Launch

PARIS — After years of delays, new launch vehicles are finally coming online in 2024 with the first flights of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket and the Ariane 6. Blue Origin is set to launch its inaugural New Glenn vehicle later this year, adding another layer of intrigue and competition to the market. Europe...

Eutelsat Group signed a new launch agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for multiple launches on the H3 rocket, the companies announced Wednesday, during World Space Business Week in Paris.  According to the Sept. 18 announcement, the launches will start in 2027. Eutelsat did not specify what satellites it plans for MHI to launch. This marks...

Rocket Lab has hired a new COO from the automotive industry to help the company scale manufacturing. The launcher announced Frank Klein as its new chief operations officer on Sept. 10. The appointment is effective Sept. 16.  Most recently, Klein served as COO at Rivian Automative, where he helped to transform Rivian from a low...

NASA’s ESCAPADE mission will no longer be the customer on Blue Origin’s first New Glenn launch.  NASA announced Sept. 6 that it is standing down from an October launch window for New Glenn’s first launch. The agency and Blue Origin are now discussing a launch in spring 2025 at the earliest.  Instead, Blue Origin will...

Arianespace launched the final mission for the original Vega rocket on Sept. 4, launching the Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite.  Vega was in service for 12 years with 20 successful flights. It will be replaced by the upgraded Vega-C launcher, which is expected to return to flight by the end of this year. The rocket debuted in...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is approaching its debut launch in a mission for NASA, which could take place in October. New Glenn will launch NASA’s ESCAPADE — Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers — mission in its inaugural launch. Last week, Blue Origin announced it is targeting an ESCAPADE launch date no earlier...

Firefly Aerospace has appointed Millennium Space Systems CEO Jason Kim as the launcher’s new CEO. The appointment is effective Oct. 1, 2024, and Kim will join Firefly at the company’s headquarters in Austin. This news comes after Firefly’s previous CEO Bill Weber left the company in July amid reports of an inappropriate relationship with female...

Stoke Space received a $4.5 million contract from the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to prototype a commercial point-to-point cargo delivery solution to, through, and from space for defense applications, the company announced Aug. 28. DIU made the award under its Novel Responsive Space Delivery (NRSD) project. In April, DIU awarded The Spaceport Company$2.5 million under NRSD...

SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Thursday morning after the rocket experienced its second mishap of the year the day before. SpaceX will be forced to pause future Falcon 9 launches, including its next scheduled Starlink mission, until the FAA completes its investigation. Following a routine Starlink satellite launch from...

Spaceport Cornwall signed a new MoU with the intention of positioning the UK as a world leading location for both crewed and uncrewed flight technology. Alongside Cornwall Airport Newquay, it has signed an MoU with Wholeship aiming to create a unique operational environment for the future of flight in Cornwall. Wholeship operates the National Drone...