Launch

NASA has selected SpaceX to launch the JPSS-4 mission in 2027 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The contract announced Monday is a firm fixed-price contract valued at $112.7 million.  The JPSS-4 mission is currently targeted to launch in 2027, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg...

As U.S. Space Force looks for new entrants beside Blue Origin for Phase 3 of National Security Space Launch (NSSL), the service on July 19 awarded more than $1.7 billion in Phase 2 contract modifications to the Space Force’s established rocket providers — United Launch Services, LLC – a subsidiary of United Launch Alliance (ULA) —...

The founders of smallsat launcher Astra Space completed a deal to take the company private on July 18. Astra Space was one of the companies to go public in the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) boom of 2021 but ran into financial trouble.  Co-founders CEO Chris Kemp and CTO Dr. Adam London acquired all shares...

A group of Spanish banks have backed PLD Space with a 31.2 million euro ($34 million) loan to fund the company’s Miura 5 space launch program. Banco Santander and EBN Banco are co-lead banks for the syndicated loan, which includes participation from the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO).  This financing is earmarked for the Miura...

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket suffered an engine failure during a Starlink mission on July 11, losing 20 Starlink satellites and triggering a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigation. This is a rare incident for the rocket which hasn’t had a major failure since 2015.  The mission took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 7:36 p.m....

The Ariane 6, Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket, made its long-awaited debut in a successful launch on Tuesday, restoring Europe’s sovereign access to space launch.  Ariane 6 lifted off at 16:00 local time on July 9 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The full mission lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes. The mission successfully deployed all...

SpaceX launched Turksat 6A on July 8, Turkey’s first communications satellite built by the country. The telecommunications satellite will expand national satellite operator Turksat’s area of coverage with four new countries.  Turksat operates a number of other satellites, but this is the country’s first indigenously developed satellite. According to Turksat, 90 percent of the satellite...

The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command awarded the second on-ramp to its Orbital Services Program (OSP)-4 contract to Blue Origin and Stoke Space Technologies on July 3. This brings the number of launch providers to 12 that are eligible to compete for task orders under the potential $986 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract. So far, the Space...

NASA selected SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to launch the COSI Compton Spectrometer and Imager mission. NASA announced the $69 million firm-fixed-price contract on July 2. The COSI mission is currently targeted to launch in August 2027 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. COSI is a wide-field gamma-ray telescope designed to study energetic phenomena in the...

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the ALOS-4 Earth observation satellite aboard the H3 rocket on Monday. JAXA confirmed post-launch that the mission was successful.  The H3 mission took off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 12:06 p.m. JST on July 1. The satellite separated from the launch vehicle approximately 16 minutes and 34...