Enlarge / Composite image showing a Falcon 9 rocket launching, and a first stage landing, at Vandenberg Space Force Base this weekend. (credit: SpaceX) Welcome to Edition 4.31 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX launched three Falcon 9 rockets in three days this week, bringing its tally of orbital launches in 2022 to six. Not bad […]
Enlarge / OrienSpace is planning a series of rockets, from Gravity 1 through Gravity 4, over the coming decade. (credit: OrienSpace) Welcome to Edition 4.30 of the Rocket Report! There is plenty to discuss this week with NASA significantly expanding its support for the development of commercial rockets and a spicy new rocket tax proposal […]
Enlarge / SpaceX launched its third mission of 2022 on January 18. The rocket carried 49 Starlink satellites. (credit: SpaceX) Welcome to Edition 4.29 of the Rocket Report! There is plenty to discuss this week, including an accident in the Mojave (oh no!) and flights by two different rocket-carrying aircraft within days of each other […]
Enlarge / SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is seen returning to Earth after its 10th flight to space. (credit: Trevor Mahlmann / Ars Technica) Welcome to Edition 4.28 of the Rocket Report! As I write this introduction, I’m watching Virgin Orbit’s livestream for its “Above the Clouds” mission, and the company’s LauncherOne vehicle has successfully reached […]
Enlarge / The James Webb Space Telescope lifts off from French Guiana on an Ariane 5 rocket on December 25. (credit: ESA – S. Corvaja) Welcome to Edition 4.27 of the Rocket Report! And after two weeks away, the Rocket Report is back. I’d like to say I’m tanned, rested, and ready, but hey, one […]
Enlarge / Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine hot-fire tests take place at the company’s facility in West Texas. (credit: Blue Origin ) Welcome to Edition 4. 26 of the Rocket Report! This will be the final edition of 2021 due to a forthcoming (and much-needed) holiday break. As I write this, NASA and the European Space […]
Enlarge / SpaceX launched NASA’s IXPE mission on a Falcon 9 first stage that had previously flown four times. (credit: Trevor Mahlmann / Ars Technica) Welcome to Edition 4.26 of the Rocket Report! Don’t look now, but we’re less than two weeks from the momentous launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope is […]
Enlarge / Rocket Lab calls this the “Hungry Hippo” fairing on its Neutron rocket. (credit: Rocket Lab) Welcome to Edition 4.25 of the Rocket Report! After the Thanksgiving holiday, we are now in the homestretch of 2021, with less than a month to go in the year. And it will be a consequential month, with […]
Enlarge / Launch of Vega VV20 on Nov. 16, 2021, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. (credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace ) Welcome to Edition 4. 24 of the Rocket Report! This will be the last newsletter for the month of November, as I’ll be taking off next week for the Thanksgiving holiday. But the Rocket Report will […]
Enlarge / As the Crew-3 mission ascends, a Falcon 9 rocket with a Starlink payload awaits its turn on a nearby launch pad in Florida. (credit: SpaceX) Welcome to Edition 4.23 of the Rocket Report! After a one-week hiatus, this report returns with a superfluity of news. There’s a lot to cover, from exciting news […]