SpaceNews.com
• Jeff Foust
Virgin Galactic has unveiled Apeiron, an updated Delta-class suborbital spaceplane and successor to SpaceShipTwo. The company is preparing the vehicle for test flights, with a report placing its mothership-and-spaceplane operation at Spaceport America in October 2026 ahead of planned commercial operations.
Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation
Latest source-backed stories
High activity
Virgin Galactic has unveiled Apeiron, an updated Delta-class suborbital spaceplane and successor to SpaceShipTwo. The company is preparing the vehicle for test flights, with a report placing its mothership-and-spaceplane operation at Spaceport America in October 2026 ahead of planned commercial operations.
The United Kingdom launched Prospero on Oct. 28, 1971, its first satellite, using the domestically developed Black Arrow rocket. The flight marked Britain’s entry into satellite operations and remains the only successful orbital launch by a British-built rocket.
High activity
A Foundation for Defense of Democracies submission recommends judging spaceport capacity by the missions each facility can support, rather than by the number of launch sites alone. A separate comparison of Starbase and Kennedy Space Center construction timelines underscores the infrastructure involved, including launch pads, vehicle integration facilities and support systems.
South Korea’s Kompsat-6 radar-observation satellite has become an example of the risks of launching as a co-passenger rather than buying a dedicated mission. The case highlights the tradeoff satellite operators face between the lower cost of a shared ride and the greater control of a dedicated launch.
South Korea’s Flexell Space and Singapore-based Satoro have agreed to demonstrate and validate next-generation space solar cells in orbit, with missions planned aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 launches in 2027 and 2028. Flexell will supply solar cells and test modules; Satoro will provide a satellite-as-a-service solution.
The number of times SpaceX’s Starship would need to refill its tanks in orbit to support a moon mission remains undetermined. That uncertainty leaves a key operational requirement of the rocket’s lunar mission architecture unresolved.
Create a free account to see more recent Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation stories and keep bookmarks in one place.
