Launch

Gilmour Space Technologies won a contract from the Australian government to develop and launch a new sovereign surveillance satellite. The company will be developing a prototype G-class satellite for the Australian Department of Defence and launching it on its Eris rocket from an Australian launch site in 2023, Gilmour Space announced Monday. This is part...

Phantom Space Corp. on Wednesday said it has ordered more than 200 rocket engines from Ursa Major for its two low-cost launch vehicles with plans to launch the Daytona rocket in 2023, a milestone the company highlighted will add options for access to space at a time when existing launch providers are at capacity. The contract is the...

Rocket Lab successfully launched 34 satellites, and caught the Electron booster used in the mission in mid-air with a helicopter early Tuesday. This was the first time Rocket Lab performed a mid-air rocket recovery and marks a step forward in the launcher’s journey toward reusable rockets.  The mission, called “There And Back Again,” launched from...

Raytheon Technologies on Thursday said its Missiles and Defense segment has invested in Firehawk Aerospace, a startup developing and manufacturing lower cost, high-performance hybrid rocket engines. The size of the Series A investment wasn’t disclosed. Raytheon said the investment means the two companies will collaborate on research and development efforts that could result in integrating Firehawk’s...

Space transportation and infrastructure services company Momentus received a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday authorizing the company to use radio frequencies to communicate with its Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle, which is scheduled to launch next month on the SpaceX Transporter-5 mission. Momentus will use radio frequencies to communicate with Vigoride while...

Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) won the 2022 round of the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) microlauncher competition for an 11 million euro ($11.7 million) prize. As a result, the German government will be an anchor customer for its RFA ONE rocket, and place a payload on each of the rocket’s first two flights.  The DLR microlauncher...

Virgin Orbit renamed its U.S. government subsidiary, formerly VOX Space, as Virgin Orbit National Systems. Virgin Orbit National Systems President and retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Mark Baird said this change brings the subsidiary into closer alignment with the rest of Virgin Orbit’s established market presence.  This subsidiary, founded in 2017, serves national security...

Rocket Lab will launch satellites for HawkEye 360 on its first mission from Launch Complex 2 on Wallops Island in Virginia. Rocket Lab announced Tuesday that the mission is set for no earlier than December 2022.  HawkEye 360 signed a three-Electron launch contract for missions between late 2022 and 2024. Rocket Lab plans to deliver...

OneWeb signed a launch agreement with New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for a 2022 launch, the company announced Wednesday.  OneWeb is working to ensure its Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation has launch access after a planned Soyuz launch campaign with Arianespace at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan...

SpaceX launched a classified satellite early Sunday morning for the National Reconnaissance Office, using a flight-proven booster, marking the first time an NRO mission has flown on a reused rocket. The mission, NROL-85, was the NRO’s second launch this year.  The Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sunday...