[Via Satellite 08-26-2016] The Alaska Aerospace Corp. (AAC), which oversees the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA), formerly called Kodiak Launch Complex, is looking to woo small satellite launchers to bring commercial business to the facility. While the AAC has traditionally targeted large, government contracts, the company is also working with two private micro-launch companies,...

[Via Satellite 08-22-2016] Rocket Lab has installed the launch platform at its private orbital launch facility on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. The installation of the platform, weighing nearly 50 tons, is the final major step in preparing the site for the arrival of the first Electron launch vehicle, scheduled for testing in the coming months....

[Via Satellite 08-15-2016] Vector Space Systems, a new micro satellite launch company, is betting big on little rockets. The company successfully tested its P-20 prototype launch vehicle, a sub-scale test vehicle for its 42-foot Vector 1 rocket, which measured just 12 feet in length, in the Mojave Desert on June 30. When built, the company...

[Via Satellite 07-12-2016] With the signing of three launches for Planet (formerly Planet Labs) announced today, Rocket Lab is filling out most of the early space in its manifest for missions with the Electron rocket well before it has ever flown. Rocket Lab revealed Electron, a two-stage, 16-meter rocket dedicated to small satellite launches for...

[Via Satellite 07-07-2016] Counting more than 3,600 SmallSats expected to launch over the next 10 years, research firm Euroconsult anticipates the manufacturing and launch market value of SmallSats will total $22 billion from now until 2025. This value constitutes a 76 percent increase over that of the 2006 to 2015 time frame, according to the...