Space Foundation has issued its Space Report for Q4 2023 revealing that global launch activity reached new highs for the third year in a row, with 223 launch attempts and 212 successful launches. Commercial launch activity increased 50 per cent from 2022. The US saw a 33 per cent increase in launch attempts, with China, […]
A complaint has been filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court by Craig Stoker, who was previously Blue Origin’s programme manager on their BE-4 rocket engine development, and alleging concerns over workplace safety at the Jeff Bezos-backed business. Stoker further alleges that Blue Origin had a “hostile work environment” and that there were “ethical violations” […]
The United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint-venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin (L-M), is up for sale. The rocket builder now has potential bidders emerging. The three names currently being reported on include a private equity business, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket company and an unnamed aerospace firm which is said to be well-capitalised. The […]
Amazon’s broadband-by-satellite Project Kuiper system is getting closer. Two prototype satellites will launch in the next few weeks. The United Launch Alliance (ULA) rocket operator has confirmed that its next launch will carry Amazon’s KuiperSat-1 & 2 prototypes for their Project Kuiper mega-constellation. According to an insider source, reportedly the mission, known as the Project […]
SpaceX, already the world’s busiest supplier of rocket launch capacity, says it can do more and could increase its launch frequency. A series of expert panels at the recent Satellite 2023 event in Washington, DC, talked about anticipated shortages in launch capacity especially in the 2024-2027 time frame. The decision by the Jeff Bezos-backed Project […]
The United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) giant Atlas V531 rocket is making its final preparations to send two SES satellites into orbit. The two craft, SES-20 and SES-21 are both part of the SES obligation to provide TV broadcasting over the US for many US cable and head-end retransmission operators. The satellites are part of the […]
Aerospace company Boeing has delivered two satellites for connectivity service provider SES to their launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, ahead of the upcoming launch of the twin spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. “SES-20 and SES-21 are the first commercial satellites we’ve delivered since the start of the global pandemic,” […]
Aerojet Rocketdyne has won an order from the United Launch Alliance (ULA) for the delivery of 116 RL10C-X rocket engines that will be used in the giant Vulcan Centaur rocket. Aerojet Rocketdyne says the order is a direct result of the deal between ULA and Amazon “as part of the largest commercial launch contract in […]
The news on April 5th that Jeff Bezos had signed unprecedented orders for rocket capacity to get Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband system operational did not go far enough. The announcement also kick-starts a five-year timetable and designed to compete head-to-head with Elon Musk’s Starlink operation which is already in business. Amazon had ordered up a […]
Jeff Bezos has ordered a massive series of rocket launches to get Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband system into space. Amazon has selected Arianespace, its own Blue Origin, as well as the United Launch Alliance for an overall 68 launches, split between the three giant launch providers. The three sets of contracts are by far the […]