Stories about the companies building a ride to space.
The US launched 122 defense payloads in 2024, surging 184% YoY, according to data compiled by astronomer Jonathan McDowell. The upswing was driven by the National Reconnaissance Office’s deployment of 106 SpaceX and Northrop-built Starshield remote sensing recon satellites.
This was the first flight of a new version of Starship.
The rocket’s first venture past the Kármán line begins a new era in commercial heavy-lift launch.
Stoke Space raised $260M to continue developing its fully reusable Nova rocket and to complete the build out of its launch pad, the company announced yesterday.
The license means the company has cleared all regulatory hurdles for its RFA ONE rocket to launch from the SaxaVord spaceport off the northern coast of Scotland.
Wednesday’s planned Starship launch may be the seventh test flight of the mega-rocket, but it also represents a couple of important firsts—the first flight of the new and improved second stage and the first time the rocket will attempt to deploy payloads.
Based on publicly available data from 20 launches with published payload mass numbers over the past three years, dedicated customer LEO launches have averaged just 3,370 kg of payload, just 19% of total capacity.
Despite the Space Force’s bold plans for 2025, many in the space industry believe that US launch capacity may be nearing its zenith.
In 2024, US (*ahem, SpaceX*) launch numbers grew, while China, Russia, and Europe plateaued.
2024 was a record-breaking year for the global space industry. More launches from more spaceports brought more satellites into orbit, and 2025 is expected to be no different.
There was no shortage of launch news in 2024. From the debut of new rockets to the retirement of old workhorses, from leadership changes at some startups to others pivoting away from the launch industry all together, it was a year filled with shakeups in how platforms get to space.
A nonprofit working to develop the space workforce pipeline in Texas has awarded its first two grants to rocket teams at Rice University and Texas A&M, the cofounders of the group told Payload.
