Tag: suborbital
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Virgin Galactic Shows New Ship as Cash Runs Below $200M
Can Virgin Galactic survive its cash crunch despite new Delta-class vehicle? Virgin Galactic revealed its next-generation Delta-class spaceship Thursday, but the suborbital tourism company faces critical financial constraints with less than $200 million in cash and a quarterly burn rate approaching $50 million. The new vehicle, photographed being towed from the company’s Mesa, Arizona facility,…
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South Korea’s Innospace Signs Deal to Launch Hanbit Rockets From Portugal’s Santa Maria
South Korean launch services provider Innospace has signed an agreement with the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC) to conduct launches of its Hanbit rocket family from the Malbusca Spaceport on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria, expanding Europe’s emerging commercial launch infrastructure. The agreement, signed on Jan. 8, makes Innospace the first company planning orbital launches…
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MaiaSpace Says 2026 Maiden Flight Will Test ‘Minimum Viable’ Rocket Configuration
French launch startup MaiaSpace said an initial flight of its Maia rocket planned for 2026 will focus on validating core flight phases using what the company described as a “minimum viable product,” as it works toward commercial launch services from 2027. MaiaSpace, founded in 2022 as a wholly owned subsidiary of ArianeGroup, is developing a…
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Acme Space to Test Balloon-Rocket Hybrid Vehicle in 2026 Ahead of Orbital Manufacturing Plans
London-based Acme Space said it plans to begin flight testing its balloon-rocket hybrid launch vehicle in the new year, as it prepares for commercial in-orbit manufacturing missions targeted for 2027. The company said it is already working with two unnamed pharmaceutical firms to develop protein crystal growth payloads for its first operational flights. The vehicle,…
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Polish Consortium Successfully Tests Three-Stage Suborbital Rocket
A consortium of Polish state-owned and private companies has completed a successful test flight of a three-stage suborbital rocket designed to carry research payloads above the Kármán line, the internationally recognised boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space. The programme, launched in early 2020, received approximately 18.6 million zł (€4.1 million) in European Regional Development Fund…
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SpaceX Breaks Annual Launch Record with Falcon 9 Mission Carrying 29 Starlink Satellites
SpaceX extended its annual launch record on Tuesday with the successful deployment of 29 Starlink satellites, underscoring the company’s growing lead in the commercial spaceflight industry. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 8:31 p.m. EST on Nov. 5 (0131 GMT on Nov. 6) from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in…
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Rocket Lab Launches iQPS Satellite on Sixth Mission for Japanese Earth-Imaging Firm
*]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports-[content-visibility:auto]:[contain-intrinsic-size:auto_100lvh] scroll-mt-[calc(var(–header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]” dir=”auto” tabindex=”-1″ data-turn-id=”request-WEB:7adac108-e90a-45dc-9fe0-7a16dc96bce8-1″ data-testid=”conversation-turn-4″ data-scroll-anchor=”true” data-turn=”assistant” style=”height: auto !important;”> Rocket Lab successfully launched its sixth mission for Japanese Earth-imaging company iQPS on Tuesday, deploying another satellite to strengthen the firm’s constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) spacecraft. An Electron rocket carrying the QPS-SAR-14 satellite, named Yachihoko-I, lifted off from Rocket Lab’s…
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SpaceX Starship Loses Attitude Control During Test Flight, Marking Third Consecutive Uncontrolled Reentry
SpaceX’s Starship vehicle experienced a loss of attitude control after reaching space during its May 27 test flight, resulting in an uncontrolled reentry and the third consecutive failure to achieve a controlled splashdown. The vehicle lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas at 7:36 p.m. Eastern time. The launch was briefly delayed due to…
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Blue Origin Launches Six on Suborbital Flight, CEO Highlights Business and Tech Testing Roles
Blue Origin successfully launched six passengers on a suborbital flight aboard its New Shepard vehicle from Launch Site One in West Texas. The NS-32 mission lifted off at 9:39 a.m. Eastern and reached an apogee of 105 kilometers before safely returning the crew and booster to Earth about 10 minutes later. The six passengers on…
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Rocket Lab’s Electron Rocket Successfully Launches BlackSky Gen-3 Imaging Satellite
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket successfully placed a BlackSky high-resolution imaging satellite into orbit during a launch from its New Zealand facility. The launch occurred at 7:57 p.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The Gen-3 satellite deployed 52 minutes after liftoff from the rocket’s kick stage into a circular orbit approximately 470 kilometers…