Launch
Orbital Infrastructure: The Engineering Hurdles of Upper Stage Reusability
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — In a technical analysis published on Monday, February 16, 2026, space policy analyst Robert Oler detailed the critical engineering trade-offs preventing the industry-wide adoption of fully reusable launch vehicles. While first-stage recovery is now a routine ...
Global Shift Toward Sovereign Launch Gains Momentum Amid Geopolitical Tensions
A new analysis released February 17, 2026, highlights a decisive pivot among U.S. allies toward establishing independent, sovereign launch capabilities. Driven by the "SpaceX monopoly" on the commercial market and heightened geopolitical instability, nations including Australia, Canada, Spain, and Germany ...
The Thruster Reality Check: Why Boring is the New Stealth
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium. The military doctrine of Dynamic Space Operations envisions satellites dodging interceptors, inspecting unresponsive objects, and performing orbital acrobatics. Yet inside the SmallSat Symposium’s session on Smart Mobility: Propulsion and Maneuverability for Agile Smallsats, the vibe waxed ...
China Advances 2030 Lunar Timeline with Successful Long March 10 Integrated Test
JIUQUAN, China – The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) has completed an "extraordinary" integrated flight test involving its next-generation Mengzhou crew capsule and the Long March 10 (CZ-10) reusable rocket. The mission, conducted on Tuesday, Feb. 10, simultaneously validated a ...
ULA Targets Operational Acceleration Following Leadership Transition
DENVER, Colorado – In the wake of the sudden departure of long-time President and CEO Tory Bruno, United Launch Alliance (ULA) is moving to stabilize its flight manifest and rebuild launch cadence as it enters a pivotal 2026 operational phase ...
The maiden launch of the Ariane 64, Europe’s most powerful rocket and an emotional countdown
The European space community began an emotional countdown at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, marking the final hours before the maiden flight of the Ariane 64. As the most powerful configuration of Europe's new heavy-lift launcher, the Ariane 64 ...
Blue Origin to Validate First Booster Reuse on New Glenn-3 Mission for AST SpaceMobile
On January 22, 2026, Blue Origin announced that its upcoming New Glenn-3 (NG-3) mission will mark a historic double-milestone: the first in-orbit reuse of a New Glenn booster and the deployment of AST SpaceMobile’s first next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellite ...
Isar Aerospace Schedules Second Spectrum Test Flight from Andøya Spaceport
The Spectrum rocket is a two-stage liquid-fueled vehicle designed specifically for the small and medium-sized satellite market ...
The Artemis Campaign: A Brief Cislunar History
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As of January 18, 2026, the Artemis program stands as the most complex multi-national space exploration initiative in human history. Formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1, Artemis was designed not merely to replicate the ...
China Opens 2026 Launch Manifest with Retrograde Yaogan and Guowang Deployments
The dual missions, launched from separate spaceports, underscore the nation's intent to sustain a high-cadence manifest ...
SpaceX ‘Twilight’ Mission Deploys 22 Exolaunch Payloads, Including Kepler and HawkEye 360 Assets
VANDENBERG SFB, Calif. — On Sunday, January 11, 2026, SpaceX successfully launched the "Twilight" rideshare mission, delivering a diverse manifest of commercial and government payloads to a dawn-dusk Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO). The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch ...
SpaceX and ISRO Coordinate Concurrent Rideshare and Constellation Launch Schedules
the compamies are also preparing for a collaborative rideshare window that aligns with the upcoming Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) mission ...
BlueBird 6 Orbital Deployment Validates Direct-to-Device Capacity
The spacecraft was carried by an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) LVM3-M6 heavy-lift vehicle ...
Successful Signal Reception for Iranian Satellite Trio Following Soyuz Launch
On Sunday, December 28, 2024, the Iranian Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) confirmed the successful reception of the first signals from three domestically developed satellites: Zafar-2, Paya, and Kowsar. The confirmation marks the official commencement of the operational ...
Second Reusable Rocket Failure in One Month Leaves China Chasing U.S. Lead
BEIJING — China’s ambition to operationalize reusable launch vehicles encountered another setback on Tuesday, Dec. 23, as the state-owned Long March 12A successfully delivered its payload to orbit but failed to recover its first-stage booster. The incident marks the nation's ...
AST SpaceMobile Deploys BlueBird 6, Largest Commercial Array in LEO
AST SpaceMobile successfully deployed BlueBird 6 into low Earth orbit on Tuesday, marking the first successful launch of its next-generation Block 2 satellites. The spacecraft lifted off at 10:25 p.m. EST (Dec. 23) aboard an ISRO LVM3 rocket from the ...
ISA Schedules Triple Satellite Launch from Vostochny for December 28
Despite decades of multi-layered export controls and international sanctions, Iran’s space program continues to demonstrate a persistent capability to place satellites in orbit. While the country has iterated on launch vehicles and publicized progress toward indigenous manufacturing, the depth of ...
China Executes Inaugural “Long March 12” Launch for Sovereign Constellation
WENCHANG, China — In a definitive move that accelerates the deployment of its sovereign Low Earth Orbit (LEO) infrastructure, China successfully executed the maiden launch of the Long March 12 (LM-12) carrier rocket on Friday, December 12. Lifting off at ...
Europe’s Vanishing Rocket Capability
Chris Forrester — An Arianespace cargo ship, the spectacular hybrid Canopée (wind and fuel), is this week making the final rounds off the French coast picking up various elements of its next rocket ahead of the VA267 launch on a ...
The Electron’s Pacific Conquest
When Rocket Lab’s Electron vehicle lifted off from the Mahia Peninsula, carrying the "RAISE and Shine" satellite for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the mission profile appeared standard on paper. However, the successful orbital insertion of the "RAISE-4" (RApid ...
