Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

Sierra Space has named former Ursa Major leader Dan Jablonsky as its first permanent CEO in more than one year, the company announced Feb. 26.

The Starliner flight team’s response averted potential disaster, but the Crew Flight Test was reclassified as a major mishap, NASA Administrator Isaacman says.

Potential suborbital space launch provider Starfighters Space announced that founder Rick Svetkoff has resigned as chairman, CEO, president and director.

USSF halts Vulcan launches amid anomaly review, weighs options for GPS III satellite deployment.

ESA and ArianeGroup are looking to advance work on a hydrogen peroxide and ethanol rocket engine that would be more sustainable than those using current propellants.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' CEO says the company plans to boost output of its Valkyrie collaborative combat aircraft and that its hypersonic defense business is also on an upward trajectory.

NASA rescheduled the rollback of the Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Feb. 25, a one-day delay due to weather issues, the agency said.

NASA is aiming to return the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft to its assembly hangar on Feb. 24, pending weather and rollback preparations.

An issue with the helium pressurization system on the Space Launch System's upper stage will cause NASA to miss Its March window for launching the Artemis II mission.

NASA is proceeding with plans for liftoff of the Artemis II crewed flight test on March 6.

Tory Bruno joined Blue Origin late last year as the U.S. faces an “urgent need” to hone dynamic space operations in a more contested environment, he says.

NASA completed a full-duration dress rehearsal for its upcoming Artemis II flight test, which is expected to send four astronauts on a 10-day mission around the Moon.

After 20 years of development, NASA’s Orion spacecraft will host astronauts for the first time on a flight test around the Moon.

Spanish startup Sateliot has booked a launch with compatriot PLD Space to deploy its first two high-capacity 5G direct-to-device satellites.

Countdown clocks for a second wet dress rehearsal for NASA’s Artemis II mission are expected to begin ticking at 6:40 p.m. EST Feb. 17.

British startup Orbex has made what seems like a last-minute push to generate appetite in its business as it faces closure, releasing previously unseen images of its Prime rocket.

More Ariane Heavy missions loom as Amazon pushes to gets its broadband low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation going.

A multinational, four-member replacement team lifted off onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Feb. 13 to begin a 34-hr. ride to the International Space Station.

The Artemis II launch team prepared on Feb. 12 to test if repairs to stem a hydrogen leak that stopped a launch dress rehearsal nine days ago were successful.

Russia’s first commercial space launch of 2026 was also the last for the Proton-M variant with DM-03 booster.

The demise of British launch startup Orbex has reduced ESA flagship European Launcher Challenge to four candidates.

Scotland-based Orbex, which was preparing for its first satellite launch this year, has declared insolvency, dealing another blow to the UK’s launch ambitions.

The China Manned Space Agency said Feb. 11 it successfully conducted a launch-abort test of the Mengzhou crew capsule using the new Long March 10 rocket.

United Launch Alliance’s leaders expect to support nearly two dozen missions in 2026 with its two launch vehicles.

European startup Hypersonica says it has successfully conducted its first hypersonic missile flight test as the company emerges from stealth.