Tag: Reusability
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Falcon 9 Booster Hits 35 Flights, 12,472 Starlinks Launched
Is a 35-Flight Falcon 9 Booster the New Normal for Launch Economics? A single Falcon 9 first stage flew its 35th mission on July 10, 2026, deploying 29 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit and landing intact for future reuse. The flight is the highest confirmed reuse count in the Falcon 9 fleet to date,…
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China Readies 6 New Rockets for Launch Including Reusable Tests
Which Chinese Rockets Are Targeting First Flights in 2026? China’s space sector is preparing at least six new launch vehicles for debut flights and reusability demonstrations between June and September 2026, representing the most concentrated wave of Chinese rocket development since the commercial space sector opened in 2014. The lineup includes three state-led Long March…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 Achieves 600th Booster Landing Milestone
How did SpaceX achieve its 600th Falcon 9 booster landing? SpaceX successfully completed its 600th Falcon 9 first-stage booster landing during a West Coast Starlink deployment mission on April 18, 2026, cementing its position as the world’s most experienced launch provider in rocket reusability. The milestone landing occurred on the autonomous spearhead drone ship “Of…
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How ATMOS Space Cargo is shaping Europe’s spaceflight future through reentry capsules
As space-based research and manufacturing ramp up, a market is emerging for returning payloads to Earth affordably and reliably. European startup ATMOS Space Cargo is meeting that need with a new generation of reentry vehicles built around an inflatable heat shield. Already flight-tested, the novel system positions Europe as a serious contender in the field…
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SpaceX is superb at reusing boosters, but how about building upper stages?
On any given day, SpaceX is probably launching a Falcon 9 rocket, rolling one out to the launch pad or bringing one back into port. With three active Falcon 9 launch pads and an increasing cadence at the Starbase facility in Texas, SpaceX’s teams are often doing all three. The company achieved another milestone Friday…
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Firefly offers insight on MLV testing, reusability plans
As Firefly Aerospace prepares for its upcoming Alpha rocket launches, work continues apace on its next-generation Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) rocket with its Miranda and Vira engines, utilizing its Briggs test site in Texas. MLV’s Chief Engineer, Miles Gray, showed NSF around the test site to update the status of the new vehicle and engines…
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China Roundup : Next generation liquid propellant rockets and pads prepare to debut
Despite another relatively quiet month for launches, progress in the Chinese commercial space sector continues at pace. Two companies are progressing towards performing 10km hop tests of their prototype reusable vehicles and the race is on to become China’s first rocket to reach orbit and propulsively land its first stage. The first batch of satellites…
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Summit cites Paradigm Shift for European Spaceflight
The ESA-EU Space Summit at Seville/Spain on November 6/7 focused on the need to evolve the future of the European Space Agency (ESA) and European spaceflight in general. Europe’s space ambitions are moving into a “paradigm shift,” as noted by Josef Aschbacher, Director General of ESA, as Europe deals with a gap in capability between…
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Themis, Prometheus complete first hot-fire tests in France
Europe has just completed the first successful hot-fire test of its reusable Prometheus engine integrated with the Themis first-stage demonstrator at the ArianeGroup site in Vernon, France. The hot-fire test consisted of Prometheus performing a 12-second burn on the Themis demonstrator on June 22, 2023. The two components are part of a broader European launch…
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SpaceX delivers 52 more Starlink satellites into orbit
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 11:02 p.m. PDT Tuesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX Another batch of 52 Starlink satellites launched late Tuesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on the way to join SpaceX’s fleet of more than 4,000 spacecraft beaming broadband signals around the world. Stacked one…