Last Thursday and Friday, we asked readers: “Now that Starship is moving forward in South Texas, we want to hear your predictions. When will Starship make its first orbital flight attempt?” We received 145 votes in total.
The results:
NASA Watchdog: Launch Infrastructure Nearing Capacity
NASA’s launch facilities will likely reach capacity by the end of the decade as the number of commercial launches continues to skyrocket, according to a report from the space agency’s inspector general released Monday.
Dawn Aerospace Raises $25M Series B
The New Zealand-Dutch space transportation company will use the new funds to accelerate development of its Aurora spaceplane, and to conduct an in-space refueling demo.
JAXA Nails H3 Return to Flight
The rocket launched on its eighth mission—the first successful flight of the new three-engine variant—Friday morning from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center, delivering all six of its payloads to space.
Blue Origin Commits to Return to Flight This Year
After assessing the damage to the launch pad and the surrounding infrastructure, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp posted on X that Blue Origin “will fly again before the end of this year.”
There’s a new intelligence unit in town.
On Friday, the US Space Force announced the establishment of Space Delta 18 and the National Space Intelligence Center, which will begin supplying US lawmakers with intelligence about the space domain.
Space Delta 18, so named because USSF is the 18th US entity to join the intelligence community, will employ 345 personnel in two former Air Force units:
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