Launch
Stories about the companies building a ride to space.
AFRL Adds $11.7M to Blue Origin’s Point-to-Point Cargo Contract
Blue Origin landed a $11.7M increase to its AFRL contract to study how its launcher can be used to complete point-to-point delivery missions.
Payload Field Guide: European Launchers
Europe is firing on all fronts to stand up new launch capabilities, but the continent isn’t moving as fast as it might hope.
Rocket Lab Expands to Alaska with $266M Launch Contract
Rocket Lab will open up a new launch site at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska (PSCA) in Kodiak. Launches are expected to begin no earlier than the end of this year.
Starship Sticks the Water Landing on Flight 13
SpaceX flew the 13th test flight of its Starship rocket Friday evening, ending with the first intact Starship put in the water.
Skyroot Aerospace Reaches Orbit with Vikram-1 Rocket
Skyroot Aerospace became the first private Indian company to reach orbit on Saturday, when its Vikram-1 rocket lifted off from India’s primary spaceport—the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
DoD Adds $11.4B to NatSec Launch Contracts
The DoD upped its ceiling for national security space launches on Friday, more than tripling the pool of NSSL launch contracts from $5.6B to $17B.
Spinifex Space Launches With Australian Test Ranges
Spinifex Space will provide end-to-end suborbital launch campaigns, private range access, and test and evaluation (T&E) infrastructure.
US Government Studying Offshore Launch Opportunities
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published an RFI on Wednesday seeking information, to consider building or repurposing infrastructure on the Outer Continental Shelf, for space launch and reentry.
Blue Origin Seeks $10B at $130B Valuation, Reporting Shows
Blue Origin’s days as a Bezos-funded billion-dollar pet project are coming to an end.
ispace Launches Lunar Integrator Service With Starship
The Japanese company announced Tuesday that it had secured 500 kg of payload capacity on Starship to launch no earlier than 2030.
Venus Aerospace Raises $91M Series B to Scale RDRE Production
The funding round is the latest in a string of news from RDRE engine companies, suggesting the more efficient rocket tech is having a moment in the industry.
Transporter-17 Sends the First Commercial Nuclear Sat to Orbit
SpaceX’s ($SPCX) Transporter-17 rideshare mission lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 3:12am, carrying 81 payloads to LEO.
Firefly Targets Swedish Launch in 2028 Under New Franchise Model
Firefly Aerospace ($FLY) announced today that it aims to launch its Alpha rocket from SSC Space’s Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden as early as 2028.
