Launch

Rocket Lab increased revenue 35% in the first quarter of 2023, beating the upper end of its previous guidance for the quarter.  The launcher reported $54.9 million in revenue in its Q1 results released Tuesday. Its previous guidance was $51 million to $54 million. This was also a boost of 6% quarter-on-quarter.  Net loss was...

Rocket Lab launched the first TROPICS mission for NASA on Monday from New Zealand, launching two cubesats that will monitor hurricanes. This is the first of two dedicated missions for NASA to launch four total cubesats in the TROPICS constellation.  The Electron mission took off at 1 p.m. local time from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex...

Scotland has reached a key milestone with construction beginning on the Sutherland Spaceport, formerly known as Space Hub Sutherland. It will be the first vertical launch spaceport to be built on the U.K. mainland. Located on the North coast of Scotland, the spaceport will be the home spaceport of Forres-based rocket and launch services company,...

Welsh space company Space Forge has a new MoU with Australia’s Southern Launch to explore potential satellite return technologies at Southern Launch’s Koonibba Test Range, the companies announced Monday.  Space Forge is working to develop technologies to manufacture super materials in space, and return the materials to Earth with the ForgeStar re-entry satellite. Space Forge...

Astranis and Infinite Orbits — the two companies with secondary payloads on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy mission that launched ViaSat-3 — confirmed their satellites were successfully deployed.  After Sunday night’s launch, Astranis CEO John Gedmark confirmed that the company made contact with the Arcturus satellite. Its solar array and antennas were successfully deployed, and the system...

SpaceX launched the second batch of O3b mPOWER satellites for SES on Friday evening.  The Falcon 9 mission took off from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 at 6:12 p.m. This is the third and fourth satellites for the constellation, and the second out of three launches. The first batch launched in December.  The Boeing-built...

Viasat’s long-awaited first ViaSat-3 satellite is on its way to orbit after a Sunday night SpaceX Falcon Heavy mission, kicking off a new era of business for Viasat as it begins to launch a trio of high-capacity satellites.  The mission also launched the first Astranis microGEO satellite, which will support Alaskan satellite service provider Pacific...

SpaceX’s recent Starship test may have sparked a mishap investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and raised concerns over potential damage to the environment, but leading space and satellite industry analysts still think the company’s powerful political and financial position will protect it through delays.  Despite SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s Thanksgiving “disaster” email to...

SpaceX tested the complete Starship rocket for the first time on Thursday, in a highly anticipated test that ended in an explosion — yet was celebrated as a success.  This was the first integrated flight test of both the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster, collectively known as Starship. It is the massive rocket designed to...

Rocket Lab is planning to use a pre-flown Rutherford engine on an upcoming Electron mission, a milestone in the company’s work to make Electron a reusable rocket vehicle.  Rocket Lab announced Wednesday that the engine previously flown on the “There and Back Again” mission, will be used on an upcoming commercial mission scheduled for the...