12 times rockets and spacecraft crashed and burned in 2025
We saw quite a few milestones notched in the final frontier this year. But there were a number of failures as well, some of them quite dramatic.
Indian rocket launches record-breaking BlueBird 6 smartphone satellite to orbit (video)
An Indian LVM3 rocket successfully launched the massive BlueBird 6 smartphone satellite for AST SpaceMobile to orbit on Tuesday night (Dec. 23).
Doomed SpaceX Starlink satellite photographed from orbit
We just got a great up-close look at a SpaceX Starlink satellite that recently suffered an anomaly in orbit, thanks to Vantor's WorldView-3 spacecraft.
South Korean startup Innospace fails on its 1st orbital launch attempt
The South Korean startup Innospace failed during its first orbital launch attempt, which sent five satellites aloft on Dec. 22 from Brazil.
Rocket Lab launches final mission of 2025, sends Japanese Earth-observing satellite to orbit (video)
Rocket Lab launched its 21st and final mission of the year over the weekend, sending a private Japanese Earth-observing satellite to orbit.
Japanese H3 rocket fails during launch of navigation satellite (video)
A Japanese H3 rocket suffered an anomaly during the launch of a navigation satellite on Sunday night (Dec. 21), resulting in the loss of the spacecraft.
Starship success, a private moon landing and more: The top 10 spaceflight stories of 2025
Over the past 12 months, we saw multiple spaceflight records broken, the debut of a powerful new rocket and the first-ever fully successful private moon landing.
Trump signs sweeping executive order aimed at ‘ensuring American space superiority’
On Thursday (Dec. 18), President Donald Trump issued an executive order designed to ensure American space superiority. It calls for the initial construction of a moon base by 2030, among other goals.
A SpaceX Starlink satellite is tumbling and falling out of space after partial breakup in orbit
One of SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellites suffered an anomaly in orbit on Wednesday (Dec. 17) that led to its partial breakup, according to the company.
Blue Origin launches 1st wheelchair user to space and back (video)
Blue Origin launched wheelchair user Michi Benthaus and her NS-37 five crewmates aboard a New Shepard rocket from West Texas on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025.