Launch
As DoD shifts to smaller satellites, rideshare questions emerge
Lawmakers in the 2023 NDAA recommended that the Space Force and Space Development Agency use a "common launch integrator" to manage rideshares
Maxar receives delayed Ovzon 3 satellite parts
Ovzon’s first satellite is set to launch between December and February following the delivery of parts caught up in supply chain delays, the Swedish broadband service provider said Aug. 18.
Sky Perfect JSAT picks SpaceX’s Starship for 2024 satellite launch
Sky Perfect JSAT said Aug. 18 it has picked SpaceX’s Starship rocket to launch its Superbird-9 satellite in 2024.
AST SpaceMobile delays commercial satellite debut by six months
Supply chain issues have delayed the launch of the first operational satellite in AST SpaceMobile’s cellphone-compatible broadband constellation by about six months to late 2023.
China’s spaceplane remains in orbit but clues emerge from recovered launch debris
A Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft remains in orbit nearly two weeks after launch, despite passing directly over its expected landing site early Monday.
Virgin Orbit reduces launch forecast while increasing per-launch revenue
Virgin Orbit now expects to perform four launches this year, at the low end of earlier projections, but with a higher per-launch revenue.
SpaceX sees continued strong demand for rideshare missions
SpaceX, whose rideshare services have reshaped the smallsat launch market, says it continues to see strong demand with missions booked into 2025.
Galactic Energy of China registers third consecutive successful launch
Chinese commercial launch service provider Galactic Energy maintained a 100 percent launch record early Tuesday with its third Ceres-1 solid rocket launch.
NASA looking for new launch of remaining TROPICS cubesats
NASA is investigating alternative ways to launch four Earth science cubesats after Astra discontinued the rocket originally contracted to launch them.
Northrop Grumman and Firefly to partner on upgraded Antares
Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace announced Aug. 8 that they will work together to develop a new first stage for Northrop’s Antares launch vehicle as well as a future medium-lift rocket.
NASA heliophysics smallsats to share launch with astrophysics mission
Four smallsats designed to study the solar wind will share a ride to space on a Falcon 9 with a NASA astrophysics mission in 2025.
India’s new SSLV rocket fails in first launch
The Aug. 6 maiden flight of India’s newly developed Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) went awry with “some data loss” that occurred in the terminal stage of the mission.
China launches secretive reusable test spacecraft
China sent a highly-classified reusable experimental spacecraft into orbit Thursday, two years after a similarly clandestine mission.
NRO’s spy satellite fleet to become more diverse
NRO Director Scolese said the agency will continue to build large, bespoke satellites but also will increasingly rely on lower cost commercial smallsats
Blue Origin launches sixth New Shepard crewed suborbital flight
Blue Origin launched its New Shepard suborbital vehicle on its sixth crewed flight in a little more than a year Aug. 4, carrying six people that included the first individuals from Egypt and Portugal to go to space.
ULA launches the last SBIRS U.S. Space Force missile warning satellite
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying a U.S. Space Force missile-warning satellite lifted off Aug. 4 at 6:29 a.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
