Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News

Ars Technica • Stephen Clark

Competitors Challenge SpaceX’s Starship Florida Plans — Who’s Interfering With Whom?

Competitors and local stakeholders are contesting SpaceX's plans to base Starship operations in Florida, urging regulators to treat liquid‑oxygen/methane vehicles as carrying “100 percent TNT blast equivalency” — a designation that could force stricter safety regimes and slow launch activity.

2025-11-24T15:04:56.907886-08:00

Reuters

NASA trims Boeing Starliner crew missions to four, converts next flight to cargo as ISS nears retirement

2025-11-24T10:27:44.947231-08:00

Space.com

China launches uncrewed Shenzhou-22 to Tiangong as contingency lifeboat for stranded crew

2025-11-24T09:15:05.915938-08:00

Ars Technica

Rocket Lab CEO on Neutron delays, New Glenn's ascent and NASA's need to 'capture the public's imagination'

2025-11-24T07:02:58.047180-08:00

Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News Timeline

Ars Technica

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Competitors Challenge SpaceX’s Starship Florida Plans — Who’s Interfering With Whom? Competitors and local stakeholders are contesting SpaceX's plans to base Starship operations in Florida, urging regulators to treat liquid‑oxygen/methane vehicles as carrying “100 percent TNT blast equivalency” — a designation that could force stricter safety regimes and slow launch activity.

2025-11-24T15:04:56.907886-08:00

Competitors Challenge SpaceX’s Starship Florida Plans — Who’s Interfering With Whom?

Reuters

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NASA trims Boeing Starliner crew missions to four, converts next flight to cargo as ISS nears retirement NASA has revised Boeing's Commercial Crew contract, cutting Starliner missions from six to four and reassigning the upcoming Starliner flight in April to an uncrewed cargo-only mission. The move follows last year’s crew‑stranding anomaly and coincides with agency planning as the International Space Station approaches retirement.

2025-11-24T10:27:44.947231-08:00

NASA trims Boeing Starliner crew missions to four, converts next flight to cargo as ISS nears retirement

Space.com

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China launches uncrewed Shenzhou-22 to Tiangong as contingency lifeboat for stranded crew China launched the uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station on Nov. 24, flying an earlier-than-planned mission to deliver supplies and act as a contingency 'lifeboat' after a suspected orbital-debris strike damaged Shenzhou-20's return vehicle and left three astronauts temporarily unable to undock.

2025-11-24T09:15:05.915938-08:00

China launches uncrewed Shenzhou-22 to Tiangong as contingency lifeboat for stranded crew

European Spaceflight

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The Exploration Company opens French facility to build Europe’s cargo‑return capability The Exploration Company has opened a new facility in France, calling it “a new permanent home for building Europe’s cargo return capability.” The site will centralize work on its cargo‑return spacecraft, advancing an indigenous European capability to return payloads from orbit.

2025-11-24T09:03:06.082158-08:00

The Exploration Company opens French facility to build Europe’s cargo‑return capability

Ars Technica

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Rocket Lab CEO on Neutron delays, New Glenn's ascent and NASA's need to 'capture the public's imagination' Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck acknowledged delays to the Neutron medium‑lift rocket, praised Blue Origin's New Glenn success and said NASA must 'capture the public's imagination' to sustain support for science missions. His comments link programme timing, commercial rivalry and public engagement as sector pressures.

2025-11-24T07:02:58.047180-08:00

Rocket Lab CEO on Neutron delays, New Glenn's ascent and NASA's need to 'capture the public's imagination'

SpaceNews.com

China launches TJS-21 into Molniya orbit and deploys three Shijian-30 satellites China last week conducted two launches that placed TJS-21 into a Molniya orbit and deployed three Shijian-30 satellites, expanding Beijing’s opaque TJS and Shijian series. The flights add new spacecraft to China’s orbital roster amid a sustained high launch tempo.

2025-11-24T06:03:40.103252-08:00

China launches TJS-21 into Molniya orbit and deploys three Shijian-30 satellites

Universe Today

Paper argues lunar ISRU may not pay off while Mars remains a strong case for propellant-making Donald Rapp, former JPL Division Chief Technologist and MOXIE co‑investigator, argues in a new paper that developing systems to produce propellant on the Moon may not be worth the cost and complexity. He concludes Mars remains a compelling case for in‑situ propellant production and mission architectures.

2025-11-24T04:58:49.025215-08:00

Paper argues lunar ISRU may not pay off while Mars remains a strong case for propellant-making

SpaceNews.com

Florida Space Coast tops 100 launches as U.S. Space Force presses for range modernization Florida's Space Coast has surpassed 100 orbital launches this year, underscoring a record-high operational tempo at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. That surge is occurring as the U.S. Space Force presses for range modernization and upgrades to sustain launch cadence and infrastructure capacity.

2025-11-23T21:04:31.008196-08:00

Florida Space Coast tops 100 launches as U.S. Space Force presses for range modernization

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