rocketry

How to build a better rocket company

We spoke to three rocket makers who have either already launched, achieved orbit or are well on their way: Firefly Aerospace's Lauren Lyons, Astra's Benjamin Lyon and Launcher's Max Haot.

Rocket startup Gilmour Space raises $46M Series C to take its small launch vehicle to orbit

Australian rocket launch startup Gilmour Space Technologies is betting that bigger isn’t always better. The company has developed a small launch vehicle it calls Eris, a 25-meter (82 foot) rocket th

Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne is returning to space in June

Orbital launch company Virgin Orbit has scheduled its next mission to space. Virgin Orbit will be returning its LauncherOne rocket to orbit in June to deliver payloads for the U.S. Department of Defen

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck explains why the company needs a bigger rocket, and why it’s going public to build it

Rocket Lab packed a ton of news into Monday to kick off this week: It’s going public via a SPAC merger, for one, and it’s also building a new, larger launch vehicle called Neutron to suppo

Stoke Space aims to take reusable rockets to new heights with $9M seed

Many launch providers think reusability is the best way to lower the cost and delay involved in getting to space. SpaceX and Rocket Lab have shown reusable first stages, which take a payload to the ed

Firehawk Aerospace extends seed funding to $2.5 million with $1.2 million from Harlow Capital

Rocket fuel technology startup Firehawk Aerospace has added $1.2 million to its existing seed financing, bringing the full amount invested in the round to $2.5 million. The new tranche comes from Harl

Virgin Orbit targets launch window on December 19 for second orbital test launch

Virgin Orbit has announced the target timing for its next orbital flight attempt, which follows a demonstration launch earlier this year that went mostly well — right up until its rocket separated f

Virgin Orbit aims for December for second attempt at orbital demonstration launch

Would-be small satellite launch service provider Virgin Orbit is aiming to redo its key orbital demonstration launch this December, which would be a remarkable turnaround after its previous attempt di

Firehawk Aerospace aims to revolutionize rocketry with safe, cost-effective hybrid engines

While SpaceX and its ilk in the commercial rocket launch market have changed the economics of space and ushered in an era of small satellite entrepreneurship, the actual rocket engine technology they

Relativity Space expands its rocket-printing operations into an enormous new Long Beach HQ

Building a rocket is a big operation, even when you’re printing them from the ground up, like Relativity Space. The launch startup is graduating from its initial office, which is a bit cramped f

Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis talks 3D-printed rockets at TC Sessions: Space in LA

The launch industry is undergoing a number of major changes, among them the shift from traditional manufacturing to 3D printing — which Relativity Space is spearheading. The company plans to build 9

Blue Origin’s new rocket engine production facility opens on Monday

Blue Origin is opening its new rocket engine production center in Huntsville, Ala. on Monday, the company said today on Twitter. The new Huntsville facility will be able to produce its rocket engines

Rocket startup Gilmour Space gets a $3M grant to develop lighter fuel tanks

Mass is money when it comes to the rocket launch business, and any small savings you can eke out can add up to big savings. That’s been the driving force behind the growing commercialization of

Solid rocket fuel startup Adranos raises $1 million to scale up manufacturing

Indiana-based rocket fuel startup Adranos has raised $1 million, after closing an oversubscribed round led by Archibald Cox Jr., chairman of private investment firm Sextant Group. The funding will be

Tesseract makes spacecraft propulsion smaller, greener, stronger

Launch vehicles and their enormous rocket engines tend to receive the lion's share of attention when it comes to space-related propulsion, but launch only takes you to the edge of space — and space

Virgin Orbit signs agreement to launch small satellites for the UK’s Royal Air Force

Virgin Orbit, the small satellite launch company backed by billionaire Richard Branson, has signed an initial agreement to develop small satellite launch capabilities for the U.K.’s Royal Air Fo

Watch 5,000 rockets attempt a world record simultaneous launch to celebrate Apollo 11

Fifty years ago today, at 9:32 AM ET, Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Saturn V rocket. At 9:32 AM ET this morning in 2019, you can watch as the U.S. Space & Rocket

Watch SpaceX launch its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time here

SpaceX is test launching its Falcon Heavy rocket, the first ever launch of the new heavy-lift orbital rocket. The Heavy’s thrust is generated by its 27 Merlin engines, which is three times the n

SpaceX test fires Falcon Heavy rocket, readies for launch in ‘a week or so’

SpaceX has successfully test fired its Falcon Heavy rocket – but this is just the prelude to the big show. The static test fire performed today is a necessary step prior to an actual test launch, fi

SpaceX to run a static test fire of Falcon Heavy this week

SpaceX is planning to perform a static test fire of its massive Falcon Heavy rocket later this week, the company revealed today in a statement from company President and COO Gwynne Shotwell. Now that
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