2026: The Year Everything Changes In Spaceflight

2026: The Year Everything Changes In Spaceflight

Rocket Lab Electron lifts off in December 2025. Photo: Chris Leymaries

2026 promises to be the most transformative year in American spaceflight since the Apollo era. From Artemis II astronauts circling the Moon to the first commercial space stations, here’s what’s coming.

Crew 11 making its own clouds on August 1

SpaceX And NASA Send Crew 11 Astronauts To ISS

SpaceX, NASA and the Crew 11 astronauts beat the clouds and rain showers and launched before summer showers washed over Kennedy Space Center today, but just barely. With dark skies and rain rapidly advancing from the south, liftoff of SpaceX’s 18th crewed flight was at 11:43 AM ET from venerable Launch Complex 39A. Crew 11’s four astronauts are now on their way to the International Space Station after today’s launch, with an expected arrival time at the orbital outpost around 3 AM ET tomorrow, August 2.

Rockets

SpaceX Nails Doubleheader with Flawless Falcon 9 Launches

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — On April 21, 2025, SpaceX executed a remarkable feat of aerospace engineering, successfully launching two Falcon 9 rockets from separate launch pads in Florida within a span of 16 hours. The early morning mission delivered critical supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), while the evening launch deployed a diverse array of satellites into orbit. Both rockets achieved their objectives with precision, and their reusable first-stage boosters landed safely, underscoring SpaceX’s dominance in reusable rocket technology and its ability to maintain an ambitious launch cadence.

Close up of booster b 1067

SpaceX Sets Reusability Record with Falcon 9 B1067’s 27th Flight

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX has once again pushed the boundaries of rocket reusability with the 27th successful launch and landing of its Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1067. The booster, a veteran of SpaceX’s fleet, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on April 14, 2025, at 12:00 a.m. EDT, delivering 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to low Earth orbit. Just over eight minutes later, B1067 touched down flawlessly on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean, marking its 27th landing and setting a new record for rocket reusability.