SpaceX rocket launches private moon lander and NASA ‘trailblazer’ to hunt for lunar water

a moon lander is shown in various stages of mission progression between the Earth and the moon.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The private Athena lunar lander is on its way to the moon. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off shortly after sunset this evening (Feb. 26), carrying Athena and NASA’s ride-along Lunar Trailblazer orbiter aloft against a darkening sky here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Athena — which was built … Read more

2 NASA missions will carpool on a SpaceX rocket this weekend to help map the cosmos

Sunday (March 2) is shaping up to be a delightful day for space explorers, as not one but two major NASA missions are expected to take to the skies — and interestingly, though the spacecraft associated with these missions are pretty different from one another, you might say they all have the same profession: cosmic … Read more

NASA Stennis Flashback: Learning About Rocket Engine Smoke for Safe Space Travel

joe schuyler

NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, is widely known as the nation’s largest rocket propulsion test site. More than 35 years ago, it also served as a hands-on classroom for NASA engineers seeking to improve the efficiency of space shuttle main engines. From 1988 to the mid-1990’s, NASA Stennis engineers operated a … Read more

Kennedy Space Center viewing gantry gaining rocket engine test sim in 2025

A countdown is underway at NASA’s Florida spaceport, ticking down the days until the public can experience a rocket engine test closer than ever before — by standing directly under the engine’s nozzle. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has announced the upcoming opening of The Gantry at LC-39, a former launch pad viewing tower … Read more