SpaceX

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket sits on Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral at sunset. The Atlas V will launch the Kuiper 1 mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband satellite constellation. Image: United Launch Alliance A band of off-shore thunderstorms forced United Launch Alliance to scrub a launch attempt of the first of dozens of missions on behalf of its largest commercial customer, Amazon. Its Atlas 5 551 rocket will carry 27 Project Kuiper satellites onboard. The mission, referred to as Kuiper 1 by ULA and Kuiper Atlas 1 (KA-01) by Amazon, will send the first batch of its full production satellites into low Earth orbit. Amazon’s satellite internet constellation, called Project Kuiper, is designed to rival others, like SpaceX’s Starlink and Eutelsa...

Seen here prior to being sealed in its shipping container at Lockheed Martin’s Littleton, Colorado facility, SV08 will join the U.S. Space Force’s operational GPS constellation in orbit. Image: Lockheed Martin. Following the successful accelerated launch of a Global Positioning System on a Falcon 9 rocket in mid-December, the U.S. Space Force, Lockheed Martin and SpaceX are preparing to launch another GPS 3 satellite on a fast tracked basis. The satellite, dubbed GPS 3 Space Vehicle 08 (SV-08), is targeted for launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station no earlier than late May. “This mission represents an outstanding collaboration across multiple teams and agencies,” said U.S. Space Force Col. Andrew Menschner, MD 31 commander, in a statement. “It hi...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and ULA’s Vulcan rockets launch from their respective pads. Image: Blue Origin, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance A long-awaited launch contract for national security missions was announced by the U.S. Space Force after close of business Friday evening. The mission spreads nearly $14 billion worth of missions between Blue Origin, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA). The contract is known as Lane 2 of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3. These are firm fixed-price, indefinite-delivery contracts that will be issued in batches of missions to the launch providers over a five-year period beginning in FY25. “Today’s award culminates nearly three years of government and industry partnership to increase launch resiliency and capacity,” expl...

United Launch Alliance (ULA) payload fairings encapsulate 27 of Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites ahead of their launch no earlier than April 9, 2025. Image: Amazon Amazon is less than a week away from the first launch to assemble its satellite internet constellation, called Project Kuiper. It plans to send 27 of its satellites into low Earth orbit on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket. Launch is scheduled for Wednesday, April 9, during a three-hour window that opens at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 UTC). “We’ve designed some of the most advanced communications satellites ever built, and every launch is an opportunity to add more capacity and coverage to our network,” said Rajeev Badyal, vice president of Project Kuiper, in a news release. “We’ve done extensive testing on the ground to pre...

The four astronauts of the Fram2 mission pose inside the suit up room near Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. From left to right: mission commander Chun Wang, vehicle pilot Rabea Rogge, vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen and mission specialist and medical officer Eric Philips. Image: Fram2 Four people united by their fascination with the Earth’s polar regions are embarking on a spaceflight that will allow them to experience those remote areas like no human before. Chun Wang, a 42-year-old entrepreneur and adventurer, chartered a free-flier mission with SpaceX aboard the Dragon Resilience spacecraft. Following eight months of training, he along with Jannicke Mikkelsen, a 38-year-old cinematographer and director; Rabea Rogge, a 29-year-old, arctic robotics researcher; and E...