The four crew members that make up the SpaceX Crew-8 mission aboard the International Space Station are pictured in the vestibule in between the Harmony module’s space-facing port and the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. From top to bottom are, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, Mike Barratt, and Matthew Dominick, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. Photo credit: NASA
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. –Sometimes it seems like you can’t catch a break…or at least it must seem that way to a space station full of astronauts who find themselves away from home a lot longer than planned.
Starship 30 stacked on top of Super Heavy Booster 12 the night before IFT-5. Image by Richard P Gallagher
For Richard Gallagher, a tenacious photographer from Merritt Island, Florida, the pursuit of documenting rocket launches has always been more than just a hobby—it’s a calling. So, when SpaceX announced that their fifth integrated test flight (IFT-5) would attempt the first-ever catch of the Super Heavy Booster, Richard knew this was a moment in history he had to capture. The only problem? The launch site was nearly 1400 miles away, and the drive there would be anything but easy.
SpaceX Starship IFT-5 prior to launching. Photo: Chris Leymarie, FMN
SpaceX’s fifth flight test of a complete Starship was a resounding success. After watching that launch, it is hard not to be inspired by what is coming for SpaceX and humanity.
Houston-based Axiom Space unveiled the flight design of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit for the first time today at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan. This new suit is a critical part of the Artemis program — it is what the Artemis astronauts will don to walk on the lunar surface.
Prada, the Italian fashion house, partnered with Axiom to design and construct the AxEMU suit.
Commercial crew astronauts, from left, European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer, and NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, pose for a photo in their Dragon spacesuits during a fit check aboard the International Space Station’s Harmony module on April 21, 2022. Photo: NASA
NASA’s Commercial Crew office released its high-level plan for 2025 today. It has few surprises, with two SpaceX Commercial Crew missions, and offers the slightest of updates for Boeing’s Starliner program and holds out the possibility of a Starliner flight next year.
Falcon Heavy lifting off on October 14, 2024 Photo: Ed Cordero / FMN
NASA and SpaceX began Europa Clipper’s journey to Jupiter and its moon Europa aboard a Falcon Heavy this afternoon from Kennedy Space Center. Launch was at 12:06 PM EDT under blue skies and pleasant temperatures.
A Falcon 9 launches in July 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
The Federal Aviation Administration, the agency responsible for commercial spaceflight, has announced that SpaceX may resume regular launches of Falcon 9.
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off carrying the Hera probe on October 7, 2024 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Ever the masters of threading the weather needle, SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 on its way to orbit and the Hera probe on its way to the Didymos binary asteroid system that was impacted by NASA’s DART probe on September 26, 2022.
Falcon 9 on the launch mount at Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral in August 2024. Photo: Charle Boyer / Florida Media Now
FAA clears one-off license for Falcon 9 for this launch only
SpaceX and the European Space Agency are planning to launch ESA’s Hera probe from Space Launch Complex 40 on Monday, October 7th. The launch window extends from 10:52 AM – 11:27 AM EDT.
Debris from the left SRB nozzle is visible in this “engine shot” by Chris Leymarie / FMN
United Launch Alliances’s CERT-2 flight launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:25 AM EDT this morning. Almost immediately from the point of launch, observers noticed that something didn’t look quite right as Vulcan booster rose from the pad.