Air Force officials described the broad outlines of the Rocket Cargo Vanguard program during a media roundtable on June 4 at the Pentagon, but contract solicitation documents released on the same day provide deeper insights into the Air Force’s plans for the potentially $250 million demonstration program.
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos said he will be aboard for the first crewed flight of the company’s New Shepard suborbital space transportation system, along with his brother Mark, the winner of an ongoing auction and possibly up to three additional passengers.
SpaceX conducted its 18th Falcon 9 launch of the year on June 6, pausing the deployment of its own Starlink communications network to deliver a 7,500-lb. satellite into orbit for SiriusXM’s digital radio service.
Launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on June 3 at 1:29 p.m. EDT, the commercial freighter with 7,300 lb. of cargo docked to the space-facing port of the station's Harmony module at 5:09 a.m. EDT, for a monthlong stay.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has selected the Rocket Cargo project—determining the viability of using large commercial rockets for military logistics—as the fourth vanguard program and believes SpaceX is not the sole provider of the new technology.
United Launch Alliance (ULA) is standing down from its planned June 23 launch of an Atlas V rocket with the U.S. Air Force’s Space Test Program-3 (STP-3) spacecraft to review a potential issue.
United Launch Alliance is standing down from its planned June 23 launch of an Atlas V rocket with the Air Force Test Payload-3 to review a potential issue with oscillations of the booster’s upper stage engine nozzle, the company said on June 4.
A joint effort underway by Vandenberg Space Force Base with state and central California government and educational agencies to add commercial launch capabilities forecasts a favorable economic impact as the challenges the partnership has identified with an unfolding master plan are met.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on June 3, sending a Dragon Cargo ship on its way to the International Space Station with more than 7,300 lb. of equipment and supplies.
Space situational awareness startup LeoLabs is expected to accelerate the expansion of its ground-based radar sites and subscription services after securing $65 million in Series B funding.
NASA has selected two missions to Venus for its next Discovery-class planetary science expeditions: Davinci+, which will send a probe into the planet’s thick atmosphere, and Veritas, which will map the planet’s surface.
Houston-based Axiom Space has signed an agreement with SpaceX for three more private astronaut missions to the International Space Station—pending NASA approval—aboard Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Spacewalking cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov continued preparations outside the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) early June 2 for the anticipated arrival of the Nauka Multi-Purpose Laboratory.
In preparation for a launch this month, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems has conducted a free space interconnect demonstration ground test of its Laser Interconnect and Networking Communication System spacecraft.
The James Webb Space Telescope will not make its targeted Oct. 31 launch date, but should be ready to fly before the window for its ride to space aboard an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket closes in early December, the European Space Agency said on June 1.
Astronauts will be upgrading the International Space Station’s solar power system and focusing on future human deep space exploration research with a 7,300-lb.cargo to be launched to the station on June 3.
