Launch

Five companies have signed Cooperative Research & Development Agreements (CRADAs) with U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) to develop rockets to deliver cargo and personnel rapidly around the globe. SpaceX and BlueOrigin were already pursuing CRADAs with USTRANSCOM, but Sierra Space, Rocket Lab USA, and Virgin Orbit National Systems are recent entries. The recent CRADAs “are expected to add new dimensions of information to...

Iridium Communications signed a launch contract with SpaceX for a mission called Iridium-9, launching up to five ground spares for the Iridium Next program in mid-2023. The Falcon 9 mission will take place at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.  “We have always said that when the right opportunity presented itself, we would launch many,...

Arianespace launched the Eutelsat Konnect VHTS satellite on Wednesday evening to support Eutelsat’s expansion in the broadband business.  Arianespace launched the satellite on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana on Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. local time. The satellite was launched to Geostationary Transfer Orbit, and separated about 28...

Rocket Lab successfully test fired a reused Rutherford first stage engine, a milestone in its work to make Electron a reusable launch vehicle.  The refurbished engine passed all acceptance tests during a full duration, full-thrust test fire the week of Sept. 1, including 200 seconds of engine fire and multiple restarts. Data from the test...

Two SES C-band satellites — SES-20 and SES-21 — have been delivered and mated ahead of their upcoming launch.  The Boeing-built satellites were delivered to Cape Canaveral last week. The satellites are set for launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket in September. ULA supplier Astrotech mated the satellites after they were delivered.  SES ordered...

Maritime Launch Services is now approved to begin construction of a spaceport in Nova Scotia, with the intention of building Canada’s first commercial spaceport. Maritime Launch is a Canadian-owned commercial space company based in Nova Scotia. It plans to build Spaceport Nova Scotia on 335 acres of rural land near the communities of Canso, Little...

Airbus OneWeb Satellites [AOS], which manufactures satellites for the OneWeb constellation, signed a deal with Astra Space to integrate its engines into the Arrow small satellite portfolio.  The Monday announcement was light on details, but said Astra will supply the Astra Spacecraft Engine for integration into the portfolio of Arrow commercial small satellites.” Details on...

NASA scrubbed the much-anticipated first flight of its Space Launch System rocket on Monday after a series of problems with the rocket and the fueling procedures could not be resolved quickly. The space agency had been planning to launch the massive rocket and the Orion spacecraft, without any astronauts on board, on a trajectory toward...

NASA and Boeing have pushed back the first Starliner flight test with astronauts to February 2023, the agency announced Thursday. The flight was previously expected in December of this year.  The Starliner spacecraft is targeted launch in early February on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying NASA...

Swedish company Ovzon is targeting launch of its Ovzon 3 satellite between December 2022 and February 2023, the company said in its second quarter financial report on Aug. 18.   Delayed components, including reaction wheels from Honeywell Aerospace, have now been delivered to production partner Maxar Technologies. Ovzon has also delivered its in-house on-board-processor, which has...