[Via Satellite 07-01-2016] Small satellite launch company Rocket Lab reached its 10-year anniversary this June and is now months away from the first launch of its Electron rocket. Founded in June 2006, Rocket Lab has launched more than 80 sounding rockets and in 2009 became the first private company to reach space from the Southern...

[Via Satellite 06-09-2016] Moon Express and SpaceIL are the only two Google Lunar Xprize competitors to have produced the verified launch contracts required to stay in the $30 million contest beyond 2016. A third competitor, Astrobotic, promises to have a launch contract secured by the end of the year. Company CEO John Thornton said June...

[Via Satellite 04-27-2016] General John Hyten, commander of U.S. Air Force Space Command, has released a statement regarding the current policy debate over whether or not the U.S. government should make decommissioned Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICMB) motors available to commercial companies to use for launching satellites. Industry is divided on this topic, as some believe...

[Via Satellite 04-14-2016] Rocket Lab has successfully completed the qualification of the entire second stage of the Electron launch vehicle. According to the company, the second stages are running at peak performance and are set to fly during the Electron test program scheduled to run throughout the second half of 2016. The second stage, built...

[Via Satellite 03-23-2016] Following an extensive test program, Rocket Lab has qualified its Rutherford engine for flight aboard the Electron rocket. Rocket Lab created the 5,000lbf Rutherford engine specifically for the company’s Electron small satellite launch vehicle, which is capable of delivering a 150kg payload to a 500km sun-synchronous orbit. The company tested the engine...

[Via Satellite 03-17-2016] Small satellite startup Satellogic is on its way to building and orbiting a constellation of 300 Earth Observation (EO) satellites to provide near-real time imagery of the Earth, with the first non-prototype launches slated to occur this year. Having already launched three prototype satellites between 2013 and 2014, Satellogic opened a manufacturing...

[Via Satellite 02-26-2016] Rocket Lab, manufacturer and operator of the Electron small satellite launch vehicle, has hired Garrett Katzenstein, formerly SpaceX’s senior manager for mission and launch operations, as vice president of product and mission management. Katzenstein will oversee customer experience from point of sale through vehicle integration and mission completion. Katzenstein has nearly 20...