Launches

NASA's Artemis II mission launched on 1 April 2026 and returned on 10 April 2026, a crewed lunar flyby lasting 9 days, 1 hour and 32 minutes, the first crewed flight of NASA's deep space systems. NASA's own overview now describes a restructured plan: Artemis III, scheduled for 2027, becomes a low Earth orbit demonstration of one or both commercial landers, while Artemis IV carries the first crewed lunar landing, targeted for early 2028. Artemis V is expected by late 2028, with missions roughly annual thereafter.

Next: Artemis III, scheduled for 2027, a demonstration mission in low Earth orbit to test one or both commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin

last verified 22 Aug 2026 · Image: NASA/Joel Kowsky, restyled

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SpaceX flew Starship's thirteenth flight test on 24 July 2026, the second flight of the next-generation vehicle, from Pad 2 at Starbase with all 33 Raptor engines powering the Super Heavy booster. The company confirmed deployment of 20 Starlink V3 satellites for the first time, a successful in-space Raptor engine relight, Super Heavy's splashdown in the Gulf, and Starship's splashdown in the Indian Ocean after a banking manoeuvre that mimics the final approach for a future return-to-Starbase catch. SpaceX described the flight as providing priceless data across air, space and sea.

last verified 29 Aug 2026 · Image: Jenny Hautmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, restyled

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New Glenn's debut on 16 January 2025 reached orbit but lost the booster on landing. The second flight, on 13 November 2025, carried NASA's ESCAPADE spacecraft towards Mars and achieved the first successful booster landing; the third, on 19 April 2026, reused and landed that booster again, but the FAA's closure statement records a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line and caused a second-stage thrust anomaly, leaving the AST SpaceMobile payload in the wrong orbit. On 28 May 2026 the next vehicle was destroyed in a hotfire test explosion at Launch Complex 36. On 5 August 2026 chief executive Dave Limp said the anomaly originated at the main oxygen valve on one of the BE-4 engines, confirmed by hardware recovery and inspections, with modified valve hardware ready by the end of that month; the company has announced no return-to-flight date.

Next: Return to flight, no date announced; Blue Origin said modified valve hardware would be ready by the end of August 2026

last verified 22 Aug 2026 · Image: US Space Force/Samuel Becker, restyled

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