Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News

European Spaceflight • Andrew Parsonson

SpaceForest to Launch Perun Rocket from Portugal’s Santa Maria Island in Early 2026

Poland’s SpaceForest has inked an agreement with the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium to launch its Perun orbital rocket from Santa Maria island in Portugal in early 2026. The deal secures dedicated pad access for the smallsat launcher and expands Europe’s network of commercial orbital facilities.

2025-07-18T05:22:44.179257-07:00

Space.com

NASA Moves SLS Payload Adapter to Launch Pad After Rigorous Testing Ahead of Artemis IV

2025-07-17T05:07:10.595120-07:00

Via Satellite

SpaceX Launches Third Project Kuiper Mission, Deploys 24 Amazon Broadband Smallsats

2025-07-16T13:35:43.593753-07:00

SpaceNews.com

Axiom Mission 4 Dragon Splashes Down, Wrapping First Private Indian, Polish and Hungarian ISS Visits

2025-07-15T04:13:14.110031-07:00

Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News Timeline

European Spaceflight

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SpaceForest to Launch Perun Rocket from Portugal’s Santa Maria Island in Early 2026 Poland’s SpaceForest has inked an agreement with the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium to launch its Perun orbital rocket from Santa Maria island in Portugal in early 2026. The deal secures dedicated pad access for the smallsat launcher and expands Europe’s network of commercial orbital facilities.

2025-07-18T05:22:44.179257-07:00

SpaceForest to Launch Perun Rocket from Portugal’s Santa Maria Island in Early 2026

Forbes

Rocket Booster Builders Look West as Space Industry Shifts to Pacific Frontier The US rocket industry’s booster manufacturing remains heavily concentrated on the East Coast, leaving burgeoning Pacific launch hubs underserved. As launch demand grows from West Coast and Pacific players, booster producers must strategically expand facilities westward to support emerging spaceports and cut transport timelines, costs, and risks.

2025-07-17T09:45:04.473344-07:00

Rocket Booster Builders Look West as Space Industry Shifts to Pacific Frontier

Payload

SpaceWERX Awards $3M to Develop $150K Space Tug Engines SpaceWERX, the US Space Force’s innovation arm, has granted $3 million to develop radioisotope-powered space tug engines priced at $150,000 apiece—an unprecedented cost reduction. The investment aims to accelerate low-cost on-orbit maneuverability for satellite servicing and debris mitigation in contested space environments.

2025-07-17T06:08:01.604168-07:00

SpaceWERX Awards $3M to Develop $150K Space Tug Engines

Space.com

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NASA Moves SLS Payload Adapter to Launch Pad After Rigorous Testing Ahead of Artemis IV NASA has relocated the Space Launch System payload adapter from its test facilities to the launch complex following exhaustive environmental and structural testing. The transfer clears the adapter for integration with the core stage and Orion spacecraft, advancing preparations for the Artemis IV lunar mission.

2025-07-17T05:07:10.595120-07:00

NASA Moves SLS Payload Adapter to Launch Pad After Rigorous Testing Ahead of Artemis IV

Space.com

NASA Moves SLS Payload Adapter After Rigorous Testing Ahead of Artemis IV

2025-07-17T05:07:10.595120-07:00

NASA Moves SLS Payload Adapter

Florida Today

Florida Space Coast Poised to Exceed 100 Launches as 2025 Pace Surges Past 2024 Through early July, Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center have logged 61 orbital missions in 2025—47 days ahead of last year’s record-setting run. If current activity holds, the Space Coast will surpass 100 annual launches for the first time, driven by commercial and national security demand.

2025-07-17T02:26:42.990745-07:00

Florida Space Coast Poised to Exceed 100 Launches as 2025 Pace Surges Past 2024

Reuters

Satellite Imagery Shows New Pier at North Korea’s Sohae Launch Station Satellite operator ICEYE’s latest imagery reveals completion of a maritime pier at North Korea’s key Sohae rocket launch site, used for spy satellite deployments and other rocket tests. The new infrastructure is likely intended to support larger launch vehicles and increase operational tempo.

2025-07-17T00:03:29.045248-07:00

Satellite Imagery Shows New Pier at North Korea’s Sohae Launch Station

NASA Spaceflight

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SpaceX accelerates Starship integration at Cape Canaveral amid Starbase delays While flight tests at Starbase face setbacks, SpaceX teams at Cape Canaveral are advancing Starship integration, performing booster and ship section assembly, structural and systems checkouts, and wet dress rehearsals to ready the next launch attempt and sustain development momentum.

2025-07-16T14:23:35.107599-07:00

SpaceX accelerates Starship integration at Cape Canaveral amid Starbase delays

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