SpaceX

By Robert Wall, Vivienne Machi
Editors discusses the latest developments with the NRO, the Victus Haze rendezvous and proximity operations missions, and what awaits the new slate of U.S. defense and intelligence space leadership.
Check 6

Aviation Week Staff
The Week Ahead In Aerospace & Defense
Aerospace_Daily_departments

By Irene Klotz
Small satellites have been moving off dedicated small launch vehicles and increasingly turning to shared rides on medium- and heavy-lift rockets, an analysis of the industry shows.
Satellites

By Joe Anselmo, Sean Broderick, Michael Bruno, Robert Wall, Graham Warwick
Listen in as our editors discuss good earnings, bad earnings, SpaceX, AI, the aftermarket, Boeing, an electric airplane and a Groundhog Day moment.
Check 6

Stephen Perry
Venture capital investment in defense tech is booming, but as with other sectors that have seen such booms, there will be some big winners and many losers.
Supply Chain

By Garrett Reim
Portal Space Systems has booked an entire SpaceX Falcon 9 launch in 2028 for its first Supernova, a thermal-propulsion-powered spacecraft.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Robert Wall
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk projects the first reflight of a Starship upper stage within the coming months as the launch service provider looks to demonstrate full reusability of its heavy-launch system.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
Three weeks after an unexpectedly soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean, a SpaceX Starship spacecraft has been towed to the waters off Christmas Island for additional post-flight analysis.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

Aviation Week Staff
The Week Ahead In Aerospace & Defense
Aerospace_Daily_departments

By Garrett Reim
Satellite operator SES has made a “strategic investment” in new direct-to-device company Elveo Mobile.
Satellites

By Robert Wall
Less than two months after going public, Elon Musk has a different message for SpaceX investors and workers: The company is going to be all about AI, not space.
Commercial Space

By Robert Wall
The second quarter generated the largest total value ever for venture capital shifting from illiquid investments in startups into stock or an outright company sale.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Vivienne Machi
The U.S. Space Force is bringing in five satellite builders to develop a new orbital mesh network.
Satellites

Aviation Week Staff
The initial launch of Russia’s first reusable rocket—Amur SPG—is now planned for 2031, half a decade later than when the concept emerged.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
Ahead of its planned acquisition by Amazon, Globalstar is preparing for the launch of the first batch of replacement satellites for its mobile voice and data communications network in low Earth orbit.
Satellites

By Vivienne Machi
For Rocket Lab, defense is now most definitely not a side quest.
Commercial Space

By Robert Wall
Starlink plans to expand beyond 100,000 satellites with V3 designs, boosting bandwidth 100 times to meet AI and robotics data demands.
Satellites

By Graham Warwick
Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
The U.S. is moving ahead with plans for a privately owned outpost to replace the International Space Station.
Budget, Policy & Regulation

By Robert Wall, Steve Trimble
The U.S. Space Force has awarded $615 million across three further contracts to work on Space-Base Airborne Moving Target Indicator capabilities.
Satellites

By Robert Wall
SpaceX will drastically pick up the pace of Starship flights, CEO Elon Musk says.
Space

Aviation Week Staff
The Week Ahead in Aerospace & Defense
Aerospace_Daily_departments

By Robert Wall
As SpaceX for the first time approaches what has become routine for most public aerospace and defense companies—quarterly results—it is approaching them in an unusual manner.
Commercial Space

Aviation Week Staff
SPACEX launches NROL-95... RANGEVIEW developing cast components for KRATOS...
Aerospace_Daily_departments

By Irene Klotz
A successful flight and soft landing put the Starship on the cusp of orbital flight.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion