Launch

Voyager Space signed an MoU with NewSpace India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), to collaborate on spacecraft launch.  The MoU specifically deals with NSIL’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), to explore launch and deployment opportunities for small satellites. Voyager Space has previously flown...

Arianespace launched its final Ariane 5 mission on Wednesday evening from French Guiana, marking the end of an era for the workhorse rocket. With the final launch, Europe does not have heavy-lift capacity while it waits for the debut of its successor, Ariane 6.  “Ariane 5 is now taking its place in the annals of...

Hughes Network Systems’ long-awaited Jupiter 3 satellite is now at Cape Canaveral in Florida, ready to launch. SpaceX will launch Jupiter 3 on an upcoming mission, set for the night of July 23, according to Spaceflight Now. Manufacturer Maxar Technologies shipped the satellite from its facilities in Palo Alto, California, to Florida late last week....

The U.S. Space Force has awarded iRocket $1.8 million in further funding on a Phase II SBIR contract to develop its reusable rocket engine. iRocket — Innovative Rocket Technologies Inc. — is developing the Shockwave launch vehicle for frequent reuse.  The award is funded through AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force....

Lockheed Martin has signed a deal to launch a tech demonstration on a Firefly Aerospace Alpha launch vehicle. This is the first deal between Lockheed Martin and the launcher.  Firefly’s Thursday announcement was light on details on what the mission will entail, and when it will occur. The Alpha rocket has the capability to launch...

Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) has already shipped the recently announced Telesat LEO demonstration satellite, and it will launch on a Rocket Lab mission set for July.  Just last month Telesat announced it ordered a new demonstration satellite called LEO 3 from SFL to replace the Phase 1 LEO demonstration satellite launched in 2018. SFL announced...

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45, Space Systems Command (SSC), and United Launch Alliance (ULA), launched the NRO’s NROL-68 satellite on June 22 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. in what is to be the second-to-last rocket mission for the ULA Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle. NRO said that...

Arianespace postponed the final launch of its Ariane 5 rocket, set for Friday. Arianespace shared the news on June 15, a day before the launch was scheduled. “It has come to light that there is a risk to the redundancy of a critical function on the Ariane 5. Consistent with safety requirements, Arianespace has decided...

SpaceX delivered 72 spacecraft to orbit on Monday in the Transporter-8 launch, its eighth mission in its dedicated smallsat rideshare program. The Falcon 9 mission launched from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:35 p.m. PT on June 12.  It was SpaceX’s second launch in one day, after SpaceX...

Orbex and Arianespace have formed a new partnership as the two launch providers look at how possible future co-operation between the two companies could help their respective customer requirements. The two companies signed an MoU announced June 13 to look at how collaboration could work between the two European launch providers could work in the...