Launch

The first two satellites in Maxar’s long-awaited WorldView Legion constellation launched on Thursday afternoon, a significant milestone for the program after years of delays.  SpaceX launched the satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force base in California. The mission lifted off at 11:37 a.m. PT. SpaceX confirmed deployment at 12:29 p.m. PT. ...

SpaceX launched the European Commission’s Galileo L12 mission on Saturday evening, deploying two Galileo satellites. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the satellites to Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, taking off at 8:34 p.m. ET on April 27.  The two new navigation satellites launched are Galileo GM25 and FM27. The...

In Rocket Lab‘s fifth successful launch of 2024, the New Zealand-based launcher deployed the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology’s (KAIST) NEONSAT-1 satellite and NASA‘s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System to their intended orbit. Rocket Lab’s “Beginning Of The Swarm” (B.T.S.) mission — its 47th on the Electron rocket — lifted off from Rocket...

Spanish launcher in development PLD Space has raised 78 million euros ($84 million) from investors, the company announced Tuesday. The company plans to use the funds to open the first rocket factory in Elche, Spain in mid-2024.  This new funding is in addition to 42 million euros ($45 million) the company received from the Spanish...

Apogeo Space, an Italian space company, is teaming up with Korean launch company Innospace as looks to launch and complete its IoT picosatellite constellation by 2027. Apogeo Space aims to create Italy’s first private satellite constellation to provide telecoms services for IoT devices. The deal was announced April 18. The deal with Innospace sees Apogeo...

Orbex, the U.K. rocket company, received 16.7 million pounds ($20.8 million) in funding from a group of six significant investors in an update to its Series C funding round. Investors involved in the deal include 10.5 million pounds ($13 million) of follow-on investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank, venture capital firms Octopus Ventures, BGF,...

United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket launched the NROL-70 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) for the final launch of the Delta IV Heavy rocket. It  launched April 9 at 12:53 p.m from the Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The NRO develops reconnaissance systems to collect intelligence...

SpaceX launched six radio frequency geolocation micro satellites developed for HawkEye 360. Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) confirmed the satellites have successfully communicated with ground control. The HawkEye 360 Cluster 8 and 9 satellites were launched on April 7, from Florida, aboard the Falcon 9 Rocket for SpaceX’s first Bandwagon-1 Rideshare. Including the new pair of...

Sidus Space is now offering a Mission Control Center (MCC) as an additional revenue stream within the company’s Space-Based Data Solutions business unit. Sidus Space announced the new offering on April 4, which can support one spacecraft or a full constellation of satellites. It is geared toward customers that do not have their own mission...

SpaceX launched the Airbus-built Eutelsat 36D telecommunications satellite for Eutelsat Group over the weekend. It was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 30.  Eutelsat selected Airbus in March 2021 to build Eutelsat 36D. This is the 22nd Airbus-built communications satellite for Eutelsat. Eutelsat 36D is based...