Booster 18, the first Super Heavy booster for Starship V3, before it was damaged in testing Nov. 21. Credit: SpaceX MUNICH — The first booster in the new generation of Starship vehicles suffered significant damage during a Nov. 21 test, adding to doubts about the vehicle’s development schedule. The Super Heavy booster, designated Booster 18, was at a test site near SpaceX’s Starbase, Texas, facilities in the early morning hours when the lower section of the booster appeared to burst, accor...

Blue Origin announced plans Nov. 20 for New Glenn 9×4, an upgraded version with increased payload performance. MUNICH — A week after successfully launching and landing the current version of New Glenn, Blue Origin announced a series of upgrades to the vehicle. The company said Nov. 20 it plans to increase the thrust of the engines used on New Glenn and make other improvements. The upgrades include increasing the thrust of the seven BE-4 engines on the rocket’s first stage from a combine...

Updated 7:10 p.m. Eastern with post-launch comments. WASHINGTON — Blue Origin successfully launched a NASA Mars mission on the second flight of its New Glenn booster Nov. 13, landing the vehicle’s first stage in the process. New Glenn lifted off on the NG-2 mission at 3:55 p.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The liftoff took place after a first attempt nearly an hour earlier was halted 20 seconds before liftoff for an undisclosed technical re...

New Shepard lifts off Oct. 8 on the NS-36 suborbital flight. Credit: Bloe Origin webcast CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Blue Origin launched its sixth crewed New Shepard flight so far this year Oct. 8 as the company works to increase the vehicle’s flight rate. New Shepard lifted off from the company’s Launch Site One in West Texas at 9:40 a.m. Eastern. The crew capsule, RSS First Step, reached a peak altitude of 106 kilometers before landing under parachutes a little more than 10 minutes afte...

An aerial view of Launch Complex 3, Rocket Lab’s Neutron launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: Rocket Lab WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. — Rocket Lab moved a step closer to the first launch of its Neutron rocket Aug. 28 with the formal opening of the vehicle’s launch site. To continue reading this article: Register now and get3 free articles every month. You’ll also receive our weekly SpaceNews This Week newsletter every Friday. Opt-out at any time. Sign in to an existing account Get unli...

SpaceX’s Starship/Super Heavy vehicle lifts off Aug. 26 on its tenth test flight. Credit: SpaceX WASHINGTON — SpaceX completed a largely successful test flight of its Starship vehicle Aug. 26, putting the vehicle’s development program back on track after a series of failures earlier this year. To continue reading this article: Register now and get3 free articles every month. You’ll also receive our weekly SpaceNews This Week newsletter every Friday. Opt-out at any time. Sign in to an exi...

A camera on the second stage of Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket shows debris falling away and a damaged or missing nozzle shortly after stage separation April 29. Credit: Firefly Aerospace/NASASpaceFlight.com WASHINGTON — Firefly Aerospace said its most recent Alpha launch four months ago was lost because of structural failure linked to higher-than-normal heating during the vehicle’s ascent. To continue reading this article: Register now and get3 free articles every month. You’ll al...

The Exploration Upper Stage is intended for use on the Block 1B version of SLS starting with Artemis 4. Credit: NASA LAS VEGAS — House appropriators want NASA to examine alternatives to a new upper stage for the Space Launch System despite an uncertain long-term future for the vehicle. To continue reading this article: Register now and get3 free articles every month. You’ll also receive our weekly SpaceNews This Week newsletter every Friday. Opt-out at any time. Sign in to an existing accoun...

NASA’s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft being prepares for shipment to Florida for a second launch attempt on Blue Origin’s New Glenn. Credit: Rocket Lab WASHINGTON — Blue Origin has confirmed that a NASA Mars smallsat mission, bumped from the inaugural launch of the New Glenn rocket, will be on the vehicle’s second flight later this year. To continue reading this article: Register now and get3 free articles every month. You’ll also receive our weekly SpaceNews This Week newsletter every Frida...

Portal Space System’s Supernova uses sunlight to power a thermal propulsion system that can allow spacecraft to move rapidly between orbits. Credit: Portal Space Systems PARIS — Portal Space Systems will create a second factory to scale up production of high-performance in-space vehicles as it gears up for initial test flights in 2026. The company announced at the Paris Air Show June 17 that it will establish a second factory, five kilometers from its current facilities in Bothell, Washi...