Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News

Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation

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Rising Launch Cadence Increases Risk of Fatal Space-Debris Reentries

Experts warn that continued growth in rocket launch frequency could increase the likelihood of uncontrolled space-debris reentries and, eventually, a fatality on the ground. The trend underscores the safety consequences of expanding launch activity and the need to manage debris generated by increasingly crowded orbital operations.

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Hop Aero Raises $11M for Suborbital Point-to-Point Delivery

Hop Aero has raised $11 million to develop suborbital point-to-point logistics, following the company’s participation in Y Combinator’s summer batch. The funding represents a new private-sector investment in space transportation concepts aimed at moving goods between distant locations through suborbital flight.

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CAS Space targets early 2027 debut of reusable Lihong-2 suborbital rocket with pharmaceutical payloads

Chinese commercial launch provider CAS Space is targeting early 2027 for the first flight of its reusable Lihong-2 suborbital rocket. The mission is planned to carry pharmaceutical payloads, linking the company’s vehicle development to emerging commercial demand for suborbital research and in-space processing.

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Electric-pump propulsion emerges as a new front in China’s commercial launch sector

A new group of Chinese commercial launch companies is pursuing electric-pump-fed liquid engines, signaling an emerging propulsion trend in the country’s private space sector. The effort could broaden the technology base available to Chinese launch providers as they develop competing commercial space transportation systems.

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CNES seeks three automated optical tracking turrets to replace ageing Guiana Space Centre launch equipment

France’s CNES has published a call for proposals to replace ageing launch-tracking equipment at the Guiana Space Centre with three automated optical tracking turrets. The upgrade is intended to modernize optical monitoring capabilities supporting rocket launches from Europe’s primary spaceport.

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