spaceport

Virgin Galactic looks to late September, early October for first commercial crewed flight

Just two months after celebrating its first manned launch to orbit — which is now under investigation with the Federal Aviation Administration — Virgin Galactic wants to return to space. T

Astra targets first commercial orbital launch for August 27

Astra’s last test launch went better than expected, nearly achieving orbit — kind of a stretch goal for that specific mission. The company at the time said that it would only need to tweak sof

Virgin Galactic and Richard Branson celebrate launch of first passengers into space

Virgin Galactic has successfully taken its first passengers to space, including its billionaire founder Richard Branson. The event, at Spaceport America in New Mexico, was a field day for press and em

Rocket Lab debuts plans for a new, larger, reusable rocket for launching satellite constellations

Because news of its SPAC-fueled public market debut wasn’t enough, Rocket Lab also unveiled a new class of rocket it has in development on Monday. The launch vehicle, called Neutron, will be abl

Rocket Lab to go public via SPAC at valuation of $4.1 billion

The SPAC run is on for space startups, which have been relatively slow in their overall exit pace before the current special purpose acquisitions company merger craze got underway. Rocket Lab is the l

Virgin Galactic readies first spaceflight from Spaceport America for ‘later this fall’

Virgin Galactic is getting ready to fly its first mission to space from its Spaceport America facility in New Mexico. This is the site that the company will use to host all of its commercial flights,

Scotland spaceport gets full approval, will be able to host up to 12 launches per year

Scotland’s first proposed spaceport has been fully approved to proceed with construction and operation (via The Northern Times). The facility will be built in northern Sutherland on a peninsula

Skyrora launches its small demonstration rocket from mobile launch site in Iceland

Launch startup Skyrora had a successful test launch of its Skylark Micro rocket from Iceland on Sunday, with the rocket achieving its highest-ever altitude at a height of 26.86 km (just under 17 miles

SpaceX reveals plans for a Texas spaceport resort in new job ad

SpaceX has big plans for its Boca Chica, Texas site – where it’s currently building and testing Starship, the company’s next-generation passenger and cargo spacecraft. A new job posting

Astra completes Rocket 3.1 static test fire ahead of launch attempt

After a few setbacks exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 situation, another small rocket launcher is readying to demonstrate their ability to launch a vehicle to space. Astra has just completed a seco

Rocket Lab launch fails during rocket’s second-stage burn, causing a loss of vehicle and payloads

Rocket Lab’s “Pic or It Didn’t Happen” launch on Saturday ended in failure, with a total loss of the Electron launch vehicle and all seven payloads on board. The launch vehicle

New UK-US agreement allows US companies to launch from UK spaceports

In a new move designed to encourage more economic and scientific collaboration between spacefaring nations, the U.K. and U.S. governments have signed a new agreement that would make it possible for U.

Rocket startup Skyrora achieves a successful sub-orbital launch from Scottish island

This past weekend was a busy one for rocket launches, including for new launch companies hoping to join the ranks of SpaceX and Rocket Lab as private, operational space launch providers. Edinburgh-bas

Rocket Lab successfully launches its 12th Electron, carrying NASA and NRO payloads

Rocket Lab has returned to active launch status from its first launchpad in New Zealand, after the global COVID-19 pandemic temporarily paused its work there. Early this morning, it flew its 12th Elec

Virgin Orbit’s first orbital test flight cut short after rocket released from carrier aircraft

On Monday, Virgin Orbit attempted the first full flight of its orbital payload launch system, which includes a modified Boeing 747 called ‘Cosmic Girl’ that acts as a carrier aircraft for

Here’s what Virgin Orbit hopes to achieve with their first full orbital test launch on Sunday

Virgin Orbit held a press briefing on Saturday hosted by CEO Dan Hart and VP of Special Projects Will Pomerantz. The company aims to fly its first ever orbital test launch on Sunday, at roughly 9:30 A

Virgin Orbit announces new plans for first Asian spaceport in Oita, Japan

Virgin Orbit may be focusing its production efforts right now on making ventilators to support healthcare workers battling COVID-19, but it’s also still making moves to build out the infrastruct

Max Q: SpaceX gets ready for first human flight

This week turned out to be a surprisingly busy one in space news – kicked off by the Trump administration's FY 2021 budget proposal, which was generous to U.S. space efforts both in science and in d

Rocket Lab will launch a satellite to the Moon for NASA to prepare for the Lunar Gateway

Launch startup Rocket Lab has been awarded a contract to launch a CubeSat on behalf of NASA for the agency’s CAPSTONE experiment, with the ultimate aim of putting the CAPSTONE CubeSat into cislu

Why Astra built a space startup and rocket factory in Silicon Valley

There’s a new launch startup in the mix called Astra, which has been operating in semi-stealth mode for the past three years, building its rockets just a stone’s throw from the heart of st
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