NASA Spaceflight
• Ryan Weber
With Starship Flight 14 targeted for launch in the coming weeks, SpaceX is expanding facilities and launch infrastructure in Florida. The work is intended to enable Starship operations from Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A and, eventually, SLC-37, broadening the program’s launch-site capacity.
Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation
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With Starship Flight 14 targeted for launch in the coming weeks, SpaceX is expanding facilities and launch infrastructure in Florida. The work is intended to enable Starship operations from Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A and, eventually, SLC-37, broadening the program’s launch-site capacity.
MaiaSpace has completed another upper-stage validation campaign for its Maia launcher, advancing development ahead of the vehicle’s planned orbital debut in 2027. The milestone marks continued progress toward the launcher’s first flight and commercial introduction.
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Spain’s PLD Space has extended its Series C round by €108 million, bringing the round’s total to €288 million and cumulative funding to more than $550 million, according to reports. The launch company is raising capital as it prepares for the first flight of its Miura 5 rocket.
Chinese commercial launch company Galactic Energy successfully sent its first Pallas-1 rocket to orbit late Monday. Future missions are expected to attempt first-stage recovery, marking the company’s move toward reusable launch operations as China’s commercial space sector expands its launch capabilities.
Six missions are scheduled across launch sites in Norway, India, New Zealand and the United States from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6. Isar Aerospace is targeting the second flight of its Spectrum rocket, while ISRO pursues an Earth-observation launch and SpaceX continues Starlink missions from Vandenberg.
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NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has left Earth aboard its mission to study dark energy and the evolving universe. The 300-megapixel observatory will spend roughly three months traveling to the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, about one million miles away, before beginning its science mission.
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NASA and its contractors are increasing activity ahead of next year’s Artemis III mission, with continued Solid Rocket Booster stacking and RS-25 engine installation on the SLS Core Stage 3. The agency says four SLS vehicles are now in production, signaling a broader production ramp-up for Artemis missions.
NASA and SpaceX have delayed a planned International Space Station mission after identifying an oxidizer leak in the Dragon spacecraft’s propulsion system. The postponement underscores an additional prelaunch technical issue requiring resolution before the spacecraft can safely proceed to the station.
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