately two years and appears to address both customer demands and national objectives, including NASA’s plans to retire the International Space Station by the end of the decade.
Expand Expanding CloseArtemis 2 Countdown Begins: Booster stacking continues
![](https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/KSC-20241219-PH-FMX01_0019orig.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
The countdown to the launch of Artemis 2 has begun. On December 19, NASA’s Exploration Ground System (EGS) team stacked another booster segment. The left aft center booster segment was added to the launch pad. This milestone officially starts the clock for Artemis 2’s launch.
Expand Expanding Close