50 years ago today, Canyon 6 was launched atop an Atlas-Agena rocket from Pad 13, Cape Canaveral. Canyon was a spacecraft designed by the U.S. Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office as a signal intelligence (SIGINT) satellite. The series was the first of its kind, tasked with cracking foreign communications. The Canyon probes were placed in a 24-hour orbit that was offset from geostationary. In the case of Canyon 6, its orbit was roughly 40,000x30,000 km, with an inclination of 9°.
They might actually be getting down to the cause of the issues with the past three Starships. On Wednesday, June 18 at approximately 11 p.m. CT, the Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase. A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted…— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 19, 2025 Around Midnight early this morning, Ship 36 was on a test stand at Space Padre when the ship exploded. No one was present at the stand, so no one was hurt. Considering how the last three Starships have suffered catastrophic failures during their phases of launch, this might provide us with evidence that could lead to a solution and finally getting it back on track.
108 years ago today, Robert Goddard began one of his more unique rocketry experiments. Having received a $20,000 grant from the U.S. Army Signal Corps, he set up shop at the Mount Wilson Observatory. Working with assistant Clarence Hickman, they developed a rocket-propelled missile that could be launched from a shoulder-mounted cannon. The bazooka was successfully tested back in Maryland at Aberdeen Proving Grounds on November 6, 1918. But with the Great War ending five days later, the project was discontinued. While Goddard would eventually move on to his liquid rocket research, Hickman would continue working on the bazooka. The weapon would coalesce just in time for World War II. Initial projectiles were notoriously unstable. Work would continue into 1943 to improve the weapon. Various Bazooka models would be used by all the United Nations via Lend Lease. Bazookas were used into the Korean War, but they fell out of favor early in the Vietnam War as improved RPG weapons were introduced. The Viet Minh and Viet Cong developed their own, but stopped their use before 1965. The last known use of weapons descended from the original Bazooka RPG was by Argentina during the Falklands War in 1983.
26 years ago today, the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) was launched atop a Delta II 7320-10 rocket from Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral. In the first launch of the 7000-series Delta II with three SRMs but no extra upper stage, FUSE was a joint project of NASA, and Canadian Space Agency, and CNES to study the origins of hydrogen and deuterium in the universe. It was only the second far-ultraviolet study done, after OAO-3 Copernicus in the late 60s and early 70s. It was placed in a 470-mile circular orbit. The telescope was shut down in October 2007 after its reaction wheels failed. This was at the end of a mission extension. Data from FUSE would inform the development of ultraviolet instrumentation and fine guidance techniques used on the James Webb Space Telescope.
With the launch of Axiom Mission 4 early this morning, Crew Dragon C213 finally got its name. After achieving a nominal orbital insertion, Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson declares that the 5th and final Dragon spacecraft is called "Grace." Grace is now making its inaugural flight to the space station.Watch live: https://t.co/eWzp8ZYfx2 pic.twitter.com/ltzCyEjWBn— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) June 25, 2025 Mission commander Peggy Whitson christened the new spacecraft Grace. The mission is currently headed to the International Space Station, with docking scheduled for 7am EDT tomorrow morning at Harmony zenith.
With the launch of a group of 27 Starlink satellites at 12:25am this morning, Booster 1067 completed its 29th launch and landing, extending its lead as the life-leader among Falcon 9 first stages. Three new first stages began service during the spring, and another new one, B1096, is awaiting assignment. ******** Further assignments are coming for ISS missions. SpaceX Crew-11, commanded by Zena Cardman and piloted by former Boeing designee Michael Fincke, is penciled in for July 31. They will be joined by Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. SpaceX Crew-12 has also received its crew. It will be the first mission with astronauts from NASA Astronaut Group 23, commanded by Jack Hathaway. He will be joined by pilot Jessica Meir, returning to space after her extended seven-moth mission in 2019 and 2020. ESA will provide French Sophie Adenot, the first career astronaut from ESA's 2022 recruitment group. And Roscosmos will provide cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev. Their mission is penciled in for February 2026. ******** Axiom is pressing on, with Axiom Mission 5 penciled in for May 2026. There are conflicting reports on the nature of the mission. It was originally thought to carry an astronaut from Hungary, but the perceived participant, Tibor Kapu, is on the ISS right now with Axiom Mission 4. The Czech Republic was also rumored to be sending an astronaut on this mission. But the United Kingdom Space Agency has apparently purchased all four seats on this flight. Under this plan, the commander would likely be experienced ESA astronaut Timothy Peake. And among the participants would be John McFall. McFall was among the "project astronauts" selected by ESA in 2022. At age 19, he suffered a moped accident in Thailand, and his right leg had to be amputated above the knee. Seeking to continue athletic pursuits (he played hockey in school), he was fitted with a carbon fiber blade prosthetic, and would spend the later 2000s competing in paralympic athletics. He took the bronze medal in the men's T42 100m dash at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, representing Wales. ESA specifically chose McFall, who is a trained orthopaedic surgeon, to begin feasibility studies for disabled humans in space.
23 years ago today, the CONTOUR spacecraft was launched atop a Delta II 7425-9.5 rocket from Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral. CONTOUR stood for Comet Nucleus Tour. It was planned to visit several comets, beginning with Comet 2P/Encke. On August 15, 2002, contact was lost during its first orbit adjustment burn. Tracking with high-power telescopes determined that the probe had exploded. It is believed that a catastrophic failure occurred with the SRM that was included for that initial burn. A reflight was proposed for 2006, but ultimately never made it out of planning phases. To this date, Comic Encke has not been visited, though it has been observed from afar by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter in 1984, and STEREO-A in 2007.