[Via Satellite 10-09-2015] Emerging small satellite launch providers are eager to speed up the production of rockets and introduce reusability in new launch systems. Speaking at the Hosted Payload and SmallSat Summit in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 8, executives from Virgin Galactic, Firefly Space Systems and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) all described...

[Via Satellite 07-31-2015] Small satellite launch company Rocket Lab has signed a Commercial Space Launch Act Agreement with NASA, enabling the company to use NASA resources such as personnel, facilities and equipment for launch efforts. The partnership opens up the opportunity for Rocket Lab to conduct missions from the space agency’s launch complexes in addition...

[Via Satellite 07-01-2015] Rocket Lab recently announced plans to establish a commercial launch site on Kaitorete Spit in the Canterbury region of New Zealand’s South Island for its Electron launch vehicle. The location, which has been used for suborbital flights by NASA in the past, can reach a wide range of inclinations from sun-synchronous orbit through...

[Via Satellite 04-15-2015] Small satellite launch services provider Rocket Lab has created an engine for its Electron rocket that can be manufactured in three days time. The recently unveiled 4,600 lbf Rutherford engine is primarily produced via additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, to accelerate the rate of production. The Electron rocket uses nine Rutherford engines...

[Via Satellite 03-19-2015] The influx of new capital into the satellite industry is creating an understandable amount of giddiness, but investors and entrepreneurs at the “Silicon Valley, Meet SATELLITE 2015” panel brought a down-to-Earth look at the true motivations for putting money behind space ventures. “I don’t think there is any investment in space going...