Space.com
• Josh Dinner
China’s space program returned to flight on Aug. 16 with back-to-back launches of Long March 12 and Long March 2C rockets, less than a week after a Long March 7A exploded. The missions marked an immediate restart of launch activity following the failure.
Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation
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China’s space program returned to flight on Aug. 16 with back-to-back launches of Long March 12 and Long March 2C rockets, less than a week after a Long March 7A exploded. The missions marked an immediate restart of launch activity following the failure.
High activity
United Launch Alliance has appointed longtime company executive Mark Peller as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Peller succeeds the company’s previous leader as the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture navigates challenges surrounding its Vulcan rocket and broader launch business.
A U.S. Space Force space-domain-awareness payload launched aboard Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite 7, while SciTec won a $93.7 million radar-digitization agreement. Separately, the FAA awarded AT&T an initial $74.3 million under its multibillion-dollar effort to overhaul the U.S. air traffic control network.
Launch services provider SEOPS is adding a second dedicated Waymaker rideshare mission less than three months after announcing the first. The expansion reflects demand for dedicated rideshare opportunities and gives satellite operators another path to secure launch capacity through SEOPS.
A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage struck the lunar surface earlier this month at roughly 8,700 kilometers per hour. While the impact was harmless, the event underscores the growing challenge of tracking and managing rocket hardware and other objects beyond Earth orbit.
China launched a new batch of Guowang megaconstellation satellites over the weekend, using a Long March 12 shortly after a Long March 7A failure. A separate Long March 2C mission carried a developmental satellite for the United Arab Emirates, highlighting continued launch activity across multiple vehicle families.
With launch capacity constrained, satellite operators are highlighting signed launch agreements to investors and customers. Securing rides to orbit is becoming a commercial differentiator, linking constellation deployment schedules and customer commitments more directly to launch-provider availability.
High activity
Firefly Aerospace is developing a next-generation medium-lift rocket while refining its operational Alpha smallsat launcher, targeting both commercial and government markets. The company’s reported $1.5 billion backlog and 95% of 2026 revenue booked support its growth outlook, although cash burn and valuation remain material risks.
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