Commercial Space

A government-backed company is selling Soyuz launch services from Russian spaceports.

After closing out 2018 with a company record 21 launches, SpaceX aims to keep the pace, begin flying astronauts and test a prototype Mars spaceship

But the final frontier remains the playground of only the most adventurous investors—and for good reasons.

Orders for large geostationary communication satellites fall, but small birds flock to LEO and beyond.

Though China surpassed the U.S. launch rate in 2018, private U.S. “new space” companies are ramping up activity.

Unity’s Dec. 13 flight marked its fourth rocket-powered test and the first to achieve the goal of exo-atmospheric flight set by Richard Branson 14 years ago.

Stuck steering fins prompt booster to abort ground landing attempt.

A $3 billion upgrade is nearing completion, positioning Iridium ahead of a bevy of competitors vying for global mobile communications business

Composite cryogenic propellent tank buildup marks the start of prepping Boeing’s Phantom Express spaceplane for DARPA’s XSP reusable launch vehicle program.

The FAA is readying new rules and technologies to accommodate increasing launch and reentry operations by commercial space operators.

Comprehensive captive-carry flight-test campaign awaits 747 and LauncherOne combination following successful fit check with rocket and wing pylon.

How Stratolaunch is set up to handle the loss of its financier and visionary leader may serve as a role model for kindred space ventures whose billionaire backers are still around.

Here is a look at some of the more than two dozen public and private organizations that have unveiled lunar exploration and development programs.

Awards tallying nearly $2.3 billion go to ULA, Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin.

Visiting near-Earth objects with multiple smallsats is to serve as a pilot run for a shared mission.

To be located in New Zealand, orbit-debris-mapping startup LeoLab’s latest ground radar will track objects down to 2 cm in size.

The four-year competition to supply U.S. engine for new Vulcan rocket ends with Jeff Bezos-backed BE-4 toppling traditional supplier.

An early customer for BFR puts a meaningful dent in estimated $5 billion development cost of BFR, says Musk.

As the International Space Station marks 20 years in low Earth orbit, NASA faces new imperative to expand its commercial realm.

With the communications satellite market still in flux, launch service providers are counting on aggregators and manufacturers to broaden their product ranges.

Rather than landing back on Earth, ULA Vulcan rockets will parachute just its engines for refurbishment and reflight.

Having already felt the bite of U.S. competition, Arianespace counting on new rocket to keep it in the commercial space launch game

Borrowing best practices, technologies from heritage Atlas and Delta programs, ULA pivots to compete in new space environment.

What the latest acquisitions by Boeing and Lockheed, and a possible sale by Maxar, tell us about the future of LEO, smallsats and geosats.

The future of the International Space Station hinges on expanding the number and type of commercial users, but NASA policy bans publicity and advertising.