Launch

United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched two C-band satellites for SES in an Atlas V mission on Tuesday evening. The Boeing-built satellites are part of SES’s work to clear C-band spectrum for 5G service.  The Atlas V rocket took off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Oct. 4 at...

Firefly Aerospace successfully reached orbit and deployed customer payloads with its Alpha rocket early Saturday morning. This successful mission inaugrates a new vehicle into the smallsat launch market.  The mission — FLTA002 — took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 1 at 12:01 a.m. PST. The Alpha rocket deployed three payloads, including...

United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched a national security satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office over the weekend, in the final Delta IV Heavy mission from the West Coast. The NROL-91 mission lifted off on Sept. 24 at 3:25 p.m. PDT from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Space Force Base.  The NRO has two remaining Delta...

Satellite Vu will use SpaceX to launch its second satellite, the company announced Sept. 22. The deal will see Satellite Vu’s mid-wave infrared (MWIR) imaging satellite launched into Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) aboard a Falcon 9 rocket in early 2024. SpaceX is also set to launch the company’s first satellite on a rideshare mission in early...

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket is currently en-route to Virginia, and the launcher plans to hold its first mission from Wallops Island by the end of the year. Rocket Lab executives provided an update on its launch and space systems business lines on Wednesday during an investor presentation.  HawkEye 360 is the first customer for...

Arabsat has tapped SpaceX for launch once again, selecting the Falcon 9 rocket to launch its 7A satellite, the companies announced Wednesday. Arabsat 7A is a software-defined satellite that Thales Alenia Space is building based on its Space Inspire platform. Neither Arabsat, Thales, or SpaceX has specified a target launch year for the satellite.  The...

Virgin Orbit is expanding its plans for spaceports around the globe to Australia. On Tuesday, the smallsat launcher announced an MoU with Australia’s Wagner Corporation to work toward providing launch services from the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport in Queensland with the LauncherOne system. The first flights could be expected as soon as 16-18 months from now. ...

Arianespace signed an agreement with Italian company SAB Launch Services (SAB-LS), which specializes in launch services for small satellites, to serve as an Arianespace partner to provide end-to-end services for nanosatellites on Arianespace missions. The multi-year agreement announced Monday applies to the supply of hardware, mission preparation and integration services for cubesats, and transporting payloads...

Rocket Lab launched the third radar satellite for Japanese startup Synspective on Thursday evening. The mission, “The Owl Spreads Its Wings,” marked the 30th Electron rocket launch and Rocket Lab’s 150th satellite deployed to space.  The mission took off from Pad B at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 at 20:38 UTC on Sept. 15 and...

AST SpaceMobile test satellite, BlueWalker 3 has reached orbit after SpaceX launched the satellite on Saturday. The anticipated satellite test AST SpaceMobile’s satellite direct-to-cell technology.  SpaceX launched BlueWalker 3 along with a batch of 34 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral on Sunday evening. The Falcon 9 rocket took off at  9:20 p.m from Launch Complex...