Commercial Space

In addition to building and refurbishing New Glenn reusable rockets, the new plant also will house launch and mission control.

From the launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to suborbital human spaceflight, the year 2018 promises to be filled with developments.

Industry experimenting with synthetic aperture radar, mix of services from geostationary and non-geo satellites.

The new launch vehicle will have the capacity to orbit satellites of up to 700 kg. Work began on the launcher a few months ago.

After a $50 million refurbishment, Launch Complex 40 is ready to host its first launch since the September 2016 explosion.

Orbital ATK’s eighth NASA-contracted resupply mission to the ISS initiated the ambitious departure phase of a multifaceted, month-long orbital journey.

The global market was creeping toward $350 billion annually in 2016, with less than 25% coming from government budgets worldwide combined.

XCOR Aerospace, which eyed a foothold in the suborbital market with its Lynx spaceplane, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Nov. 8.

SpaceX is still aiming for two to three more launches this year, but the debut flight of Falcon Heavy won’t be among them.

The first private lunar mission is expected to launch in early 2018, a half-century after nations raced to get to the Moon.

Milestone completes Sierra Nevada’s paid NASA Commercial Crew work and sets up critical design review for unmanned station resupply missions. Photo: NASA

High revisit rates in new satellite constellations open the space industry to wider, more affordable, Earth observation applications.

The first stage of the space company's reusable New Glenn spacecraft will be powered by seven BE-4 engines.

SpaceX planning to scrap its successful Falcon rocket and Dragon capsule in high-stakes quest to expand humankind to Mars.

Development has taken longer than expected, but engine testing is an important milestone in realizing Paul Allen’s new space vision.

Deal would put Northrop Grumman back in the human spaceflight business.

SpaceX recovery teams retrieved the company’s 12th NASA-contracted Dragon resupply mission capsule from Pacific waters early Sept. 17.

Satellite manufacturers expect only 10-12 geosats to be ordered this year, solidifying a trend downward in the sector.

Japan’s first privately developed rocket has been scheduled for launch on July 29 by developer Interstellar Technologies (IST).

NanoRacks LLC has demonstrated that spacesuit-garbed astronauts working outside the International Space Station can successfully maneuver around the external surfaces of what is to be the first commercially provided airlock.

SpaceX is shelving plans for upcoming Dragon 2 crew and cargo retrorocket returns to Earth due to the difficulty of meeting certification requirements

Aviation Week technology writers Guy Norris and Graham Warwick discuss the thrusts of this year’s American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ annual Propulsion & Energy conference.

Casc’s Xian propulsion institute will lighten its P35 solid-propellant motor, then develop a larger derivative, presumably for a new space launcher

After an accident in September 2016, SpaceX is on pace to launch a record number of missions halfway before the year is through.

The European space launch company is eager to show it is still reliable despite facing a major roadblock (literally).