Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News

Bloomberg • Sana Pashankar; Loren Grush

Trump signs executive order to protect Artemis and direct plans for a lunar outpost

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect NASA’s Artemis program and direct plans for a Moon outpost, reaffirming U.S. commitment to return astronauts to the lunar surface and build a sustained, permanent lunar presence as agency teams advance mission milestones.

2025-12-18T13:18:46.282079-08:00

Ars Technica

How SpaceX's Comeback After Its First Falcon 9 Failure Made Reusable Launches Viable

2025-12-18T04:22:48.441868-08:00

rocketlabcorp.com

Rocket Lab launches STP‑S30, deploys four DiskSat test buses from Wallops

2025-12-17T22:43:11.938064-08:00

nasawatch.com

Senate confirms Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator after renomination

2025-12-17T12:30:15.363024-08:00

Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News Timeline

Bloomberg

❗️

Trump signs executive order to protect Artemis and direct plans for a lunar outpost President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect NASA’s Artemis program and direct plans for a Moon outpost, reaffirming U.S. commitment to return astronauts to the lunar surface and build a sustained, permanent lunar presence as agency teams advance mission milestones.

2025-12-18T13:18:46.282079-08:00

Trump signs executive order to protect Artemis and direct plans for a lunar outpost

Payload

2025: Over a Dozen Companies Advance Orbital Reentry and Payload‑Return Vehicles The orbital‑reentry sector surged in 2025: more than a dozen companies passed development milestones advancing vehicles designed to return payloads from orbit. The cluster of successes marks concentrated progress across commercial and institutional efforts to field near‑term orbital return capability.

2025-12-18T05:52:30.322548-08:00

2025: Over a Dozen Companies Advance Orbital Reentry and Payload‑Return Vehicles

Ars Technica

❗️

How SpaceX's Comeback After Its First Falcon 9 Failure Made Reusable Launches Viable After its first Falcon 9 launch failure, SpaceX executed a comeback that culminated in a successful booster landing — a moment the company described as "epic." That recovery proved routine first-stage reuse was technically feasible and established the basis for operationally reusable launches.

2025-12-18T04:22:48.441868-08:00

How SpaceX's Comeback After Its First Falcon 9 Failure Made Reusable Launches Viable

CNN

Former 20‑year SpaceX veteran Hans Koenigsmann to lead Blue Origin’s history‑making rocket launch Hans Koenigsmann, a former 20‑year SpaceX engineering executive, is set to lead Blue Origin’s history‑making rocket launch. His involvement marks a rare transfer of senior flight‑test and crewed‑flight expertise between rival launch firms as Blue Origin ramps operational activity.

2025-12-18T02:46:03.535579-08:00

Former 20‑year SpaceX veteran Hans Koenigsmann to lead Blue Origin’s history‑making rocket launch

SpaceWatch Global

Spaceflight’s Atmospheric Footprint: Early Science and Major Unknowns Spaceflight’s returns—reentries, stage drops and spent hardware—deposit burned and vaporised particulates and metals into the upper atmosphere. Early science maps emissions and chemical impacts but large uncertainties remain about cumulative deposition, climate effects and whether industry growth demands regulatory controls.

2025-12-18T01:30:42.924585-08:00

Spaceflight’s Atmospheric Footprint: Early Science and Major Unknowns

rocketlabcorp.com

❗️

Rocket Lab launches STP‑S30, deploys four DiskSat test buses from Wallops Rocket Lab's Electron lifted off from Wallops LC‑2 early Thursday, carrying the STP‑S30 'Don't Be Such a Square' mission and deploying four experimental disk‑shaped DiskSat buses into very low Earth orbit for the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command and NASA, five months ahead of schedule.

2025-12-17T22:43:11.938064-08:00

Rocket Lab launches STP‑S30, deploys four DiskSat test buses from Wallops

orbitaltoday.com

China’s Qingzhou cargo spacecraft to enter development in 2026 China will begin development in 2026 of a prototype Qingzhou cargo spacecraft intended to transport supplies to and from its space station. The vehicle is aimed at supporting logistics, resupply and return of materials, expanding Beijing’s independent LEO cargo capability.

2025-12-17T20:04:55.772196-08:00

China’s Qingzhou cargo spacecraft to enter development in 2026

NASA Spaceflight

Northrop Grumman tests rapidly developed SMART solid rocket motor, eyes wider propulsion roles Northrop Grumman completed tests of a SMART solid rocket motor developed under a rapid-build program, collecting initial performance data and assessing potential uses across missile, space-launch and defense applications. The trial highlights shortened development timelines and the prospect of scaling lower-cost propulsion options.

2025-12-17T15:03:56.559789-08:00

Northrop Grumman tests rapidly developed SMART solid rocket motor, eyes wider propulsion roles

Create a free account to see more recent Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation stories.