LaunchRockets

ULA Conducts Vulcan Testing Ahead of Maiden Flight

ULA rolled its Vulcan rocket to the pad Friday and completed tank testing ahead of its expected first flight readiness firing test for the rocket’s BE-4 engine later this week. “With success here, and a resolution of the Centaur V ground test anomaly, we are projecting for a Vulcan Cert-1 Launch this summer,” said ULA […]

LaunchRockets

Rocket Lab Launches NASA’s Storm Chaser Cubesats

Two NASA storm-tracking satellites lifted off aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle last night in New Zealand, putting the first half of the planned four-satellite constellation into orbit.  The “Rocket Like A Hurricane” mission was the first of two launches that will build the Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation […]

LaunchRockets

China Reveals Designs for a Fully-Reusable Rocket

China unveiled plans for a fully-reusable Long March 9 rocket configuration Sunday at its 2023 Space Day ceremony in Hefei, China. The CNSA aims to begin testing the vehicle, which looks a lot like Starship, by the late 2030s.  The fully reusable configuration is noteworthy given China has still yet to nail a partially reusable […]

CivilRockets

ISRO continues building its own spaceplane

An uncrewed spaceplane prototype developed by ISRO successfully landed on a runway at Chitradurga, India, on April 2. The winged vehicle, officially called the Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), was heli-dropped from 4.5 kilometers to simulate an approach from space. The RLV-TD plane then maneuvered itself to the runway and deployed a parachute to […]

LaunchRockets

OneWeb Launch Shows ISRO’s Budding Commercial Opportunities

An Indian Launch Vehicle Mark-3 rocket launched and deployed 36 OneWeb satellites on Sunday, marking the Indian Space Research Organisation’s second commercial launch for the UK firm. ISRO’s fleet of rockets is first and foremost to give India independence from foreign launchers. But it will also offer new commercial opportunities, as shown by the OneWeb […]

LaunchPathfinderQ&ARockets

Ursa Major, Vector Launch Strike Engine Deal

Ursa Major has struck a deal to supply Vector Launch with “several” propulsion systems, the company tells Payload. Ursa’s Hadley engines will power the main stage of the Vector-R launch vehicle in future demonstration missions for national security customers.  A word on Vector: The seven-year-old startup, which has raised more than $180M, declared bankruptcy in […]

EquitiesLaunchMilitaryRocketsVC/PE

Who Will Buy ULA? What Payload Readers Say

United Launch Alliance, a joint venture formed in 2006, may soon have a new corporate home. That’s because co-owners Boeing ($BA) and Lockheed Martin ($LMT) are reportedly putting ULA up for sale, according to a blockbuster story last week from Ars Technica’s Eric Berger.  Morgan Stanley and Bain were hired to facilitate the transaction, which […]

BusinessRockets

SpaceX Increases Rideshare Prices  

For the second time in less than a year, SpaceX has adjusted pricing on rideshare launches and Starlink.  Rideshare: The price tag of a Falcon 9 Transporter launch increased by 18%, from $5,500 per kg to $6,500 per kg. The hike comes after a 10% increase the previous year. Starlink: In an email to customers, […]

CivilLaunchRockets

The State of US Spaceports

Last week, Georgia’s Supreme Court upheld a referendum in which residents voted to block Camden county from building a spaceport.  The legal challenge by Camden County Commissioners, who sought to have the referendum declared invalid, was rejected unanimously.  The backstory: Spaceport Camden has been a contentious issue in the county for over a decade, with […]

CivilLaunchRockets

NASA Launches Artemis I

We’re on our way back to the Moon.  In the wee hours of the morning, NASA finally got the 322-foot-tall Artemis I off the ground. This was the third attempt to launch the $4.1B Mega Moon Rocket. Previous attempts dating back to August were foiled by leaky hydrogen lines, faulty sensors, and two hurricanes. The […]