Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

Firefly Aerospace is aiming to return its Alpha rocket into service Feb. 18 following a ground test accident nearly five months ago.

NASA is standing down from a planned Feb. 11 launch of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the ISS due to expected weather conditions, the agency said Feb. 9.

NASA learned a lot about managing hydrogen leaks ahead of Artemis I, but another tanking test is needed before the next Space Launch System flies.

Rising security concerns and the drive for space autonomy may ward off the expected consolidation among launch service providers.

Nuclear propulsion for space may be back in favor as the U.S. seeks technology to power vehicles going to Mars and beyond.

The U.S. is aiming to develop a lunar surface reactor by 2030.

The upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket failed to execute a planned engine burn to deorbit, the company said late Feb. 2.

NASA will skip its February launch opportunity to send four astronauts on a flight test around the Moon to review data from a launchpad fueling test that ended early due to a hydrogen leak.

NASA on Feb. 2 was nearing the end of a two-day practice launch countdown for the upcoming Artemis II Moon mission, including fueling the SLS rocket.

Countdown clocks at NASA's Kennedy Space Center began ticking down toward a simulated launch of the Artemis II Moon mission.

Axiom Space has been selected by NASA for a fifth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the company announced Jan. 30.

ArianeGroup is accelerating the production of strap-on boosters to ramp up the launch cadence of the two-booster Ariane 62 and four-booster Ariane 64 versions.

Russia plans the inaugural launch of the Soyuz-5 medium-lift vehicle at the end of March, the deputy head of Roscosmos state corporation Dmitry Baranov says.

German rocket startup Isar Aerospace says it may return to the launchpad for its first attempt at an orbital launch as soon as March 19.

ESA's head says a space summit French President Emmannuel Macron plans to host could provide direction on efforts to independently launch astronauts into space.

ESA is moving forward on preparing contracts under its European Launcher Challenge as it waits for the UK to decide on how to allocate its budgetary commitment.

The U.S. Space Force and SpaceX launched the latest GPS III satellite on Jan. 27, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral SFS.

NASA says the two-person flight crew of a vintage WB-57F high altitude research aircraft were unharmed after the aircraft made a gear-up landing.

Europe should embrace U.S. government policies around launch to strengthen its own industrial base, executives from leading European space launch companies say.

French startup Alpha Impulsion was awarded a $1.1 million EU prize for its self-consuming propulsion system on future launchers and satellites.

Hypersonic vehicle developer Polaris won a German contract to build and flight test a fully reusable system with satellite deployment capability.

NASA says it is re-targeting the practice launch countdown for its Artemis II lunar flyby mission to no sooner than Jan. 31, two days earlier than planned.

NASA's Artemis II astronauts entered medical quarantine at the Johnson Space Center Jan. 23 ahead of a potential Feb. 6 launch.

Stratolaunch and Varda Space Industries will provide reusable systems capable of supporting dozens of flight tests annually at hypersonic speed, the DOD says.

NASA has named eight U.S. companies that are eligible to bid for the development of the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter.