China's Smart Dragon-1 rocket will carry a heavy satellite developed by a commercial Chinese space company in its upcoming launch, according to Xinhua News Agency, which cited a report from Beijing Daily. The satellite, which weighs 65 kilograms (kg), was manufactured by Beijing Qiansheng Exploration Technology  founded in 2017 with a license to develop microsatellites and…

Production of the first Vulcan Centaur rocket at the United Launch Alliance (ULA) factory in Decatur, Alabama continues, with shipment to the launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida scheduled for late next year for processing in preparation for its first launch in 2021. The Department of Defense (DoD) has established a selection strategy to ensure a…

Kleos Space, a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance Sata-as-a-Service (DaaS) company, changed its launch provider to Spaceflight for the Scouting Mission1 satellites, which will now launch into a 37-degree inclination. Following the recent postponement of the launch of Kleos’ Scouting Mission satellites, the company investigated other available launch options, and agreed that Spaceflight would meet immediate market…

Rocket Lab revealed plans to recover and re-fly the first stage of its Electron launch vehicle. The move aims to enable Rocket Lab to further increase launch frequency by eliminating the need to build a new first stage for every mission. Work on Rocket Lab’s Electron first stage reuse program began in late 2018, at the…