Launch
Soyuz launches Japanese private astronauts to ISS
A Soyuz spacecraft launched Dec. 8 carrying two Japanese private astronauts and a Roscosmos cosmonaut on the first flight in more than a decade for space tourism company Space Adventures.
Chinese private firm Galactic Energy puts five satellites in orbit with second launch
Rocket company Galactic Energy launched its second Ceres-1 rocket late Dec. 6, becoming the first Chinese private firm to reach orbit twice.
ULA launches STP-3 mission with national security and NASA payloads
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on Dec. 7 launched the Space Test Program-3 (STP-3) mission for the U.S. Space Force. The rocket lifted off at 5:19 a.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
The SpaceNews Awards 2021: Meet the nine winners
In such a remarkable year for commercial, civil and military space, picking winners wasn’t easy. In the end, SpaceNews editors, reporters and trusted advisers agreed on nine individuals, organizations and trends deserving recognition.
Astra to perform next launch from Cape Canaveral
Small launch vehicle developer Astra Space announced Dec. 6 that it will conduct its next launch from a pad at Cape Canaveral in January, carrying a set of cubesats for NASA.
Arianespace expands Galileo constellation to 28 satellites
Arianespace successfully launched another two satellites for Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system Dec. 4, growing the constellation to 28 in orbit.
South Korea’s Hanwha to expand space business portfolio with rocket development
Hanwha Aerospace unveiled the plan Dec. 6, saying it recently held a joint meeting with South Korea's space agency for preliminary requirement review on their envisioned rocket.
Tory Bruno: ULA won’t get engines by Christmas, BE-4s coming in early 2022
“We're in the end game now,” Tory Bruno said Dec. 3 on CNBC.
SpaceX breaks annual launch record as it deploys 48 more Starlink satellites
SpaceX deployed 48 more satellites for its Starlink broadband constellation Dec. 2, along with two remote sensing spacecraft for BlackSky in a mission that breaks the record for Falcon 9 launches in a calendar year.
Rocket Lab updates Neutron design
Rocket Lab released new details Dec. 2 of the design of its Neutron medium-class rocket, a vehicle with a unique design the company says is intended to enable frequent and low-cost reuse.
Chinese space firms present big ambitions at commercial space forum
Players in China’s emerging commercial space sector have outlined big plans for rockets, spaceplanes and more for the coming years at a space forum hosted in Wuhan, central China.
Kuaizhou-1A rocket launches classified Shiyan-11 satellite
A Chinese Kuaizhou-1A rocket launched the experimental Shiyan-11 satellite for China’s main space contractor from northwest China late Nov. 24.
Spanish startup PLD Space gears up for 2022 suborbital launch
Spanish launch startup PLD Space has debuted a fully assembled Miura 1 reusable suborbital rocket as a step towards its inaugural flight in 2022.
Falcon 9 launches DART
A SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched a NASA mission that will deliberately collide with a near Earth asteroid to test a technique that could be used to deflect the trajectory of any future asteroid on a collision course with the Earth.
Rocket Lab ready to attempt midair recovery of Electron booster
Rocket Lab says it’s ready to move to the next step in its efforts to recover and reuse Electron first stages by attempting to catch a booster in midair on an upcoming launch.
Astra ready for commercial operations after first successful launch
After reaching orbit for the first time, Astra Space executives said they are ready to begin commercial operations of their small launch vehicle and scale up production, while also preparing to test a new vehicle next year.
