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Universe Today • Mark Thompson

China lays out busiest 2026 space manifest — crewed flights, year‑long solo mission and lunar push

Beijing has published a stepped‑up 2026 spaceflight plan featuring two crewed missions, a cargo resupply, a planned year‑long solo endurance experiment and the first Tiangong flight carrying astronauts from Hong Kong or Macao; parallel hypersonic tests and reusable‑rocket trials accelerate Beijing’s timeline toward a crewed lunar landing.

2026-03-11T03:38:46.974388-07:00

defence-industry.eu

Ursa Major unveils HAVOC: medium‑range, speed‑variable hypersonic missile for fighters and ground launchers

2026-02-25T07:16:23.048322-08:00

defenseandmunitions.com

Rocket Lab's HASTE to carry Hypersonix DART AE scramjet on DIU hypersonic test; Feb. 25 launch scrubbed

2026-02-24T23:13:41.856855-08:00

Aviation Week

Hermeus completes first flight of Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 supersonic unmanned demonstrator

2026-03-02T18:02:31.583429-08:00

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Universe Today

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China lays out busiest 2026 space manifest — crewed flights, year‑long solo mission and lunar push Beijing has published a stepped‑up 2026 spaceflight plan featuring two crewed missions, a cargo resupply, a planned year‑long solo endurance experiment and the first Tiangong flight carrying astronauts from Hong Kong or Macao; parallel hypersonic tests and reusable‑rocket trials accelerate Beijing’s timeline toward a crewed lunar landing.

2026-03-11T03:38:46.974388-07:00

China lays out busiest 2026 space manifest — crewed flights, year‑long solo mission and lunar push

Aviation Week

Hermeus completes first flight of Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 supersonic unmanned demonstrator Hermeus completed the first flight of its Quarterhorse Mk 2.1, a roughly F‑16‑sized unmanned supersonic demonstrator powered by a Pratt & Whitney F100‑229. The flight begins a supersonic test campaign for one of the largest unmanned aircraft built and follows another prototype flown earlier this year.

2026-03-02T18:02:31.583429-08:00

Hermeus completes first flight of Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 supersonic unmanned demonstrator

Bloomberg

Moscow's Missile Shield Could Blunt European SLBMs, Pressuring NATO Toward Hypersonic Response A new report warns Russia's layered anti-missile defences around Moscow may be sufficient to blunt an attack by European submarine-launched ballistic missiles, increasing pressure on European governments and NATO to accelerate development and procurement of hypersonic strike capabilities amid doubts about US reliability.

2026-02-26T00:07:20.330098-08:00

Moscow's Missile Shield Could Blunt European SLBMs, Pressuring NATO Toward Hypersonic Response

defence-industry.eu

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Ursa Major unveils HAVOC: medium‑range, speed‑variable hypersonic missile for fighters and ground launchers Ursa Major unveiled the HAVOC Missile System, a medium‑range hypersonic weapon powered by a liquid‑rocket engine that can vary speed in flight. Designed for both fighter‑aircraft carriage and ground launchers, HAVOC targets affordable, scalable mass‑production to meet urgent warfighter demand.

2026-02-25T07:16:23.048322-08:00

Ursa Major unveils HAVOC: medium‑range, speed‑variable hypersonic missile for fighters and ground launchers

defenseandmunitions.com

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Rocket Lab's HASTE to carry Hypersonix DART AE scramjet on DIU hypersonic test; Feb. 25 launch scrubbed Rocket Lab's HASTE was set to carry Hypersonix's 3.5‑metre DART AE, a scramjet‑powered autonomous hypersonic demonstrator, on a suborbital DIU‑backed test. The flight — the fourth hypersonic mission in under six months — was targeted for Feb. 25 but was scrubbed prior to liftoff.

2026-02-24T23:13:41.856855-08:00

Rocket Lab's HASTE to carry Hypersonix DART AE scramjet on DIU hypersonic test; Feb. 25 launch scrubbed

DefenseNews.com

USAF Cancels Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW); Reviews Status of Remaining Hypersonic Efforts The U.S. Air Force has cancelled the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW). This cluster assesses immediate program implications and the status of remaining Air Force hypersonic efforts, situating the decision alongside other U.S. services' hypersonic timelines and prototyping activity near‑term.

2026-02-19T03:00:50.199647-08:00

USAF Cancels Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW); Reviews Status of Remaining Hypersonic Efforts

Aviation Week

Stratolaunch completes back-to-back Mach 5+ Talon‑A launches from two carrier aircraft Stratolaunch completed back-to-back launches of two Mach 5-plus, rocket‑powered Talon‑A vehicles from two different carrier aircraft within four days. The consecutive air‑launches advance hypersonic flight testing and support repeatable, high‑cadence test operations across multiple carrier platforms.

2026-02-18T10:46:09.537399-08:00

Stratolaunch completes back-to-back Mach 5+ Talon‑A launches from two carrier aircraft

Bloomberg

France and Germany in talks with ArianeGroup on land‑based ballistic missile to close Europe’s deep‑strike gap France and Germany are in preliminary talks with ArianeGroup to develop a conventional land‑based ballistic missile with reported ranges above 1,000 km; some outlets say it could carry hypersonic warheads and reach several thousand kilometres. The proposal is framed as a bid to close Europe’s deep‑strike capability gap.

2026-02-12T05:22:24.249847-08:00

France and Germany in talks with ArianeGroup on land‑based ballistic missile to close Europe’s deep‑strike gap

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Hypersonic News

China lays out busiest 2026 space manifest — crewed flights, year‑long solo mission and lunar push

Ursa Major unveils HAVOC: medium‑range, speed‑variable hypersonic missile for fighters and ground launchers

Rocket Lab's HASTE to carry Hypersonix DART AE scramjet on DIU hypersonic test; Feb. 25 launch scrubbed

Hermeus completes first flight of Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 supersonic unmanned demonstrator

News Timeline