Commercial Space

The FAA has authorized a 12th commercial space launch site and continues to evaluate another site that was nearing a decision by the agency late last year.

When Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken splash down in the Atlantic Ocean following their SpaceX Demo-2 flight to the International Space Station, it will mark the first time NASA astronauts have landed in the ocean in nearly 45 years.

Government watchdog warns of record-high budget overruns and schedule delays with Moon rocket and other big-ticket projects.

Blue Origin, Dynetics and SpaceX win NASA contracts to develop systems to land astronauts on the Moon.

A week after winning a $135 million NASA contract to support work on its fully reusable, deep-space transportation system, SpaceX conducted a successful static test fire of a full-size, second-stage Starship prototype.

Space startup Firefly Aerospace aims to complete the first launch of its two-stage Alpha rocket as early as September and says testing of engines and site preparation remain on track despite the threat of potential disruption related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

LYON, France—Arianespace is planning on resuming operations with a Vega launch in mid-June as activity at Europe’s space center in Kourou, French Guiana, gradually restarts after being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SpaceX completed the 27th and final test of its Mk 3 parachutes on May 1, one of the final milestones before NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Doug Hurley are cleared for a flight test aboard a Crew Dragon capsule.

Readers write about steadfast AW&ST subscribers, FARA contenders, rocket reusability and advanced propulsion.

Ask the Editors: Space Editor Irene Klotz answers.

Manufacturers of high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS)–stratospheric balloons and unmanned aircraft–are touting a multibillion-dollar market opportunity in telecommunications, Earth observation and weather prediction.

It is unlikely the heavy-lift launch market can support more than two U.S. launch providers in the long term, according to a long-awaited report the U

The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has awarded Maxar Technologies $20 million in contracts for land-cover classification and change-detection services.

IT needs commercial vendors that understand the importance of cybersecurity on the ground as well as in space.

NASA appoints executive to oversee CASIS, reorganizes commercial programs.

The first crewed flight test in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is targeted for a May 27 launch.

Russia’s S7 Group has shelved its Sea Launch space program, the group’s owner Vladislav Filev confirmed.

Encouraged by progress in the Commercial Crew program, NASA should nonetheless expand planning for staffing the International Space Station long-term to provide options, NASA’s safety oversight panel said on April 23.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on April 22 to deliver a seventh batch of the company’s Starlink communications satellites into low Earth orbit.

Space-based ADS-B provides another way to measure the status of commercial aviation.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting May 27 for a crewed test flight of the Dragon 2 spacecraft to the International Space Station, the first human orbital space launch from the U.S. since the end of the shuttle program in 2011.

Rocket Factory Augsburg, a would-be launch service provider and part of Germany’s OHB group, sees a market for a small reusable rocket that would offer low launch costs and enable improved satellite designs.

A defunct communications satellite serviced during the debut flight of Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) has resumed operations, Intelsat and Northrop said on April 17.

Three U.S. and Russian International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers descended safely to Earth early April 17 to end lengthy, productive missions.

The technical risks of landing and reflying rockets have been resolved, but the business case seems far from closed.