Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News

New York Times • Hank Sanders

Starbase, Texas Officially Incorporates as SpaceX Municipality

SpaceX employees and local residents overwhelmingly voted on May 3 to incorporate the Boca Chica community around the company’s South Texas launch site as the city of Starbase. The move grants SpaceX greater autonomy over local governance, infrastructure expansion and housing development for its operations.

2025-05-03T17:59:40.979073-07:00

Payload

Trump’s 2026 “Skinny Budget” Proposes 24% NASA Cut, Axes SLS, Orion, Gateway and Mars Sample Return

2025-05-02T08:40:43.602197-07:00

SpaceNews.com

Lockheed Martin Delivers Flight-Ready Orion Capsule for Artemis II Moon Mission

2025-05-02T04:56:48.280553-07:00

European Spaceflight

ESA's Biomass Satellite Debuts Enhanced Forest Monitoring

2025-04-29T07:39:17.586024-07:00

Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News Timeline

New York Times

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Starbase, Texas Officially Incorporates as SpaceX Municipality SpaceX employees and local residents overwhelmingly voted on May 3 to incorporate the Boca Chica community around the company’s South Texas launch site as the city of Starbase. The move grants SpaceX greater autonomy over local governance, infrastructure expansion and housing development for its operations.

2025-05-03T17:59:40.979073-07:00

Starbase, Texas Officially Incorporates as SpaceX Municipality

NASA Spaceflight

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SpaceX Static Fires Ship 35 as Four Starship Boosters Advance Through Testing SpaceX has four Super Heavy boosters and Starship prototypes in parallel test campaigns at its Boca Chica site, with Ship 35 completing a static fire as it moves toward its first launch. This marks an accelerated build-test cycle aimed at achieving rapid flight cadence.

2025-05-03T12:18:53.923784-07:00

SpaceX Static Fires Ship 35 as Four Starship Boosters Advance Through Testing

United Press International

South Korea to Fly CubeSat on Artemis II for Radiation Study South Korea’s Korean AeroSpace Administration will fly a shoebox-sized cube satellite aboard NASA’s Artemis II test flight in April 2026 to measure space radiation en route to the Moon. The data will support shielding and crew safety planning for future lunar missions.

2025-05-03T10:37:24.990218-07:00

South Korea to Fly CubeSat on Artemis II for Radiation Study

canadiangeographic.ca

Canso, Nova Scotia Eyes Spaceport as US Tariffs Reshape Launch Landscape U.S. tariffs on Canadian aerospace imports are creating a window for Canso, Nova Scotia, to develop a spaceport that could provide small satellite launch companies with tariff-free access and streamlined regulatory pathways to U.S. markets, leveraging the region’s maritime geography and existing infrastructure.

2025-05-02T10:44:34.987485-07:00

Canso, Nova Scotia Eyes Spaceport as US Tariffs Reshape Launch Landscape

SpaceQ

Canada pushes for sovereign space launch in new white paper At the Canadian Space Launch Conference, Neil Woodcock presented key recommendations from The Need For Canadian Sovereign Space Launch white paper, calling for development of domestic launch capabilities to secure national access to orbit and reduce reliance on foreign providers.

2025-05-02T10:11:31.816509-07:00

Canada pushes for sovereign space launch in new white paper

statesman.com

Inside Firefly Aerospace’s Rise From Cedar Park Startup to Historic Lunar Landing Founded in Cedar Park, Texas, with just over 30 employees, Firefly Aerospace has now landed a commercial lander on the Moon. The company’s rapid growth—from small-town New Space startup to full-spectrum launch and lunar mission operator—highlights shifting dynamics in commercial exploration.

2025-05-02T09:05:33.412936-07:00

Inside Firefly Aerospace’s Rise From Cedar Park Startup to Historic Lunar Landing

Payload

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Trump’s 2026 “Skinny Budget” Proposes 24% NASA Cut, Axes SLS, Orion, Gateway and Mars Sample Return The Trump administration’s fiscal 2026 budget blueprint proposes cutting NASA’s funding by $6.34 billion (24%) from FY25 levels, eliminating the Space Launch System, Orion spacecraft, Gateway lunar station and Mars Sample Return mission. It also calls for scaling back ISS operations and redirecting resources toward select human exploration priorities.

2025-05-02T08:40:43.602197-07:00

Trump’s 2026 “Skinny Budget” Proposes 24% NASA Cut, Axes SLS, Orion, Gateway and Mars Sample Return

Ars Technica

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Eric Schmidt Acquires Relativity Space to Deploy Orbital Data Centers Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has acquired control of Relativity Space, aiming to repurpose its Terran R launch capabilities for orbital data center deployments. The move addresses surging demand for low-latency cloud services by hosting computing resources in low Earth orbit via reusable rockets.

2025-05-02T07:47:51.990899-07:00

Eric Schmidt Acquires Relativity Space to Deploy Orbital Data Centers

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