Tag: Rocket Lab
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After record-breaking 2025, Rocket Lab prepares for Neutron’s debut in 2026
Rocket Lab had its most successful year to date in 2025, with its Electron rocket completing 21 successful flights and the company racking up several new industry contracts. One such contract is with the Space Development Agency, valued at up to $816 million, for Rocket Lab to develop 18 missile-warning satellites — the company’s largest…
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Space Development Agency awards roughly $3.5 billion to 4 companies for 72 missile tracking and warning satellites
An artist’s rendering of Rocket Lab’s Tracking Layer Tranche 3 (TRKT3) program satellites, which are built on its Lightning satellite platform. Image: Rocket Lab The U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA) awarded roughly $3.5 billion to four companies to begin building out the third generation of its low Earth orbit constellation. The SDA issued…
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Rocket Lab launches 4 novel DiskSat satellites for U.S. Space Force, NASA
An overhead view of Aerospace’s DiskSat during launch preparations. Image: Rocket Lab A Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched four novel satellite buses minutes after midnight from Virginia on Thursday. The 20th launch of an Electron rocket was dubbed ‘Don’t Be Such A Square’ by the company and carried onboard the Space Test Program (STP)-S30 mission.…
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Launch Previews: Ariane 6, Falcon 9, Atlas V, and Electron launches highlight busy week
Global launch activity is set to surge over the next week, with 13 missions scheduled to launch from sites around the world. China’s Long March 12A is set to debut with stage recovery, South Korea’s first Hanbit-Nano commercial rocket is set to launch, and Europe’s Ariane 6 will launch a batch of Galileo satellites. SpaceX…
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Rocket Lab Electron rocket aborts liftoff at engine ignition
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket stands at Launch Complex 1 ahead of the flight of the ‘Bridging the Swarm’ mission for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Image: Rocket Lab Update Dec. 16, 1:26 am EST (0626 UTC): Rocket Lab said they aborted the mission on Dec. 15/16 after “one of Electron’s…
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Launch Roundup: China, Russia, Rocket Lab, ULA join SpaceX in flying this week
The upcoming launch week, starting on Monday, Dec. 8, is a very busy one as 2025 enters its final stretch. At least six Chinese launches are planned from four different space centers across the country, while Russia expects to launch twice, once from Plesetsk and another from Baikonur. The United Launch Alliance is planning to…
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BlackSky Releases First Images From Newly Launched Gen-3 Satellite Within 24 Hours
BlackSky Technology has released the first images from a recently launched Gen-3 satellite, reporting that it delivered imagery less than 24 hours after reaching orbit. The company shared an image captured on 22 November showing thousands of vehicles at the Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. BlackSky did not publicly disclose the…
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Blue Origin launches twin Mars probes for NASA as New Glenn makes first landing
New Glenn lifts off from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, carrying twin Mars probes for NASA. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now. Blue Origin launched its second heavy-lift New Glenn rocket Thursday, putting two small NASA satellites onto a long, looping course to Mars to learn more about how the sun has slowly blown away the…
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Blue Origin launches ESCAPADE on New Glenn, successfully lands first stage booster
Following a successful first flight in January, Blue Origin successfully launched its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket from Florida once again, this time with a payload bound for Mars. The second New Glenn mission, named “NG-2” by Blue Origin, lifted off on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 3:55 PM EST (20:55 UTC) from Launch Complex 36 (LC-36)…
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Launch preview: Blue Origin to launch NASA’s ESCAPADE following scrubs from clouds, space weather
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket that will launch NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration Dynamics Explorers) mission along with a technology demonstration from Viasat. Image: Blue Origin Blue Origin is stepping back up to the plate and will take another crack at launching its 98-meter-tall (321 ft) rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on…