Tag: commercial-space
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With another record broken, the world’s spaceports are busier than ever
Led by SpaceX and China, the world’s launch providers have put more rockets and payloads into orbit so far in 2023 than in any prior year, continuing an upward trend in launch activity over the last five years. On Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration reported that it screened more than 2.9 million airline passengers making…
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Starship brought the thunder as it climbed into space for the first time
BOCA CHICA BEACH, Texas—SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket reached space for the first time Saturday, flying straight and true for more than eight minutes before exploding nearly 100 miles over the Gulf of Mexico downrange from the company’s South Texas launch base. With this test flight, SpaceX made important steps forward with Starship, the largest rocket ever…
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Five things to watch for when Starship takes off Saturday morning
SpaceX fans turned out at Starbase, the company’s sprawling test facility in South Texas, on the eve of the second full-scale test flight of the Starship rocket. Stephen Clark/Ars Technica SpaceX fans turned out at Starbase, the company’s sprawling test facility in South Texas, on the eve of the second full-scale test flight of…
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SpaceX delays launch of its giant Starship rocket to swap out a part
BOCA CHICA BEACH, Texas—The launch of SpaceX’s second full-size Starship rocket from South Texas is now scheduled for Saturday, a day later than previously planned, according to company founder Elon Musk. This 24-hour delay will allow time for SpaceX technicians at the company’s launch facility, known as Starbase, to replace a component on the rocket’s…
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The reviews are done—SpaceX is clear to launch Starship
The Federal Aviation Administration approved a commercial launch license Wednesday for SpaceX to fly its second full-scale Starship rocket as soon as Friday, seven months after the giant vehicle’s first test flight. “The FAA has given license authorization for the second launch of the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy vehicles,” the FAA said in a statement.…
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Orbite begins the launch countdown for its commercial astronaut training programs
Participants in an astronaut orientation session float during a zero-G flight in France in 2021. (Orbite Photo) After getting its start in Seattle and testing its business model in France and Florida, a space travel venture called Orbite is ready to start signing up customers for private-sector astronaut training programs. And although it’ll be a…
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We’ll know soon if Astra—the commercial space company—has a future
Over the last two years, Astra has become one of just a handful of the dozens of startup launch companies to actually put something into orbit. This is a measure of the technical acumen of Astra engineers, who set out to execute on the vision of the company’s co-founders, Chris Kemp and Adam London. During…
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After the sting of Ariane 6, Europe finally embraces commercial rockets
Representatives from 22 European countries reached an agreement Monday to change the way the continent’s rockets are developed, moving from a government-driven approach to a commercial paradigm that appears to be modeled after how NASA and the US military do business. This is a big moment for the European Space Agency and its member states,…
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Industry united in push to extend ban on human spaceflight regulations
There are three US companies now capable of flying people into space—SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic—and representatives from those three companies told lawmakers on Wednesday that the industry is not yet mature enough for a new set of federal safety regulations for their customers. A nearly 20-year moratorium on federal regulations regarding the safety…
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![SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launches world’s most massive communications satellite [Updated]](/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/fhtrevor1.jpg)
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launches world’s most massive communications satellite [Updated]
2:45 a.m. EDT Saturday update: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy has successfully launched the Jupiter 3 communications satellite. 5:30 p.m. EDT Thursday update: The launch of SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy rocket has been pushed back again until Friday night, following a scrub Wednesday night with about a minute left in the countdown. 12:30 a.m. EDT Thursday update: SpaceX has scrubbed…