6 min read

Elyna Niles-Carnes

Dec 22, 2025

Article

Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida spent 2025 preparing the launch vehicle and its powerhouse SLS (Space Launch System) rocket to launch four astronauts around the Moon for Artemis II in early 2026. The center also celebrated milestones by conducting science experiments at the International Space Station to studying the Sun’s solar wind impacts on Earth to traveling to Mars in hopes of one day exploring the Red Planet in person.

JANUARY **NASA Kennedy Marks New Chapter for Florida Space Industry **

Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro and charter members of the Florida University Space Research Consortium sign a memorandum of understanding in research and development to assist with missions and contribute to NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.

**Firefly Launches Blue Ghost Mission One **

Firefly Aerospace launched Blue Ghost Mission One lunar lander with a suite of NASA scientific instruments on January 15, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy. The lander and instruments landed March 2 on the Moon.

FEBRUARY Intuitive Machines Launches to the Moon

Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 Nova C lunar lander launched Feb. 26 from Launch Complex 39A, carrying NASA science and technology demonstrations to the Mons Mouton region of the Moon. IM-2 reached the surface of the Moon on March 6.

MARCH NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Launch

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nicole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov launched March 14 from Launch Complex 39A to the International Space Station for a five-month science mission.

**NASA’s SPHEREx, PUNCH Missions Launch **

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched on March 11, from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California carrying NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) and PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) missions. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA Kennedy managed the launch service for SPHEREx.

**NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Returns **

NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore were greeted by dolphins and recovery teams after their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down on March 18, off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida following their long-duration mission at the International Space Station.

**NASA Causeway Bridge Opens **

The Florida Department of Transportation opened the westbound portion of the NASA Causeway Bridge on March 19, completing construction in both directions spanning the Indian River Lagoon and connecting NASA Kennedy and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the mainland.

**NASA Artemis Teams Complete URT-12 **

Teams from NASA and the Department of War train during a week-long Underway Recovery Test-12 in March off the coast of California for Artemis II test flight crewmembers and the Orion spacecraft. The series of tests demonstrate and evaluate the processes, procedures, and hardware used in recovery operations for crewed lunar missions.

**APRIL NASA’s SpaceX 32nd Commercial Resupply Mission **

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon spacecraft carrying nearly 6,700 pounds of scientific investigations, food, supplies, and equipment launched on April 21 from Launch Complex 39A to the International Space Station.

JULY Artemis III Begins Processing

NASA’s Artemis III SLS engine section and boat-tail made the journey from the Space Systems Processing Facility at NASA Kennedy to the spaceport’s Vehicle Assembly Building in July to complete integration and check-out testing. Beginning with the Artemis III hardware, NASA moved certain operations to NASA Kennedy to streamline the manufacturing process and enable simultaneous production operations of two core stages.

**AUGUST ** NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Launches

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and its Falcon 9 rocket on Aug. 1 from Launch Complex 39A bound for a long-duration mission to the International Space Station.

**NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Returns **

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nicole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov became the first Commercial Crew to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Aug. 9, completing their nearly five-month mission at the orbiting outpost as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

**NASA’s SpaceX 33rd Commercial Resupply Mission **

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the company’s Dragon spacecraft carrying more than 5,000 pounds of food, crew supplies, science investigations, spacewalk equipment, and more to the space station on Aug. 24 from Launch Complex 39A.

Orion Tested, Stacked With Hardware

Teams transported NASA’s Orion spacecraft from Kennedy’s Multi-Payload Processing Facility to the Launch Abort System Facility in August where crews integrated the 44-foot-tall launch abort system. The Orion spacecraft will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen around the Moon for the Artemis II mission in early 2026. The launch abort system is designed to carry the crew to safety in the event of an emergency atop the SLS.

SEPTEMBER NASA Launches IMAP Mission

NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) launched from Launch Complex 39A on Sept. 24, to help researchers better understand the boundary of the heliosphere, a huge bubble created by the Sun surrounding and protecting our solar system.

**NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Mission **

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A to the International Space Station delivering NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment as part of the agency’s partnership to resupply the orbiting laboratory.

OCTOBER Orion Integrated With SLS Rocket

Teams stacked NASA’s Orion spacecraft with its launch abort system on the agency’s SLS rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA Kennedy on Oct. 20 for the agency’s Artemis II mission. Teams will begin conducting a series of verification tests ahead of rolling out the integrated SLS rocket to Launch Complex 39B for the wet dress rehearsal.

NOVEMBER NASA’s ESCAPADE Begins Journey to Mars

NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) twin spacecraft launched aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on Nov. 13 from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Its twin orbiters will take simultaneous observations from different locations around Mars to reveal how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape.

NASA, European Partners Launch Sea Satellite

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the U.S.-European Sentinel-6B satellite launched at Nov. 16 from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Sentinel-6B will observe Earth’s ocean, measuring sea levels to improve weather forecasts and flood predictions, safeguard public safety, benefit commercial industry, and protect coastal infrastructure.

DECEMBER

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen participated in a dry dress rehearsal at NASA Kennedy on Dec. 20 to mimic launch day operations for the Artemis II launch. The crew donned their spacesuits, exited the Neil A. Operations and Checkout Building, and took the journey to the Vehicle Assembly Building, up the mobile launcher to the crew access arm, and entered the Orion spacecraft that will take them around the Moon and back to Earth.