Launch
NASA and Boeing set for second Starliner test flight
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is ready to attempt another uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station, with both the company and the agency expressing confidence in the spacecraft despite past problems.
Space systems dominate Rocket Lab revenue
Rocket Lab, the company best known for its Electron small launch vehicle, generated most of its first quarter revenue from other space systems and not launch itself.
ABL Space Systems completes acceptance testing of RS1 upper stage
ABL Space Systems has completed testing of the second stage of its small launch vehicle, four months after a previous version of the stage was destroyed in a test accident.
India hit by more suspected space debris
Indian authorities are examining several pieces of suspected space debris that fell into rural western India on May 12, with the timing of the incident suggesting they could be parts of a Chinese rocket that reentered the atmosphere that day.
Chinese rocket company suffers third consecutive launch failure
An orbital launch attempt by Chinese startup iSpace ended in failure early Friday, following two failures last year.
Space Force to select small rocket for ‘responsive space’ mission
The U.S. Space Force plans to select a small satellite launcher to fly a payload to low Earth orbit on short notice, a capability known as tactically responsive space.
Orbex unveils prototype of rocket preparing for UK’s first vertical launch
British microlauncher startup Orbex unveiled a full-scale prototype May 11 of what it hopes will be the first-ever vertical rocket launched to orbit from British soil.
National Reconnaissance Office partners with U.K. on space mission to fly on Virgin Orbit rocket
The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office and the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense will launch a joint mission this summer on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket.
Astra to launch from U.K. spaceport
Astra announced May 10 that it plans to carry out launches from a spaceport in the Shetland Islands starting in 2023 as part of international expansion plans.
Tianzhou-4 cargo craft docks with Chinese space station
The Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft completed an automated docking in orbit with the Tianhe space station module late Monday following launch from Wenchang.
Astra prepares for TROPICS launch campaign
Small launch vehicle developer Astra says it is ready to perform a series of launches for NASA once it receives a license for those missions.
Deep Blue Aerospace completes kilometer-level rocket launch and landing test
A Chinese launch startup sent a small rocket test stage up to an altitude of one kilometer Friday before a performing a powered descent and vertical landing.
EchoStar says Jupiter-3 won’t be ready for 2022 launch
EchoStar says satellite builder Maxar Technologies won’t deliver its long-awaited Jupiter-3 satellite in time for its end-of-year launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
NASA, Boeing ready for second Starliner test flight
NASA and Boeing say they’re confident they have resolved a valve issue that delayed a test flight of the company’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle last year and are ready to try again later this month.
China launches new batches of Jilin-1 commercial remote sensing satellites
A Long March rocket launched eight Jilin-1 remote sensing satellites late Wednesday, days after an earlier batch rode to orbit via launch from a sea platform.
Satellogic to launch 68 satellites with SpaceX
Earth imaging company Satellogic announced May 4 it signed a contract with SpaceX to launch 68 more satellites as it continues to build out its constellation.
