Launch

Vulcan Centaur, the next-generation heavy-lift rocket from United Launch Alliance, made its debut early Monday morning. It was a successful first launch for the long-awaited rocket — but the customer spacecraft from Astrobotic experienced a propulsion failure after deployment.   The Vulcan mission took off on Jan. 8 at 2:18 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex-41...

SpaceX launched the Ovzon 3 satellite for Swedish satellite operator Ovzon on Wednesday evening, after many delays. Ovzon 3 is the first privately funded and developed Swedish Geostationary Orbit (GEO) communications satellite, and it will support Ovzon’s satcom-as-a-service solutions.  SpaceX launched the satellite on Jan. 3 in a Falcon 9 mission from Cape Canaveral Space...

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched an astronomy satellite on a PSLV mission on Jan. 1. The PSLV-C58 mission launched the XPoSat — X-ray polarimeter satellite — into Eastward low inclination orbit.  XPoSat  is the first dedicated scientific satellite from ISRO to research space-based polarization measurements of X-ray emission from celestial sources. The satellite...

SpaceX launched the Boeing-built X-37B orbital test vehicle on Dec. 28 in a mission for the U.S. Space Force. The Falcon Heavy mission, USSF-52, took off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 8:07 p.m. ET. This is the seventh flight of the X-37B, a reusable spacecraft...

A number of anticipated satellite programs finally got off the ground in 2023. Unfortunately, some of those satellites including the first ViaSat-3, and four of the O3b mPOWER satellites, have experienced on-orbit issues, forcing operators to recalibrate their strategies.  In this round-up, we take stock of 2024 and look at some of the top commercial...

Blue Origin returned the New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle to flight on Tuesday, more than a year after a New Shepard rocket exploded during a test flight in September 2022.   The New Shepard is the suborbital rocket that launches Blue Origin’s crew capsule, the same rocket that sent Jeff Bezos to the edge of space...

Rocket Lab returned the Electron vehicle to flight on Friday with a successful mission for Japanese company Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc., known as iQPS. This was Rocket Lab’s first mission after resolving an issue that caused the September launch failure.  This was Rocket Lab’s 10th mission in 2023. While the gap in launches due...

Orbex has secured another 3.3 million pounds ($4.14 million) in funding, the company announced Dec. 13. The funding is from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ‘Boost!’ initiative. The initiative, which is part of ESA’s Commercial Space Transportation Services and Support program, is designed to further the development...

ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket won’t debut until early 2024, after it encountered routine issues during the first wet dress rehearsal. ULA announced Thursday that it fixed the issues, ran a successful wet dress rehearsal, and is now targeting a Jan. 8 launch date. The launcher was previously targeting a Christmas Eve debut.  CEO Tory Bruno...

Rocket Lab has signed a new launch deal in Asia. The company will send an Earth Observation (EO) satellite for the for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) into orbit on a rideshare mission in the first half of 2024. The deal was announced, Nov. 7. KAIST’s NeonSat-1 will be the primary...