SpaceX

SpaceX Will Perform Thirteenth Flight Test of Starship Super Heavy

SpaceX will perform the thirteenth flight test of Starship Super Heavy. This launch is a critical step toward NASA's Artemis mission to return astronauts to the Moon and SpaceX's plan to land humans on Mars.

, SpaceX launched the thirteenth flight test of an integrated Starship Super Heavy rocket.

SpaceX is building a fully reusable Starship to expand the human footprint beyond Earth.

As SpaceX’s envisioned multipurpose spacecraft, Starship will be capable of launching substantial payloads to any destination in the solar system, allow humans to live and work on Mars, perform lunar exploration for NASA, and conduct speedy intercontinental point-to-point transportation to destinations across Earth's surface.


On Friday, May 22, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. CT, Starship lifted off from Starbase, Texas on its twelfth flight test. This was the first flight of the Starship and Super Heavy V3 vehicles, the Raptor 3 engines, the first flight from Pad 2, and the first Starship flight to deploy modified Starlink satellites to image Starship in space.
The flight test began with Super Heavy igniting all 33 Raptor 3 engines and ascending over the Gulf of America. A single Raptor engine shut down during ascent. The successful first-stage ascent was followed by a hot-staging maneuver, with Starship’s upper stage igniting its six Raptor engines to continue its flight to space.
Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster performed a directional flip maneuver and attempted its boostback burn. It was unable to light all planned engines and performed a partial boostback burn that ended early. Super Heavy attempted to reignite its engines for the landing burn before experiencing a hard splashdown in the Gulf of America.
During its ascent burn to space, Starship lost one of the Raptor 3 vacuum engines but demonstrated its engine-out capability and achieved its planned trajectory.
During coast, Starship successfully deployed all 20 Starlink simulators and two modified Starlink satellites that imaged Starship in space. These simulators and modified Starlink satellites were on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship.
Starship re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and was able to gather critical data on the performance of its heatshield and structural strength. In the final minutes of flight, Starship performed a maneuver to intentionally stress the structural limits of the vehicle’s rear flaps and a dynamic banking move to mimic the trajectory that future missions returning to Starbase will fly. Starship then guided itself using its four flaps to the pre-planned splashdown zone in the Indian Ocean, and executed a landing flip, landing burn, and splashdown on two Raptor engines.

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On Monday, October 13, 2025, at 6:23 p.m. CT, SpaceX’s Starship lifted off from Starbase, Texas, for its eleventh flight test. The mission marked the final flight of the second generation Starship and first generation Super Heavy booster, as well as the final launch from the current configuration of Pad 1. Every major objective of the flight test was achieved, providing valuable data for the development of the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy.

The flight test began with the Super Heavy booster igniting all 33 Raptor engines and ascending over the Gulf of Mexico. The first stage ascent was followed by a successful hot staging maneuver, during which Starship’s upper stage ignited its six Raptor engines to continue its flight to space.

After stage separation, the Super Heavy booster completed its boostback burn, setting a course for a preplanned splashdown zone off the coast of Texas using 12 of the 13 planned engines. Under the same angle of attack tested on the previous flight, the booster descended and successfully ignited all 13 engines (including one that had not relit during the boostback burn) for the high thrust portion of the landing burn. The booster executed a unique landing burn designed for the next generation booster, hovered above the water, and then splashed down as planned.

Following a full duration ascent burn, Starship achieved its planned velocity and trajectory. During flight, it successfully deployed eight Starlink simulators and executed the third in space relight of a Raptor engine, demonstrating a critical capability for future deorbit burns.

As Starship reentered Earth’s atmosphere, extensive data was gathered on the performance of its heatshield, which was intentionally stressed to test the limits of the vehicle’s design. In the final minutes of flight, Starship performed a dynamic banking maneuver to simulate the trajectory that future missions returning to Starbase will follow. Using its four flaps for precise guidance, Starship descended toward the preplanned splashdown zone in the Indian Ocean, successfully executing a landing flip, landing burn, and soft splashdown.

Starship’s tenth flight test lifted off on August 26, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. CT from Starbase, Texas, taking a significant step forward in developing the world’s first fully reusable launch vehicle. Every major objective was met, providing critical data to inform designs of the next generation Starship and Super Heavy.

The flight test began with Super Heavy successfully lifting off by igniting all 33 Raptor engines and ascending over the Gulf of America. Successful ascent was followed by a hot-staging maneuver, with Starship’s upper stage igniting its six Raptor engines to separate from Super Heavy and continue the flight to space.

Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster completed its boostback burn to put it on a course to a pre-planned splashdown zone. The booster descended and successfully initiated its landing burn, intentionally disabling one of its three center engines during the final phases of the burn and using a backup engine from the middle ring. Super Heavy entered into a final hover above the water before shutting down its engines and splashing down into the water.

Starship completed a full-duration ascent burn and achieved its planned velocity, successfully putting it on a suborbital trajectory. The first in-space objective was then completed, with eight Starlink simulators deployed in the first successful payload demonstration from Starship. The vehicle then completed the second ever in-space relight of a Raptor engine, demonstrating a key capability for future deorbit burns.

Moving into the critical reentry phase, Starship was able to gather data on the performance of its heatshield and structure as it was intentionally stressed to push the envelope on vehicle capabilities. Using its four flaps for control, the spacecraft arrived at its splashdown point in the Indian Ocean, successfully executed a landing flip, and completed the flight test with a landing burn and soft splashdown.

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On Wednesday, June 18th, 2025 at approximately 11 p.m. CT, Starship 36 experienced a major anomaly during a static fire while preparing for the tenth flight test at Starbase. The vehicle was on a test stand when the incident occurred, and all personnel were safe and accounted for.

As a result, Ship 37 is now expected to fly on the tenth Starship flight test.

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Starship’s ninth flight test lifted off at 6:36 p.m. CT on Tuesday, May 27, from the SpaceX launch site at Starbase, Texas. The Super Heavy booster used in this mission had previously flown during Starship’s seventh flight test in January 2025, marking the first time a booster was reused in the program. It completed a full-duration ascent burn using all 33 of its Raptor engines before separating from the upper stage in a hot-staging maneuver.
Following separation, Super Heavy executed a controlled flip and initiated a boostback burn. During its descent, the booster flew at a higher angle of attack than on previous flights to increase aerodynamic drag and reduce descent speed, thereby conserving propellant for the landing burn. This maneuver was intended to gather flight data on aerodynamic control at higher angles of attack to inform the design and operation of future booster variants.
As the vehicle neared its targeted splashdown area in the Gulf of Mexico, it reignited 12 of its 13 center and mid-ring Raptor engines for the landing sequence. However, contact was lost shortly after the landing burn began, and the booster experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly approximately six minutes after launch.
The upper stage of Starship ignited all six of its Raptor engines following separation and completed a full-duration ascent burn. Several modifications had been implemented since the eighth test flight, including structural reinforcements, an upgraded nitrogen purge system, and changes to the propellant drain system.
During the orbital coast phase, the vehicle was expected to perform several in-space tasks, including a Raptor engine relight and the deployment of eight Starlink simulator payloads. However, a mechanical issue prevented the payload bay door from opening, halting the satellite deployment. A subsequent attitude control problem also led to the cancellation of the planned engine relight, which in turn affected the vehicle’s ability to orient itself correctly for reentry.
An automated safing sequence was initiated to depressurize the vehicle in preparation for reentry. Contact with the upper stage was lost approximately 46 minutes into flight. Debris from the vehicle is believed to have fallen within a designated area in the Indian Ocean.
The flight marked the first reuse of a Super Heavy booster and the return of Starship to space. Analysis of flight data is ongoing to inform future tests.


Starship’s eighth flight test lifted off from Starbase in Texas at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 6. The Super Heavy booster successfully ignited its 33 Raptor engines and propelled Starship through a nominal first-stage ascent.

Approximately two and a half minutes into flight, the Super Heavy booster shut down all but three of its Raptor engines as planned for hot-staging separation. Starship then successfully ignited its six Raptor engines and separated from the Super Heavy booster to continue its ascent into space.

The Super Heavy booster then reignited 11 of the 13 planned Raptor engines and performed a boostback burn to return to the launch site. As it approached the landing zone, 12 of the planned 13 engines were reignited at the start of the landing burn to slow the booster down. The three center engines continued running to guide the booster to the launch and catch tower arms, resulting in the third successful catch of a Super Heavy booster.

Starship continued its ascent along the planned trajectory. However, before the ascent burn concluded, an energetic event in the aft portion of Starship caused the loss of several Raptor engines. This resulted in a loss of attitude control and ultimately a loss of communication with the vehicle. Final contact occurred approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff.

Starship remained within a designated launch corridor to ensure public safety on the ground, on the water, and in the air. Following the anomaly, SpaceX teams immediately coordinated with the FAA, air traffic control, and other safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency measures.

Any surviving debris would have fallen within the designated Debris Response Area. The debris contains no toxic materials, and no significant impacts on marine species or water quality are expected.

As with all test flights, success comes from the lessons learned. The data gathered from this flight will contribute to improving Starship’s reliability. A thorough investigation will be conducted in coordination with the FAA, and corrective actions will be implemented to enhance future Starship flight tests.

SpaceX's seventh Starship launch soared through the clear Texan skies on January 16th, marking the debut of v2 with a suite of improvements.

Following a clean separation from Starship, the Super Heavy booster guided itself back towards Starbase, executing a controlled descent and gradually positioning itself to be caught by Mechazilla, the orbital launch tower’s chopstick arms.

This marked the second successful recovery of a massive Super Heavy booster to the launch pad. However, the mission took an unexpected turn 8.5 minutes into the flight when SpaceX lost all communications and telemetry from the Starship. The spacecraft had undergone “Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly.”

The seventh flight test of Starship and Super Heavy flew with ambitious goals, aiming to successfully repeat the core capability of returning and catching a booster while launching an upgraded design of the upper stage. While not every test objective was completed, the lessons learned will roll directly into future vehicles to make them more capable as Starship advances toward full and rapid reuse.

On January 16, 2025, Starship successfully lifted off at 4:37 p.m. CT from Starbase in Texas. At launch, all 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster started up successfully and completed a full duration burn during ascent. After powering down all but the three center engines on Super Heavy, Starship ignited all six of its Raptor engines to separate in a hot-staging maneuver and continue its ascent to space.

Following stage separation, Super Heavy initiated its boostback burn to propel the rocket toward its intended landing location. It successfully lit 12 of the 13 engines commanded to start, with a single Raptor on the middle ring safely aborting on startup due to a low-power condition in the igniter system. Raptor engines on upcoming flights have a pre-planned igniter upgrade to mitigate this issue. The boostback burn was completed successfully and sent Super Heavy back to the launch site for catch.

The booster successfully relit all 13 planned middle ring and center Raptor engines for its landing burn, including the engine that did not relight for boostback burn. The landing burn slowed the booster down and maneuvered it to the launch and catch tower arms at Starbase, resulting in the second ever successful catch of Super Heavy.

After vehicle separation, Starship's six second stage Raptor engines powered the vehicle along its expected trajectory. Approximately two minutes into its burn, a flash was observed in the aft section of the vehicle near one of the Raptor vacuum engines. This aft section, commonly referred to as the attic, is an unpressurized area between the bottom of the liquid oxygen tank and the aft heatshield. Sensors in the attic detected a pressure rise indicative of a leak after the flash was seen.

Roughly two minutes later, another flash was observed followed by sustained fires in the attic. These eventually caused all but one of Starship’s engines to execute controlled shut down sequences and ultimately led to a loss of communication with the ship. Telemetry from the vehicle was last received just over eight minutes and 20 seconds into flight.

Contact with Starship was lost prior to triggering any destruct rules for its Autonomous Flight Safety System, which was fully healthy when communication was lost. The vehicle was observed to break apart approximately three minutes after loss of contact during descent. Post-flight analysis indicates that the safety system did trigger autonomously, and breakup occurred within Flight Termination System expectations.

The most probable root cause for the loss of ship was identified as a harmonic response several times stronger in flight than had been seen during testing, which led to increased stress on hardware in the propulsion system. The subsequent propellant leaks exceeded the venting capability of the ship’s attic area and resulted in sustained fires.

Immediately following the anomaly, the pre-coordinated response plan developed by SpaceX, the FAA, and ATO (air traffic control) went into effect. All debris came down within the pre-planned Debris Response Area, and there were no hazardous materials present in the debris and no significant impacts expected to occur to marine species or water quality. SpaceX reached out immediately to the government of Turks and Caicos and worked with them and the United Kingdom to coordinate recovery and cleanup efforts. While an early end to the flight test is never a desired outcome, the measures put in place ahead of launch demonstrated their ability to keep the public safe.

SpaceX led the investigation efforts with oversight from the FAA and participation from NASA, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the U.S. Space Force. SpaceX is working with the FAA to either close the mishap investigation or receive a flight safety determination, along with working on a license authorization to enable its next flight of Starship.

As part of the investigation, an extended duration static fire was completed with the Starship flying on the eighth flight test. The 60-second firing was used to test multiple engine thrust levels and three separate hardware configurations in the Raptor vacuum engine feedlines to recreate and address the harmonic response seen during Flight 7. Findings from the static fire informed hardware changes to the fuel feedlines to vacuum engines, adjustments to propellant temperatures, and a new operating thrust target that will be used on the upcoming flight test.

To address flammability potential in the attic section on Starship, additional vents and a new purge system utilizing gaseous nitrogen are being added to the current generation of ships to make the area more robust to propellant leakage. Future upgrades to Starship will introduce the Raptor 3 engine, reducing the attic volume and eliminating the majority of joints that can leak into this volume.

Starship’s seventh flight test was a reminder that developmental progress is not always linear, and putting flight hardware in a flight environment is the fastest way to demonstrate how thousands of distinct parts come together to reach space. Upcoming flights will continue to target ambitious goals in the pursuit of full and rapid reusability.

The sixth flight test of Starship launched from Starbase on November 19, 2024, seeking to expand the envelope on ship and booster capabilities and get closer to bringing reuse of the entire system online.

The Super Heavy booster successfully lifted off at the start of the launch window, with all 33 Raptor engines powering it and Starship off the pad from Starbase. Following a nominal ascent and stage separation, the booster successfully transitioned to its boostback burn to begin the return to launch site. During this phase, automated health checks of critical hardware on the launch and catch tower triggered an abort of the catch attempt. The booster then executed a pre-planned divert maneuver, performing a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

Starship completed another successful ascent, placing it on the expected trajectory. The ship successfully reignited a single Raptor engine while in space, demonstrating the capabilities required to conduct a ship deorbit burn before starting fully orbital missions. With live views and telemetry being relayed by Starlink, the ship successfully made it through reentry and executed a flip, landing burn, and soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

The data collected from multiple thermal protection experiments, along with the successful flight through subsonic speeds at a more aggressive angle of attack, provides invaluable feedback on flight hardware performance in a real flight environment. This will help guide us toward the eventual goal of ship return and catch.

With data and flight learnings as the primary payload, Starship’s sixth flight test once again delivered. The lessons learned will directly contribute to making the entire Starship system more reliable as SpaceX moves closer to achieving full and rapid reusability.

Starship’s fifth flight test lifted off on October 13, 2024, with the most ambitious test objectives yet as SpaceX worked to demonstrate techniques fundamental to Starship and Super Heavy’s fully and rapidly reusable design. On the first attempt, Mechazilla successfully caught the booster.

Following a successful liftoff, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and coast, the Super Heavy booster performed its landing burn and was caught by the chopstick arms of the launch and catch tower at Starbase. Thousands of distinct vehicle and pad criteria had to be met before the catch attempt, and thanks to the tireless work of SpaceX engineers, they succeeded on the first try.

Prior to the catch, Starship executed another successful hot-staging separation, igniting its six Raptor engines and completing its ascent into outer space. It coasted along its planned trajectory to the other side of the planet before executing a controlled reentry, passing through phases of peak heating and maximum aerodynamic pressure, followed by a flip, landing burn, and splashdown in its target area in the Indian Ocean. The flight test concluded with splashdown 1 hour, 5 minutes, and 40 seconds after launch.

Starship’s fourth flight test launched with ambitious goals, attempting to go farther than any previous test before and begin demonstrating capabilities central to return and reuse of Starship and Super Heavy. The payload for this test was the data. Starship delivered.

On June 6, 2024, Starship successfully lifted off at 7:50 a.m. CT from Starbase in Texas and went on to deliver maximum excitement.

The Super Heavy booster lifted off successfully and completed a full-duration ascent burn.

Starship executed another successful hot-stage separation, powering down all but three of Super Heavy’s Raptor engines and successfully igniting the six second stage Raptor engines before separating the vehicles.

Following separation, the Super Heavy booster successfully completed its flip maneuver, boostback burn to send it towards the splashdown zone, and jettison of the hot-stage adapter.

The booster’s flight ended with a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico seven minutes and 24 seconds into the flight.

Starship's six second stage Raptor engines successfully powered the vehicle to space and placed it on the planned trajectory for coast.

Starship made a controlled reentry, successfully making it through the phases of peak heating and max aerodynamic pressure and demonstrating the ability to control the vehicle using its flaps while descending through the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.

Starlink on Starship once again enabled real-time telemetry and live high-definition video throughout every phase of entry, with external cameras providing views all the way to the flight’s conclusion.

Flight 4 ended with Starship igniting its three center Raptor engines and executing the first flip maneuver and landing burn since the suborbital test campaign, followed by a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean one hour and six minutes after launch.

On March 14, 2024, Starship successfully lifted off at 8:25 a.m. CT from Starbase in Texas and went on to accomplish several major milestones and firsts:

For the second time, all 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy Booster started up successfully and completed a full-duration burn during ascent.

Starship executed its second successful hot-stage separation, powering down all but three of Super Heavy’s Raptor engines and successfully igniting the six second stage Raptor engines before separating the vehicles.

Following separation, the Super Heavy booster successfully completed its flip maneuver and completed a full boostback burn to send it towards its splashdown point in the Gulf of Mexico.

Super Heavy successfully lit several engines for its first ever landing burn before the vehicle experienced a RUD (that’s SpaceX-speak for “rapid unscheduled disassembly”). The booster’s flight concluded at approximately 462 meters in altitude and just under seven minutes into the mission.

Starship's six second stage Raptor engines all started successfully and powered the vehicle to its expected orbit, becoming the first Starship to complete its full-duration ascent burn.

While coasting, Starship accomplished several of the flight test’s additional objectives, including the opening and closing of its payload door (aka the pez dispenser,) and initiating a propellant transfer demonstration. Starship did not attempt its planned on-orbit relight of a single Raptor engine due to vehicle roll rates during coast. Results from these demonstrations will come after postflight data review is complete.

Starship went on to experience its first ever entry from space, providing valuable data on heating and vehicle control during hypersonic reentry. Live views of entry were made possible by Starlink terminals operating on Starship. - The flight test’s conclusion came during entry, with the last telemetry signals received via Starlink from Starship at approximately 49 minutes into the mission.

While teams review the data collected from this flight, Starship and Super Heavy vehicles are preparing for upcoming flights as SpaceX seeks to increase their launch cadence throughout the year.

This rapid iterative development approach has underpinned all of SpaceX’s major technological advancements, including Falcon, Dragon, and Starlink. Recursive improvement remains essential in the effort to develop a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, supporting humanity’s return to the Moon, and ultimately enabling travel to Mars and beyond.

Starship 40

The Super Heavy booster is the first stage of SpaceX’s fully reusable Starship launch system and is the most powerful rocket booster ever built. It is designed to propel Starship toward orbit using 33 Raptor engines that burn liquid methane and liquid oxygen. These engines generate more than twice the thrust of the Saturn V, which previously held the record for the most powerful rocket ever flown.

Propellant Capacity: 3,400 t (7.5 million lb)

The booster is designed to be fully reusable and return to the launch site rather than landing on a pad or drone ship. Following separation, Super Heavy performs a boostback burn to redirect itself toward Starbase, an entry burn to reduce heating and structural loads during atmospheric reentry, and a landing burn to precisely control its final descent. Instead of landing legs, SpaceX uses the launch tower’s mechanical arms, commonly known as the chopsticks, to catch the booster in midair. This approach reduces vehicle mass and supports faster turnaround between flights.

Several key systems enable this recovery method, including four large grid fins mounted near the top of the booster. These grid fins provide aerodynamic control during descent and are critical for aligning Super Heavy with the launch tower during the final seconds before capture. The booster also carries onboard flight computers, batteries, vents, and guidance systems that manage its autonomous return and landing sequence.

The first successful tower catch of a Super Heavy booster occurred during Starship Flight 5 on October 13th, 2024, proving the viability of the catch system on the very first attempt. This milestone was followed by another successful catch on Flight 7 on January 16th, 2025, which succeeded despite one engine failing to relight during the boostback burn. A third successful catch took place during Flight 8 on March 6th, 2025, when the booster returned safely to the launch tower after resolving a minor igniter issue prior to landing.

A major milestone followed with Starship Flight 9 on May 27th, 2025, which marked the first reuse of a Super Heavy booster. The booster assigned to Flight 9 had previously flown on Flight 7, making it the first Super Heavy to be reflown after a successful catch. While the booster was not recovered to the tower on this mission and instead flew a planned experimental profile that ended in a controlled splashdown attempt, the flight demonstrated the feasibility of booster reuse and expanded SpaceX’s reentry data set.

These missions collectively support SpaceX’s long term goal of achieving zero touch reflight, in which Super Heavy boosters can be reused with little to no refurbishment between launches. This capability is critical for enabling high launch cadence in support of lunar missions, Mars exploration, satellite deployment, and future commercial operations.

Photo courtesy of SpaceX.

Super Heavy

Orbital Launch Pad B, commonly referred to as Pad 2, is the second orbital-capable launch pad constructed at Starbase to expand SpaceX’s launch capacity and provide operational redundancy. Like Pad 1, Pad 2 is located along the United States–Mexico border on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and is purpose-built to support the Starship and Super Heavy launch system. The pad follows an updated launch mount philosophy, incorporating a dedicated, water-cooled flame trench beneath the structure to direct and dissipate exhaust energy, which reduces post-launch damage and repair work based on lessons learned from earlier Starship launches.

Pad 2 achieved a major operational milestone on May 22, 2026, when it successfully hosted its first liftoff during Starship Flight Test 12. The mission served as the debut for SpaceX’s next-generation V3 iterations of both the Starship upper stage and the Super Heavy booster, powered by the newly evolved Raptor 3 engines.

The pad was developed to enable a higher launch cadence by allowing SpaceX to prepare one vehicle while another pad is active. Its design includes upgraded foundations, reinforced infrastructure, and refined propellant handling systems intended to improve durability and streamline operations. By applying real-world flight and ground-test data from Pad 1, SpaceX has optimized Pad 2 for sustained, repeatable launch operations rather than purely experimental testing.

A dedicated launch and catch tower supports Pad 2, mirroring the capabilities of the original Mechazilla tower. This tower handles vehicle stacking and is also intended to support booster catch operations in the future. Now fully active, Pad 2 plays a key role in transforming Starbase from a single-pad test site into a multi-pad orbital launch complex. Together, Pads 1 and 2 are expected to support SpaceX’s long-term goals of rapid Starship reusability, frequent orbital missions, and sustained human and cargo transport to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Pad 2 - Starbase, Texas, USA

Isla Blanca Park

SpaceX uses a section of the Gulf of Mexico as the planned splashdown area for the Super Heavy booster during Starship test flights. After launch from the Starbase site in Boca Chica, Texas, the booster separates and performs a controlled descent into the water, typically around 30 kilometers offshore. This area is used for testing booster recovery and descent techniques during ongoing development of the Starship launch system.

Gulf of Mexico

Starship is targeted to splashdown in the Indian Ocean. This flight path does not require a deorbit burn for reentry, maximizing public safety while still providing the opportunity to meet SpaceX's primary objective of a controlled Starship reentry.

Indian Ocean

High-quality prints selected from the Supercluster team’s spaceflight photography are 

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Erik Kuna’s capture of a young space fan experiencing the liftoff of Starship Super Heavy.

Starship Super Heavy Print

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Starship Prototype Tee

United States of America

Starship Super Heavy Flight Test 13

Shoemaker–Levy 9 was a comet that broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects. This generated a large amount of coverage in the popular media, and the comet was closely observed by astronomers worldwide.

Shoemaker-Levy 9

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Scientific investigation began shortly after the advent of radio in the early 1900s, and focused international efforts have been ongoing since the 1980s.

SETI

VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) is a major ground-based gamma-ray observatory with an array of four 12 meter optical reflectors for gamma-ray astronomy in the GeV – TeV photon energy range. VERITAS uses the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope technique to observe gamma-rays that cause particle showers in Earth's upper atmosphere.

VERITAS

The NEO Observations Program sponsors projects that make use of telescopes around the world to search for NEOs, track them across the sky to determine their orbits, and gain information on their sizes, shapes, and composition.

NEOO

The Vostok program was a Soviet human spaceflight project to put the first Soviet citizens into low Earth orbit and return them safely. Competing with the United States Project Mercury, it succeeded in placing the first human into space, Yuri Gagarin, in a single orbit in Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961.

Vostok

Blue Origin is an American spaceflight services company founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. Blue Origin is developing technologies to enable private human access to space with the goal of lowering costs and increasing reliability.

Blue Origin has a focus on rocket-powered vertical takeoff and landing vehicles for access to suborbital and orbital space.

Blue Origin

SpaceX and Axiom Launch First Entirely Private Astronaut Crew to the ISS.

Axiom Mission 1

ESA - European Space Agency. ESA is the intergovernmental space organization for 22 European nations.

Apogee is the highest altitude of an object's orbit around the Earth. Apogee is the Earth-specific word for this point in an orbit. The same location in an orbit around Earth's Moon is called apolune.

Apogee

Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union into an low Earth orbit on 4 October 1957. Sputnik orbited for three weeks with power, then silently for two months before falling into the atmosphere. This surprise success triggered the Space Race, and was the beginning of a new era of political, military, technological, and scientific developments.

Sputnik

The Pioneer program was a series of US unmanned space missions designed for planetary exploration. The most notable were Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, which explored the outer planets and left the solar system. Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 carry a golden plaque, depicting a man and a woman and information about the origin and the creators of the probes, should any extraterrestrials find them someday.

Pioneer Program

Low Earth orbit is the closest orbital zone to Earth that extends up to 2,000 km above Earth sealevel. 

Some well-known missions in this orbital zone include:

all human spaceflights except for the Apollo lunar missions,

all Soviet, Russian, US and Chinese space stations,

a fleet of international Earth observation satellites, and

Photo: Earth seen from the International Spcae Station in low Earth orbit. Credit: NASA

low Earth orbit

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of technology for use by the military.

Darpa was created in February 1958, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite.

DARPA

United Launch Alliance (ULA) provides spacecraft launch services to the United States government. It was formed as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security in December 2006.

ULA employs two expendable launch systems – Delta IV and Atlas V. In 2015, ULA unveiled a new vehicle, the Vulcan, with a first flight scheduled for no earlier than 2022.

United Launch Alliance

Cherenkov radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle passes through a medium at a speed greater than the speed of light in that medium. The blue glow of an underwater nuclear reactor is due to Cherenkov radiation. It is named for Soviet physicist Pavel Cherenkov, who shared the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics for its discovery.

Cherenkov Radiation

Ax-1

The Kármán line is a boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. This is important for legal and regulatory measures; aircraft and spacecraft fall under different jurisdictions and are subject to different treaties.

The US Air Force and NASA define the Karman Line to be 50 miles (80 km) above sea level, however here is no international law defining the edge of space.

Karman Line

The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station in low Earth orbit. It has been inhabited continuously since November 2000.

The ISS is the largest human-made body in space. It serves as a laboratory for microgravity experiments in biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields.

The ISS is a joint project between five space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and CSA.

International Space Station

Cosmonauts have lived and trained in Star City since the 1960s. In the Soviet era the location was a highly secret and guarded military installation, access to which was severely restricted. Many Russian cosmonauts, past and present live in Star City with their families.

There is a statue of the "space dog" Laika, the first animal to orbit the earth, in Star City.

Star City

ISS - International Space Station. The ISS is a multi-national and supranational cooperative effort led by the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, and the European Space Agency. More than half of Earth's nations have flown at least one experiment to the station, which serves as a research laboratory to help us learn how to live in space and better our lives here on Earth.

A gamma ray is a penetrating electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. Gamma rays are biologically hazardous. Due to their high penetration power, they can damage bone marrow and internal organs. Unlike alpha and beta rays, they pass easily through the body, requiring shielding made from dense materials such as lead or concrete.

Gamma Rays

Es'hail-2 is a Qatari satellite, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on November 15, 2018. Es'hail-2 was built by Japan's Mitsubishi Electric company, and will operate at 26° East longitude along a geostationary orbit to provide direct-to-home television services in the Middle East and North Africa region

Eshail Sat-2

Eugene Merle Shoemaker (1928 – 1997) was an American geologist and one of the founders of planetary science. He is best known for co-discovering the Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with his wife Carolyn S. Shoemaker and David H. Levy. This comet hit Jupiter in July 1994. The impact was televised around the world. Shoemaker was also known for his studies of Earth impacts, such as Meteor Crater in Arizona.

Eugene Shoemaker

CSA - Canadian Space Agency. CSA is the national space agency of Canada.

Lagrange points are positions in space where objects sent there tend to stay put. These points in space can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position.

Lagrange Point

A black hole is a region of spacetime exhibiting gravitational acceleration so strong that nothing can escape from it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can deform spacetime to form a black hole. The boundary of the region from which no escape is possible is called the event horizon.

Black Hole

Azerspace-1 / Africasat-1a is Azerbaijan's first satellite. Built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, it was launched by an Ariane 5 rocket on February 7, 2013 from Kourou in French Guiana.

It offers coverage over Europe and a significant part of Asia and Africa, and is operated by the Azerbaijani company Azercosmos for TV, radio broadcasting, and the internet.

Azerspace-1

is an American private aerospace firm based in

Firefly Aerospace

Black Holes

The Constellation Program is a cancelled human spaceflight program developed by NASA from 2005 to 2009. The program was designed to help complete construction of the International Space Station and a return to the Moon no later than 2020. A crewed flight to the planet Mars was the ultimate goal.

Constellation Program

A supernova is a powerful stellar explosion, which occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. The original object either collapses to a neutron star or black hole, or it is completely destroyed. The peak luminosity of a supernova can be comparable to an entire galaxy.

Supernovae

The Landsat program is the longest-running series of missions designed to aquire satellite images of Earth, running from July 23, 1972 until the today. The Landsat imagery archive is a unique resource for global change research with applications in agriculture, cartography, geology, forestry, regional planning, surveillance and education, and can be viewed through the 'EarthExplorer' website.

Landsat

Spaceport America is an FAA-licensed spaceport located in New Mexico. The site has been described as "the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport." The site's major tenants have experienced problems in the development of their programs, resulting in spaceport revenue far below projections, and a political controversy about what to do with the expensive government-built spaceport.

Spaceport America

A CubeSat is a miniaturized satellite designed from multiples of smaller cubic units. CubeSats have a mass of no more than 1.33 kilograms (3 pounds), and often use off-the-shelf components for their electronics and structure.

CubeSats are sometimes used to test experimental technologies or scientific experiments with unproven theory, because their low cost can justify higher risks.

CubeSats

"Air-launched" is a term used in spaceflight to refer to a rocket that is carried into the air by a plane and then dropped from underneath its wing. Notable air-launched rockets include Launcher One (pictured) from Virgin Orbit and Pegasus from Northrop Grumman.

air-launched

Supernova

Solar sails, also called light sails or photon sails, are spacecraft that use radiation pressure exerted by sunlight on large mirrors. A useful analogy may be a sailing boat; the light exerting a force on the mirrors is akin to a sail blown by the wind. Solar sail craft offer low-cost operations combined with long operating lifetimes, since they require few moving parts and use no propellant.

solar sail

The Mariner program was a 10-mission series of robotic interplanetary probes, from 1962 to 1973, designed to investigate Mars, Venus and Mercury. The program included the first planetary flyby, the first planetary orbiter, and the first gravity assist maneuver.

Seven missions were successful, and the planned Mariner Jupiter-Saturn vehicles were adapted into the Voyager program.

Mariner

Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer. He is a key figure in the 17th-century scientific revolution, best known for his laws of planetary motion. Kepler incorporated religious arguments and reasoning into his work, motivated by the belief that God had created the world according to an intelligible plan, accessible through the natural light of reason.

Johannes Kepler

A neutron star is the collapsed core of a giant star. Neutron stars are the smallest and densest stars, excluding black holes, hypothetical white holes, quark stars and strange stars. There are thought to be around 100 million neutron stars in the Milky Way, a figure obtained by estimating the number of stars that have undergone supernova explosions

Neutron Stars

The Pegasus is an air-launched rocket developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. Capable of carrying small payloads into low Earth orbit, Pegasus first flew in 1990 and remains active as of 2019. Pegasus is released from its carrier aircraft at approximately 40,000 ft, and its first stage has a wing and a tail to provide lift and attitude control while in the atmosphere.

Pegasus rocket

The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle is an interplanetary spacecraft for a crew of four astronauts to destinations at or beyond low Earth orbit.

It is Currently under development by the European Space Agency and NASA for launch on the Space Launch System. Orion will facilitate human exploration to the moon, asteroids, and Mars, and retrieve crew or supplies from the International Space Station.

Orion Crew Vehicle

Lunar Prospector was a NASA Discovery Program mission. In polar orbit of the Moon it mapped surface composition, located lunar resources, measured magnetic and gravity fields, and studied outgassing events. Principal Investigator Alan Binder's personal account of the mission, Lunar Prospector: Against all Odds, is highly critical of the bureaucracy of NASA and of its contractors.

Lunar Prospector

Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift rocket manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French Spatial Agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales. Airbus Defence and Space is the primary contractor for the vehicles.

Ariane 5 is operated and marketed by Arianespace as part of the Ariane programme. The rockets are launched from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.

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