Tag: Launch Vehicle Platforms
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SpaceX Starship Achieves Key Milestones with Fourth Successful Flight Test
SpaceX Starship’s fourth flight test launched with ambitious goals, attempting to go farther than any previous test before and begin demonstrating capabilities central to the return and reuse of Starship and Super Heavy. The payload for this test was the data. On June 6, 2024, Starship successfully lifted off at 7:50 a.m. CT from Starbase…
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Rocket Lab Successfully Launches Second Satellite for NASA’s Climate Science Mission
Rocket Lab USA, one of the global leaders in launch services and space systems, successfully completed the second of two Electron launches for NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) climate change-focused mission, completing a turnaround of two launches within eleven days. ‘PREFIRE and Ice’ lifted-off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in…
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Firefly Aerospace Signs Agreement with Lockheed Martin for 25 Alpha Rocket Launches
Firefly Aerospace, an end-to-end space transportation company, announced it signed a multi-launch agreement with Lockheed Martin for 25 launches on Firefly’s Alpha rocket through 2029. This agreement commits Lockheed Martin to 15 launch reservations and 10 optional launches. “Firefly is honored to continue this partnership with Lockheed Martin and appreciates their confidence in our rapid launch…
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Isar Aerospace Receives $20 Million Venture Debt Facility from ATEL Ventures
ATEL Ventures, a division of ATEL Capital Group and a provider of venture debt financing solutions to growth-stage companies announced the completion of an agreement to provide $20M of growth debt to Isar Aerospace, a launch service provider for small and medium-sized satellites. Founded and headquartered in Munich, Germany, Isar Aerospace is developing Spectrum, a…
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Avio’s Successful Testing of Vega C Rocket Motor Boosts Return-to-Flight in 2024
The Zefiro-40 solid rocket motor, the second stage of the Vega-C rocket, was tested by Vega-C prime contractor Avio at its Salto di Quirra test facility in Sardinia, Italy. The motor features an improved engine nozzle design, required to prepare for a Vega-C return-to-flight by the end of 2024. The initial post-test review indicates that…
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Rocket Lab Announces Launch Date for Second NASA PREFIRE Climate Change-Focused Mission
Rocket Lab USA, one of the global leaders in launch services and space systems, confirmed the scheduled launch date for the second of two back-to-back Electron launches for NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) climate change-focused mission to detect heat loss over the Arctic and Antarctica The ‘PREFIRE and Ice’ launch is…
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SpaceX Successfully Launches ESA’s EarthCARE Climate Mission
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite, poised to revolutionize our understanding of how clouds and aerosols affect our climate, has been launched. This extraordinary satellite embarked on its journey into space on 29 May at 00:20 CEST (28 May, 15:20 local time) aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US. Just 10…
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SpaceX Starship’s Third Test Flight Paves the Way for Reliable Reusable Rockets
SpaceX’s Starship is designed to fundamentally alter humanity’s access to space, ultimately enabling us to make life multiplanetary. The third flight test of Starship and Super Heavy made tremendous strides towards this future and was an important step on the road to rapidly reliable reusable rockets. On March 14, 2024, Starship successfully lifted off at…
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Rocket Lab Successfully Launches NASA’s Climate Science Mission Satellite
Rocket Lab USA, one of the global leaders in launch services and space systems, launched the first of two back-to-back launches for NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) climate change-focused mission. The satellite was the first of two that will launch on Electron for NASA’s PREFIRE mission to detect heat loss over…
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NRO’s First Mission of Proliferated System Launched Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket
The National Reconnaissance Office, in partnership with U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 30 and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, successfully launched the NROL-146 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on May 22 2024 at 1:00 a.m. PT. This mission is the first…