Payload
• Victoria Woodburn
Cowboy Space has revealed Big Iron, a launch vehicle whose upper stage is designed to remain in orbit and operate as a megawatt-class data center. The concept links launch vehicle architecture with orbital computing infrastructure, making the vehicle’s upper stage part of its intended on-orbit mission.
Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation
Latest source-backed stories
Cowboy Space has revealed Big Iron, a launch vehicle whose upper stage is designed to remain in orbit and operate as a megawatt-class data center. The concept links launch vehicle architecture with orbital computing infrastructure, making the vehicle’s upper stage part of its intended on-orbit mission.
The Pentagon has conditionally committed $150 million in financing to Stoke Space to build a second launchpad at Cape Canaveral. The commitment links federal support to the startup’s launch-infrastructure expansion, though the announcement provides no further details on the conditions or project timeline.
SpaceX has begun preparations for Starship’s fifteenth test flight, targeting early November pending FAA authorization, after a Super Heavy booster static-fire test. Separately, this week’s launch slate includes three Falcon 9 missions carrying Starlink satellites and a classified U.S. Space Force payload, plus an Indian GSLV launch.
Astranis says its fourth launch contract with SpaceX has been upgraded to a dedicated Falcon 9 mission in 2028. The flight is set to carry all satellites in the company’s Block 4 production run, replacing the prior launch arrangement with a mission reserved for the group of MicroGEO spacecraft.
High activity
As SpaceX prepares for Starship Flight 15 in November, the company completed a static-fire test at Starbase on Sunday and is seeking to fly Flight 16 from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A as soon as possible. The effort also includes a possible expansion at Roberts Road.
The U.S. Space Force has reassigned a next-generation missile-warning satellite and a payload stack for an experimental cislunar surveillance mission from United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan to SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. The moves are part of a broader reshuffling of military launches prompted by Vulcan delays.
China plans to use a Lanyue lunar lander cargo flight to demonstrate the vehicle’s ability to reach the surface before taikonauts fly aboard. The mission will carry items weighing no more than 50 kilograms, providing a pre-crewed test of the lander as part of China’s crewed Moon plans.
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