Space.com
• Mike Wall
SpaceX is working to ready historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for Starship, with the rocket’s first liftoff from Florida potentially only months away. The effort would bring the company’s largest launch vehicle to a new site at the center.
Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation
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SpaceX is working to ready historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for Starship, with the rocket’s first liftoff from Florida potentially only months away. The effort would bring the company’s largest launch vehicle to a new site at the center.
The analysis examines whether Poland’s space industry can move beyond supplying technologies and subsystems to deliver complete space-based solutions, and what role the country could play in Europe’s and the global space market.
The U.S. Commerce Department, NASA and NOAA announced an assessment of the civil space industrial base in March 2023. Separately, a European analysis argues that building sovereign launch capabilities through partnerships is not enough: Europe must also diversify launch sites and develop responsive access to space.
High activity
ArianeGroup has completed a second wet dress rehearsal of Themis, the European Space Agency’s reusable rocket demonstrator, at Esrange in Sweden. The rehearsal marks another test campaign milestone for the vehicle, though the available report provides no further details on test results or next steps.
High activity
South Korea’s 200-ton Nuri rocket lifted off from the Naro Space Center on Wednesday on its fifth flight, carrying 15 satellites, including five NEONSAT microsatellites and 10 CubeSats. The vehicle deployed 14 payloads, while expanded Hanwha Aerospace involvement highlights the growing role of private industry in the country’s space ambitions.
FAA data show licensed commercial space launches declined in fiscal 2026 for the first time since FY2019, while the agency proposed streamlining regulations for launches and re-entries. Launch bottlenecks are also prompting interest in high-density satellite designs as operators seek alternatives to launch capacity constraints.
German researchers used a Dassault Falcon 20E research jet to measure the emissions plume from a suborbital launch vehicle. The German Aerospace Center says the resulting data could help support development of propellants with lower climate impact.
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