ULA Sets Vulcan Cert-2 for September Without Dream Chaser
The change comes six weeks after DoD raised concerns about Vulcan’s readiness to fly national security missions after a series of delays.
Stories about rockets, and the companies that build them.
The change comes six weeks after DoD raised concerns about Vulcan’s readiness to fly national security missions after a series of delays.
“We were not the preordained winner of the small launch race.”
“These commercial companies—they frequently want to minimize the refurbishment between flights, they want to minimize the inspection time—they really want aircraft-like operation.”
“It starts to feel more like an aircraft engine development than a rocket engine development.”
The US military’s scheme to diversify its stable of rocketmakers is running into a problem: None of them is likely to fly their rockets on time.
Skyrora, a UK-based launch startup, is aiming to keep its supply chain close to home as it gears up for its first orbital launch tests.
If you told Stephanie Gavell the problem wasn’t rocket science, she didn’t want to be a part of it.
Kim Jong Un met with Russian president Vladimir Putin at Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome space center yesterday, marking the first meeting between the leaders in four years. Against the backdrop of the Russian launch facility, the pair discussed providing support for Kim’s satellite program and the possibility of sending the first North Korean to space. After […]
SpaceX has filed a final mishap investigation report to the FAA for its April 20 Starship integrated flight test, the FAA told Payload on Tuesday. Submitting the report is an important regulatory step toward SpaceX launching Starship on its second orbital test flight, a milestone that will require sign-off from the FAA. “When a final […]
NASA and DARPA have chosen Lockheed Martin ($LMT) to develop the first nuclear-powered Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) rocket for a demo as early as 2026, the trio announced Wednesday. The contract is valued at $499M, with funding split evenly between the two government agencies. Lockheed Martin will build the spacecraft, and BWX […]
The space world will have to wait a little bit longer to see Vulcan fly. The ULA rocket’s maiden launch has been delayed to Q4 while engineers fix a structural issue with its Centaur V second-stage rocket that caused May’s monstrous explosion on the test stand, ULA chief Tory Bruno announced yesterday. Right of boom: […]
Since Starship’s first orbital flight test nearly three months ago, SpaceX has been working around the clock modifying the rocket, rebuilding the launch pad, and defending itself against an environmental lawsuit as the launch giant prepares for its second orbital attempt. Upgrades to Starship SpaceX will be using Booster 9 and Starship 25 for its […]