News & Updates
The latest news and updates from companies in the WLTH portfolio.
See images of SpaceX launching Northrop Grumman robotic spacecraft
With a brilliant blue-sky backdrop, a soaring SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Northrop Grumman's Mission Robotic Vehicle during a late-afternoon mission Tuesday, July 21, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Falcon 9 took flight at 5:15 p.m. from Launch Complex 40. Touted by Northrop Grumman as a "Swiss army knife for satellites," the MRV is designed for on-orbit satellite inspection, life extension, repairs, upgrades, debris removal and repositioning. Looking ahead on the Eastern Range calendar, another Falcon 9 will launch July 30 on a SpaceX national security mission, a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory shows. More details on the NROL-95 mission: * Launch window: 2:37 a.m. to 4:04 a.m. * Location: Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. * Live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space. For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space. Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly 321 Launch space newsletter. Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY, where he has covered news since 2004. Contact Neale at [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
SpaceX Starship launch aborted after engines fail to start
* A SpaceX Starship launch was automatically aborted on Thursday after some engines failed to ignite. * The launch attempt was the 13th test flight for the Starship rocket from Starbase, Texas. * CEO Elon Musk stated that two of the Raptor engines would be replaced out of caution. * The next launch attempt will not occur until next week at the earliest. The countdown clock hit T-0. Some engines ignited. Steam surrounded the rocket. But SpaceX's massive Starship rocket stayed on the pad. The much anticipated Thursday, July 16 liftoff from Texas was aborted. While a new launch date has not yet been set, it won't be until next week at the earliest. "Some of the engines didn't start, triggering an automatic launch abort. Now offloading propellant," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X shortly after the abort. The engine visual on the SpaceX webcast showed four out of the 33 Raptor engines on the Super-Heavy booster did not start up. Musk later updated that two of the Raptor engines would be replaced out of caution. This 13th Starship test flight from Starbase, Texas marks the second test overall of the new Starship V3 (Version 3), which is the same model of the ship expected to someday launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A. Starship will later also launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base's Launch Complex 37, where SpaceX is building two launch pads -- 37A and 37B. SpaceX claims that a debut Florida launch for Starship could come as early as later this year, however that depends on how well the upcoming test flight goes. When this second test flight of Starship V3 does happen, the goals are: successful launch, controlled booster landing, ship coasting in space, a relight of a single ship engine, deployment of 20 Starlink satellites, and a splashdown of the ship in the Indian Ocean. Six of the Starlink satellites are outfitted with cameras to assess the ship's heatshield while it coasts in space. The Super-Heavy booster will not be caught back at the launch site for this mission, as SpaceX is still testing the performance of the engines. It is targeting a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of America, also known as the Gulf of Mexico, after stage separation. The FLORIDA TODAY Space Team will provide live coverage of Flight 13 at FloridaToday.com/Space on launch day. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars.
SpaceX Starship launch aborted after engines fail to start
The countdown clock hit T-0. Some engines ignited. Steam surrounded the rocket. But SpaceX's massive Starship rocket stayed on the pad. The much anticipated Thursday, July 16 liftoff from Texas was aborted. While a new launch date has not yet been set, it won't be until next week at the earliest. "Some of the engines didn't start, triggering an automatic launch abort. Now offloading propellant," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X shortly after the abort. The engine visual on the SpaceX webcast showed four out of the 33 Raptor engines on the Super-Heavy booster did not start up. Musk later updated that two of the Raptor engines would be replaced out of caution. This 13th Starship test flight from Starbase, Texas marks the second test overall of the new Starship V3 (Version 3), which is the same model of the ship expected to someday launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A. Starship will later also launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base's Launch Complex 37, where SpaceX is building two launch pads -- 37A and 37B. SpaceX claims that a debut Florida launch for Starship could come as early as later this year, however that depends on how well the upcoming test flight goes. When this second test flight of Starship V3 does happen, the goals are: successful launch, controlled booster landing, ship coasting in space, a relight of a single ship engine, deployment of 20 Starlink satellites, and a splashdown of the ship in the Indian Ocean. Six of the Starlink satellites are outfitted with cameras to assess the ship's heatshield while it coasts in space. The Super-Heavy booster will not be caught back at the launch site for this mission, as SpaceX is still testing the performance of the engines. It is targeting a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of America, also known as the Gulf of Mexico, after stage separation. The FLORIDA TODAY Space Team will provide live coverage of Flight 13 at FloridaToday.com/Space on launch day. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars.
What SpaceX's Starship flight 13 test means for Florida's Space Coast
SpaceX has big plans for Starship during its 13th test flight from South Texas as the pressure is on for the rocket to be ready for missions to the moon and Mars. * The upcoming launch will be the second for the new, larger V3 prototype and will carry 20 Starlink satellites for the first time. * SpaceX is developing Starship for NASA's Artemis moon missions and Elon Musk's long-term goal of colonizing Mars. * The launch is scheduled for Thursday, July 16, with a window opening from 6:45 to 8:15 p.m. ET. * The latest flight test also comes as SpaceX continues preparations to bring Starship to Florida's Space Coast at both the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. For just the second time in 2026, SpaceX is preparing to launch the world's largest rocket. Starship, the commercial spaceflight company's super heavy-lift launch vehicle, is due to get off the ground in South Texas on the heels of a largely successful May flight test. And as usual, the stakes are high for SpaceX and its chief executive, tech mogul Elon Musk. The upcoming flight will be the 13th for Starship overall, including its April 2023 debut, and the second for SpaceX's new prototype that serves as the largest iteration of the rocket to date. The pressure is on for SpaceX, which is working under a strict deadline to have Starship ready for NASA's fast-approaching moon landing missions. Musk, of course, also still dreams of sending the rocket on interplanetary voyages to Mars. The latest flight test also comes as SpaceX continues preparations to bring Starship to Florida's Space Coast. Here's everything to know about the next Starship launch, which SpaceX refers to as flight 13, as well as the latest on plans for its maiden flight in Florida. When is the next Starship launch date? SpaceX is working toward a Thursday, July 16, launch of its Starship rocket, the company announced. The launch window is due to open from 6:45 to 8:15 p.m. ET. Where does Starship launch? As it has since its maiden launch in April 2023, Starship will once again get off the ground from SpaceX's Starbase company town and headquarters in South Texas. Starbase is located close to the U.S.-Mexico border near the well-known Boca Chica Beach. In May 2025, Texas voters in Cameron County - most of whom are SpaceX employees - approved a measure to officially recognize the company's headquarters as its own town, complete with a mayor and city commissioners. What is Starship? Starship is the massive rocket that SpaceX, the commercial company founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, has been testing since April 2023. SpaceX is developing the rocket to be a fully reusable transportation system that can carry huge satellites and other payloads to space, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions. How tall is Starship? Is it the world's largest rocket? Starship's most recent flight test in May marked the debut of SpaceX's third-generation prototype of the rocket. Standing at 407 feet tall when fully stacked, the new iteration of Starship - known as Version 3, or V3 - became the largest and most powerful rocket SpaceX has ever launched. Similar to previous designs, the fully integrated Starship spacecraft is composed of both a 236-feet-tall lower-stage booster known as Super Heavy, as well as a 171-feet-tall upper stage simply called Starship. What is SpaceX planning for flight 13? For the next Starship test flight, SpaceX said it is aiming to complete similar objectives as the last launch in May in which it debuted its Version 3 prototype. SpaceX plans to push the performance of the Super Heavy booster - responsible for the initial burst of thrust at liftoff - before it lands in the Gulf of Mexico, renamed in the U.S. under executive order as the Gulf of America. The upper stage, which is designed to eventually fly in orbit, will also be put to the test as it flies halfway around the world ahead of a landing in the Indian Ocean. Starship to carry Starlink satellites to space In a major first, Starship will be carrying 20 larger versions of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites that it will attempt to deliver into suborbital space. The satellites will deploy solar arrays and antennas while attempeting to connect with SpaceX's larger Starlink constellation higher up in orbit before they fall toward the ground and burn up in the atmosphere about 20 minutes later. If this sounds familiar, that's because SpaceX has deployed mock Starlink satellites during previous Starship flight tests. Why is SpaceX testing Starship? Elon Musk envisions colony on Mars Musk's vision has long been for Starship to be an interplanetary vehicle that takes humans to Mars, where they can establish a self-sustaining colony. While the world's richest man has indicated that SpaceX will focus on building a lunar city first, the company has already announced a human-led expedition to Mars' orbit - though it has not set a target date. In order for that to be possible, Starship will need to be capable of refueling midflight in a complex process that requires two Starships equipped with docking adapters to meet in orbit to transfer propellant. The maneuver is one SpaceX has yet to test. When could Starship launch in Florida? Florida's first landmark Starship launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center could also take flight in 2026 in late summer or early fall, according to the U.S. Space Force. Plans to get the rocket off the ground from the Sunshine State come as SpaceX continues to ready longterm launch and landing operations at not only Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A, but Launch Complex 37 at the neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Super Heavy boosters could begin arriving on SpaceX's drone barge You'll Thank Me Later in the coming months. And at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Gigabay - an enormous Starship maintenance facility - is rising beam-by-beam off Roberts Road. NASA relies on Starship for Artemis moon missions SpaceX is also under contract with NASA to develop a lunar lander configuration of its Starship to ferry astronauts to the moon, known as the Human Landing System. NASA is relying on Starship to be ready for a mission due in 2027 known as Artemis III. SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin are competing to develop lunar landers for future crewed and uncrewed Artemis missions, both of which will be tested first in Earth orbit during the crewed Artemis III mission. See photos of Starship rocket launches What happened on the last Starship flight test in May? During Starship's last flight test on May 22, the booster helped propel the upper stage on its journey before it made a water landing in the Gulf Coast. The upper stage, sometimes referred to simply as 'Ship, then used its own six Raptor engines to fly halfway around the world before landing and exploding as expected in the Indian Ocean. Along the way, Starship succeeded in deploying 20 mock versions of SpaceX's Starlink satellites and two modified satellites that, in a major first, imaged Starship while it climbed into space. Contributing: Rick Neale, Brooke Edwards, Florida Today Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
What SpaceX's Starship flight 13 test means for Florida's Space Coast
SpaceX has big plans for Starship during its 13th test flight from South Texas as the pressure is on for the rocket to be ready for missions to the moon and Mars. For just the second time in 2026, SpaceX is preparing to launch the world's largest rocket. Starship, the commercial spaceflight company's super heavy-lift launch vehicle, is due to get off the ground in South Texas on the heels of a largely successful May flight test. And as usual, the stakes are high for SpaceX and its chief executive, tech mogul Elon Musk. The upcoming flight will be the 13th for Starship overall, including its April 2023 debut, and the second for SpaceX's new prototype that serves as the largest iteration of the rocket to date. The pressure is on for SpaceX, which is working under a strict deadline to have Starship ready for NASA's fast-approaching moon landing missions. Musk, of course, also still dreams of sending the rocket on interplanetary voyages to Mars. The latest flight test also comes as SpaceX continues preparations to bring Starship to Florida's Space Coast. Here's everything to know about the next Starship launch, which SpaceX refers to as flight 13, as well as the latest on plans for its maiden flight in Florida. When is the next Starship launch date? SpaceX is working toward a Thursday, July 16, launch of its Starship rocket, the company announced. The launch window is due to open from 6:45 to 8:15 p.m. ET. Where does Starship launch? As it has since its maiden launch in April 2023, Starship will once again get off the ground from SpaceX's Starbase company town and headquarters in South Texas. Starbase is located close to the U.S.-Mexico border near the well-known Boca Chica Beach. In May 2025, Texas voters in Cameron County - most of whom are SpaceX employees - approved a measure to officially recognize the company's headquarters as its own town, complete with a mayor and city commissioners. What is Starship? Starship is the massive rocket that SpaceX, the commercial company founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, has been testing since April 2023. SpaceX is developing the rocket to be a fully reusable transportation system that can carry huge satellites and other payloads to space, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions. How tall is Starship? Is it the world's largest rocket? Starship's most recent flight test in May marked the debut of SpaceX's third-generation prototype of the rocket. Standing at 407 feet tall when fully stacked, the new iteration of Starship - known as Version 3, or V3 - became the largest and most powerful rocket SpaceX has ever launched. Similar to previous designs, the fully integrated Starship spacecraft is composed of both a 236-feet-tall lower-stage booster known as Super Heavy, as well as a 171-feet-tall upper stage simply called Starship. What is SpaceX planning for flight 13? For the next Starship test flight, SpaceX said it is aiming to complete similar objectives as the last launch in May in which it debuted its Version 3 prototype. SpaceX plans to push the performance of the Super Heavy booster - responsible for the initial burst of thrust at liftoff - before it lands in the Gulf of Mexico, renamed in the U.S. under executive order as the Gulf of America. The upper stage, which is designed to eventually fly in orbit, will also be put to the test as it flies halfway around the world ahead of a landing in the Indian Ocean. Starship to carry Starlink satellites to space In a major first, Starship will be carrying 20 larger versions of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites that it will attempt to deliver into suborbital space. The satellites will deploy solar arrays and antennas while attempeting to connect with SpaceX's larger Starlink constellation higher up in orbit before they fall toward the ground and burn up in the atmosphere about 20 minutes later. If this sounds familiar, that's because SpaceX has deployed mock Starlink satellites during previous Starship flight tests. Why is SpaceX testing Starship? Elon Musk envisions colony on Mars Musk's vision has long been for Starship to be an interplanetary vehicle that takes humans to Mars, where they can establish a self-sustaining colony. While the world's richest man has indicated that SpaceX will focus on building a lunar city first, the company has already announced a human-led expedition to Mars' orbit - though it has not set a target date. In order for that to be possible, Starship will need to be capable of refueling midflight in a complex process that requires two Starships equipped with docking adapters to meet in orbit to transfer propellant. The maneuver is one SpaceX has yet to test. When could Starship launch in Florida? Florida's first landmark Starship launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center could also take flight in 2026 in late summer or early fall, according to the U.S. Space Force. Plans to get the rocket off the ground from the Sunshine State come as SpaceX continues to ready longterm launch and landing operations at not only Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A, but Launch Complex 37 at the neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Super Heavy boosters could begin arriving on SpaceX's drone barge You'll Thank Me Later in the coming months. And at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Gigabay - an enormous Starship maintenance facility - is rising beam-by-beam off Roberts Road. NASA relies on Starship for Artemis moon missions SpaceX is also under contract with NASA to develop a lunar lander configuration of its Starship to ferry astronauts to the moon, known as the Human Landing System. NASA is relying on Starship to be ready for a mission due in 2027 known as Artemis III. SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin are competing to develop lunar landers for future crewed and uncrewed Artemis missions, both of which will be tested first in Earth orbit during the crewed Artemis III mission. See photos of Starship rocket launches What happened on the last Starship flight test in May? During Starship's last flight test on May 22, the booster helped propel the upper stage on its journey before it made a water landing in the Gulf Coast. The upper stage, sometimes referred to simply as 'Ship, then used its own six Raptor engines to fly halfway around the world before landing and exploding as expected in the Indian Ocean. Along the way, Starship succeeded in deploying 20 mock versions of SpaceX's Starlink satellites and two modified satellites that, in a major first, imaged Starship while it climbed into space. Contributing: Rick Neale, Brooke Edwards, Florida Today Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
SpaceX rocket launch from Florida starts off Tuesday morning
As thunderstorms and heavy rain rattled Florida's Space Coast the night before, the weather cleared for a beautiful morning rocket launch. The early morning liftoff occurred 5:10 a.m. Tuesday, July 14 from Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission, known as Starlink 10-45, saw a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket deliver 29 of the company's Starlink internet satellites to orbit. It marked the 47 rocket of the year from Florida.
SpaceX rocket launch from Florida starts off Tuesday morning
As thunderstorms and heavy rain rattled Florida's Space Coast the night before, the weather cleared for a beautiful morning rocket launch. The early morning liftoff occurred 5:10 a.m. Tuesday, July 14 from Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission, known as Starlink 10-45, saw a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket deliver 29 of the company's Starlink internet satellites to orbit. It marked the 47 rocket of the year from Florida. No Brevard County sonic booms were heard. The first-stage booster landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Next SpaceX rocket launch from Cape Canaveral The next Falcon 9 rocket launch from Florida is scheduled for no earlier than 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 21 from Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission is the launch of Northrup Grumman's Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) and Mission Extension Pods. The spacecraft is referred to as a "next-generation on-orbit servicing vehicle". Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars
