Rocket Lab has determined the cause of the July 4 failure of an Electron rocket—a faulty electrical connection which triggered a premature shutdown of the booster’s second stage, the company said on July 31. 

Two NASA Demo-2 astronauts continued preparing on July 31 for a weekend return to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) and a splashdown off the Florida coast as Tropical Storm Isaias was upgraded to a category 1 hurricane.

The U.S. Space Force’s 30th Space Wing, the state of California and other involved parties have entered into an agreement to develop a commercial spaceport facility at Vandenberg AFB, California, the federal government’s Western launch range.

New Zealand-based startup Dawn Aerospace has rolled out its Mk-II Aurora reusable suborbital spaceplane.

A new report on the space industrial base discusses the catastrophic impact the spread of the novel coronavirus has had on space companies and how the global pandemic provides a dangerous opportunity for China and Russia to challenge or surpass the U.S. in space.

The failure of a high-pressure liquid-oxygen feed line triggered a premature engine shutdown during the debut flight of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket, the company said on July 27. 

The sleek, mimimalistic design is intended to blend safety for six passengers with maximizing the novel view of Earth from the edge of space.

Spaceflight’s new Sherpa-FX orbit transfer vehicle is to be deorbited after its first mission in low Earth orbit by deploying Tethers Unlimited’s drag-increasing Terminator Tape.