2024 Q3 Orbital Launch Attempts by Country
Global orbital launch attempts declined year over year in Q3 for the first time in years.
Jack Kuhr
Impact of In-Space Relay Networks on Ground Station as a Service
Traditional Ground Station as a Service (GSaaS) providers will soon face competition from relay communications networks that promise faster transmitting, simplified licensing, and potentially lower cost.
Eric Berger’s ‘Reentry’ Tells the Inside Story of the Rise of SpaceX and its Falcon 9 Rocket
Eric Berger’s new book Reentry takes readers behind the scenes, offering unprecedented access to company leaders who appear eager to (finally) tell the inside story of SpaceX’s rise.
Planet Labs Commercial Revenue Is Softening
When Planet Labs went public in 2021, the company touted a commercial Earth observation market on the verge of an inflection point.
The opposite has happened.
SpaceX Polaris Dawn Crew Completes the First Commercial Spacewalk
Early Thursday morning, the Polaris Dawn crew opened their Dragon capsule to the vacuum of space, and two private astronauts walked right out.
Jeff Bezos Opens Up About New Glenn, Discusses Reusability and Manufacturing
It was a Willy Wonka-style event—a wealthy entrepreneur finally opening the doors to his secretive facility filled with innovative gadgets at a scale beyond imagination. However, instead of chocolate rivers, fizzy-lifting drinks, and Everlasting Gobstoppers, we were treated to fuel lines, heavy-lifting rockets, and boosters designed to last 25 launches.
Chinese Launch Startup iSpace Raises $99M Series C
Chinese rocket startup iSpace announced yesterday that it secured $99M in Series C and C+ funding to help accelerate the development of its first-stage reusable launch vehicle, Hyperbola-3.
Rocket Startup ABL Reduces its Workforce
ABL Space Systems announced a round of layoffs late last week, a month after a pad fire destroyed the company’s second RS1 rocket.
Rise and Stall of GPS: The Average Age of GPS Satellites Hits 13 Years
The Global Positioning System has long been one of the most important and widely-used services in the world but the US navigational network is showing signs of aging, slipping into a pattern of maintaining the status quo rather than driving innovation.
The Playbook Behind Lockheed’s Acquisition of Terran Orbital: Payload Research
The seasoned prime outwits the SPAC investors.
Watchdogs Find Faults with Artemis IV Vehicles in Back-to-Back Reports
Over the past two weeks, two federal watchdogs—the OIG and the GAO—released separate reports highlighting critical issues with two Artemis IV vehicles: Gateway and SLS Block 1B, the upgraded SLS variant.
Rocket Development Costs by Vehicle: Payload Research
In 2008, Falcon 1 became the first privately funded, fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle to reach orbit. Its development cost? Just $90M ($131M inflation adj.).