Radian’s SSTO Prototype Is On The Runway… In Abu Dhabi?
Radian is beginning a test campaign to map out the vehicle’s real-life aerodynamic characteristics.
Rockets
Stories about rockets, and the companies that build them.
SpaceX vs. FAA: What’s the Deal With Those Falcon Fines?
“Regardless of what you think about SpaceX or the politics, the speed of decision-making needs to be faster.”
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.
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 Lab Smashes Revenue Record, Paving the Path to Break Even
The company posted it’s highest ever quarterly revenue, and announced the successful hot fire test of its Archimedes engine, which opens the door for Rocket Lab’s first medium-life launch vehicle, Neutron.
Japanese Rocket-Maker Nets 3.1B Yen ($21M) Series E
Interstellar Technologies models itself on vertically-integrated launch vehicle and spacecraft manufacturers like SpaceX or Rocket Lab.
Ursa Adds Additive With $14.5M R&D Investment
Ursa Major will buy several industrial 3D printers and hire 15 new employees for an R&D center in Youngstown, OH focused on additive manufacturing.
ULA Sets Vulcan Cert-2 for September Without Dream Chaser
The change comes six weeks after DoD raised concerns about Vulcan’s readiness to fly national security missions after a series of delays.
Nifty Fifty: How Rocket Lab’s Electron Set A New Speed Record
“We were not the preordained winner of the small launch race.”
Don’t Forget To File Your TPS Reports
“These commercial companies—they frequently want to minimize the refurbishment between flights, they want to minimize the inspection time—they really want aircraft-like operation.”
Ursa Fired its Draper Engine In Under A Year
“It starts to feel more like an aircraft engine development than a rocket engine development.”