With Artemis II, SLS could become the most powerful rocket ever to launch humans. Its four main engines burn roughly 700,000 gallons of ultra-cold fuel, producing enough oomph to keep eight Boeing 747s aloft. Future versions of SLS, if they come to fruition, could deliver even greater power.

After a string of dramatic failures, the huge Starship rocket from SpaceX had a fully successful test on Oct. 13, 2025. A couple more test flights, and SpaceX plans to launch it into orbit. A month later, a rival rocket company, Blue Origin, flew its almost-as-large New Glenn rocket all the way to orbit and sent spacecraft on their way to Mars.

A growing cadence … The Ariane 6 rocket has launched five times, including its debut flight in July 2024. All of the launches were a success, although the first flight failed to relight the upper stage in order to make a controlled reentry. Arianespace increased the cadence to four launches last year and will seek to try to double that this year.

It was a record year for spaceflight in California at the Vandenberg Space Force Base, and even more rocket launches should be ahead in 2026.

The history of the rocket stretches back far longer than most people realize. Long before spaceflight, early civilizations experimented with gunpowder‑powered projectiles, discovering—sometimes accidentally—the basic principles that would one day send machines beyond Earth. These humble beginnings laid the groundwork for centuries of innovation.