Business

Starship Achieves Major Milestones on its Third Test Flight

On SpaceX’s 22nd birthday, Starship put on a show.

Research

Payload Research: Detailing Artemis Vehicle R&D Costs

NASA is on pace to exceed $100B of Artemis funding by FY26, according to nominal dollar data from OIG, NASA budgets, and Payload analysis.  The program—which has penciled in its first crewed lunar landing by 2026—is one of the most expensive in NASA history.  The enormous costs largely accrue to development of the mission’s vehicle.…

CivilStartups

SpaceWERX Announces New STRATFI Funding Awards

SpaceWERX, the Space Force’s innovation funding division, announced a new batch of STRATFI awardees last week at SXSW.

Research

Blue Origin’s 2025 Lunar Landing Goal

Blue Origin aims to land its Blue Moon Mark 1 cargo vehicle on the Moon next year, setting an aggressive timeline as the company charts a new course of decisive action and big swings after not reaching orbit in its first two decades of operations.

Business

Lockheed Looks to Buy Terran Orbital

Lockheed lobs in an offer to buy Terran. 

Business

Firefly Doubles its Footprint and Charts a Course for ‘Launch, Land, Orbit’ 

In the heart of Texas ranch country, Firefly Aerospace is embracing the pioneering and do-it-all spirit of the frontier.

Research

Blue Origin’s ULA Investment Case: Payload Research

ULA is up for sale, and all signs point to Blue Origin as the buyer.

Business

SpaceX Improves Falcon 9 Performance and Flies a Record 24 Starlink v2 Mini Satellites

After over 300 flights and 13 years in service, Falcon 9 continues to improve as SpaceX tweaks the design for higher performance. 

BusinessLEO

Vast to Bid on Private Astronaut Missions to the ISS

Vast announced its intention to compete for NASA contracts to organize private astronaut missions to the ISS—a role that has been filled exclusively by Axiom Space since the flights commenced in 2022. 

Research

Payload Research: The Ultra Low-Cost Economics of NASA’s CLPS Lunar Program

The ultimate goal—along with science—is to foster a sustainable commercial lunar market where NASA can add to demand rather than monopolize its own closed-loop economy. 

Launch

Japan’s H3 Rocket Reaches Orbit on its Second Flight

The second launch is the charm for Japan’s next-gen heavy-lift H3 rocket.

BusinessCivil

The FAA OKs Varda’s Landing Plans

Varda’s in-space manufacturing capsule is cleared for reentry after months of regulatory back and forth. 

Research

Payload Research: The Space Cybersecurity Landscape and Zero Trust Protocols

Society’s demand for space-based data has fueled growth in the space industry, with 10,000+ satellites in orbit. On top of all that hardware grows an even faster network of interconnected data, software, and mesh networks, working in concert with other connected devices to converse and compute.  The data exchange in space presents a near-infinite number…