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NASA Spaceflight • Ryan Weber

Launch pad transition: Pad 1 demolished as conversion to Pad 2 design advances, with trench excavation imminent

Six months after Flight 11 concluded operations for the former configuration, Pad 1 has been demolished. Crews are now converting the site to the newer pad design (Pad 2), with major progress reported—excavation of the trench is about to begin.

2026-05-05T12:02:39.325380-07:00

SpaceNews.com

Eycore launches Eycore-1 SAR Earth-observation satellite on SpaceX CAS500-2 with NanoAvionics-built payload buses

2026-05-05T10:53:13.855899-07:00

Space.com

Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK1/Endurance lander clears NASA thermal vacuum milestone as NASA targets crewed lunar landings in 2028—

2026-05-05T03:51:16.136752-07:00

SpaceWatch Global

Sweden moves from plans to orbit: first SAR/electro-optical military reconnaissance satellite launched via Falcon 9 and backed b

2026-05-05T02:07:18.245195-07:00

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NASA Spaceflight

Launch pad transition: Pad 1 demolished as conversion to Pad 2 design advances, with trench excavation imminent Six months after Flight 11 concluded operations for the former configuration, Pad 1 has been demolished. Crews are now converting the site to the newer pad design (Pad 2), with major progress reported—excavation of the trench is about to begin.

2026-05-05T12:02:39.325380-07:00

Launch pad transition: Pad 1 demolished as conversion to Pad 2 design advances, with trench excavation imminent

SpaceNews.com

Eycore launches Eycore-1 SAR Earth-observation satellite on SpaceX CAS500-2 with NanoAvionics-built payload buses Polish space company Eycore placed its first SAR Earth-observation satellite, Eycore-1, into orbit, leveraging the firm’s synthetic aperture radar technology. The launch also carried additional LEO smallsat payloads on SpaceX’s CAS500-2 mission, including three satellites using NanoAvionics satellite buses.

2026-05-05T10:53:13.855899-07:00

Eycore launches Eycore-1 SAR Earth-observation satellite on SpaceX CAS500-2 with NanoAvionics-built payload buses

SpaceNews.com

Hancom InSpace commissioning Sejong-3 cubesat hyperspectral payload after SpaceX Transporter rideshare South Korea’s Hancom InSpace is expanding its Earth-observation constellation with Sejong-3, a cubesat carrying a hyperspectral sensor. The spacecraft launched in March on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare and is now in commissioning, marking another step toward broader spectral imagery capability.

2026-05-05T05:38:41.848988-07:00

Hancom InSpace commissioning Sejong-3 cubesat hyperspectral payload after SpaceX Transporter rideshare

Space.com

Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK1/Endurance lander clears NASA thermal vacuum milestone as NASA targets crewed lunar landings in 2028— NASA says Blue Origin’s Endurance lunar lander completed uncrewed vacuum testing in the agency’s Thermal Vacuum Chamber A in Houston, a key step ahead of a planned launch later this year. The milestone lands as NASA looks beyond Artemis II to certify and field commercial landers for a 2028 astronaut landing.

2026-05-05T03:51:16.136752-07:00

Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK1/Endurance lander clears NASA thermal vacuum milestone as NASA targets crewed lunar landings in 2028—

SpaceWatch Global

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Sweden moves from plans to orbit: first SAR/electro-optical military reconnaissance satellite launched via Falcon 9 and backed b Sweden has launched its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit on a Falcon 9, adding to NATO-aligned space awareness and in-orbit surveillance capacity. The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) also signed deals with ICEYE and Planet Labs for a multi-satellite radar (SAR) and electro-optical sensing package.

2026-05-05T02:07:18.245195-07:00

Sweden moves from plans to orbit: first SAR/electro-optical military reconnaissance satellite launched via Falcon 9 and backed b

SpaceNews.com

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Firefly readies first Alpha Block 2 debut late this summer as SciTec wins US space-based missile defense OTA Firefly Aerospace says it plans to debut the upgraded Alpha Block 2 rocket late this summer amid strong demand. Separately, SciTec, a Firefly unit, received an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement from U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command for the Golden Dome space-based interceptor program—backed by a cited $3.2 billion Space-Based Interceptor total.

2026-05-04T18:30:33.232070-07:00

Firefly readies first Alpha Block 2 debut late this summer as SciTec wins US space-based missile defense OTA

Via Satellite

Lockheed Martin joins Firefly Aerospace and Seagate Space to develop sea-based national security launches Lockheed Martin said it is partnering with Firefly Aerospace and Seagate Space to develop sea-based launch capabilities for national security missions. The three-way collaboration builds on Firefly’s small-launch-vehicle offshore infrastructure concept, adding Lockheed’s strategic and missile defense systems footprint to the effort.

2026-05-04T14:04:28.560841-07:00

Lockheed Martin joins Firefly Aerospace and Seagate Space to develop sea-based national security launches

NASA Spaceflight

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Launch preview: SpaceX to fly two Falcon 9 missions and a Chang Zheng 7 to extend Starlink Group 17 by 48 satellites For the week commencing May 4, 2026, the launch roster includes two Falcon 9 flights and one Chang Zheng 7. SpaceX’s launches are set to add 48 Starlink satellites to Group 17 within its broader constellation of more than 7,000 spacecraft.

2026-05-04T12:07:53.549383-07:00

Launch preview: SpaceX to fly two Falcon 9 missions and a Chang Zheng 7 to extend Starlink Group 17 by 48 satellites

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Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News

Launch pad transition: Pad 1 demolished as conversion to Pad 2 design advances, with trench excavation imminent

Eycore launches Eycore-1 SAR Earth-observation satellite on SpaceX CAS500-2 with NanoAvionics-built payload buses

Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK1/Endurance lander clears NASA thermal vacuum milestone as NASA targets crewed lunar landings in 2028—

Sweden moves from plans to orbit: first SAR/electro-optical military reconnaissance satellite launched via Falcon 9 and backed b

News Timeline