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NASA APOD:
NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula
These cosmic clouds have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile starfields of the constellation Cepheus. Called the Iris Nebula, NGC 7023 is not the only nebula to evoke the imagery of flowers. Still, this deep telescopic image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of colors and symmetries embedded in surrounding fields of interstellar dust. Within the Iris itself, dusty nebular material surrounds a hot, young star. The dominant color of the brighter reflection nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. Central filaments of the reflection nebula glow with a faint reddish photoluminescence as some dust grains effectively convert the star's invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula contains complex carbon molecules known as PAHs. The dusty blue petals of the Iris Nebula span about six light-years.
The Space News API (SNAPI):
Trending News
SNAPI brought to you by The Space Devs
The Launch Library:
Upcoming Launches You Don't Want to Miss
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Rocket: Long March 3B/E (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation)
Pad: Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1)
Location: Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Launch Time: Jan 15, 2026, 4:00 PM
Details TBD.
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Rocket: Ceres-1S (Galactic Energy)
Pad: Oriental Spaceport mobile launch ship
Location: Haiyang Oriental Spaceport
Launch Time: Jan 15, 2026, 7:30 PM
Details TBD.
Flight Two
Rocket: Spectrum (Isar Aerospace)
Pad: Orbital Launch Pad
Location: Andøya Spaceport
Launch Time: Jan 17, 2026, 12:00 AM
Second test flight of the Isar Spectrum launch vehicle, carrying several cubesats as part of the European Space Agency's “Boost!” program.
Demo Flight
Rocket: Ceres-2 (Galactic Energy)
Pad: Launch Area 95A
Location: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Launch Time: Jan 17, 2026, 4:05 AM
First test launch of Galactic Energy’s Ceres-2 rocket.
NROL-105
Rocket: Falcon 9 (SpaceX)
Pad: Space Launch Complex 4E
Location: Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Launch Time: Jan 17, 2026, 4:18 AM
Twelfth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imaging and other reconnaissance capabilities.
Starlink Group 6-100
Rocket: Falcon 9 (SpaceX)
Pad: Space Launch Complex 40
Location: Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Launch Time: Jan 18, 2026, 10:04 PM
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
API Data brought to you by The Space Devs
Space Industry & Godot (2022):
Help wanted: LunCo Space
Recently, I was invited to join the team at LunCo where we plan to create a space simulation game that features industry real world applications. While similar to games like Kerbal Space and No Man's Sky, LunCo will be feature two game styles - digital twin mode for engineers, and story mode for casual enthusiasts. We also plan to allow user generated content (space crafts, trajectories, factories, etc.) and integration with professional tools like CAD, FEA, MBSE, and more.
For story mode, you are playing as a CEO & Founder of a Lunar exploration company in the near future. You will collect resources, build factories, and manufacture robots to create a sustainable lunar base. From there, it's up to you to turn the Moon into a stepping stone and launch past the stars!
Rocket Lab Special Event (2021):
Rocket Lab ($RKLB) goes public
On Wednesday, August 25th of 2021, Rocket Lab began trading on the Nasdaq, becoming the latest space company to close a merger with a special purpose acquisition company and go public. They closed the first day down slightly at $10.45 per share, under the ticker $RKLB.
“We are super excited to bring a high-quality space asset to the market” Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck told CNBC. “I don’t think it will take long for investors to differentiate between the company that’s consistently delivering and the ones that have aspirations to deliver sometime in the future” he later added.
Astra Special Event (2021):
Astra ($ASTR) goes public
On Wednesday, June 30th of 2021, Astra became the first launch company to be traded publicly on NASDAQ. Trading under the ticker $ASTR, with shares previously listed under the special purpose acquisition company Holicity, the announcement expects to bring in around $500 million in proceeds. Astra's idea is to use the funding to continue to develop their rockets - with a goal of launching as many of it's 40ft tall rockets as it can, aiming to launch one per day by 2025.
“Now we have a space company that everyone can invest in on the public markets,” Astra CEO Chris Kemp told CNBC. “The same kinds of things you do to make a rocket great are the same behaviors that you have to invest in to make a company great. You don’t want any inefficiencies.”
About Rocket Downrange
Breaking boundaries, setting standards and transforming humanity for the better. Space has always been the final frontier that keeps on giving. This site serves to be a side project that informs and inspires the next generation of explorers.
Rocket Downrange is an independent hobby project by a guy learning Vue. No endorsements or partnerships exist between Rocket Downrange and the included organizations.
Contact Rocket Downrange
If you love the site or think something needs changed - we want to know! Questions, comments, suggestions and more can be sent below. If you know of any free and interesting API's we should include in the site - include information about where to find necessary documentation and we'll get to it!
