Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News

Ars Technica • Stephen Clark

US intelligence warns China is close to mastering reusable orbital launch systems

US intelligence warns China is close to mastering reusable orbital launch systems, a development that would transform launch operations and space logistics in coming years. Officials say Beijing will require on‑orbit refuelling “because they don’t access space as frequently as we do.”

2025-09-22T16:44:41.541015-07:00

Space.com

SpaceX launches NROL-48 from Vandenberg — 11th 'proliferated architecture' batch of U.S. spy satellites

2025-09-22T11:04:20.853376-07:00

Space Intel Report

SpaceX tells FCC it will use EchoStar spectrum to deploy ~15,000‑satellite LEO network at 330 km

2025-09-22T09:02:23.259440-07:00

NASA

NASA revives VIPER, awards Blue Origin $190M to deliver rover to Moon south pole in 2027

2025-09-19T13:32:50.812454-07:00

Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation News Timeline

Ars Technica

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US intelligence warns China is close to mastering reusable orbital launch systems US intelligence warns China is close to mastering reusable orbital launch systems, a development that would transform launch operations and space logistics in coming years. Officials say Beijing will require on‑orbit refuelling “because they don’t access space as frequently as we do.”

2025-09-22T16:44:41.541015-07:00

US intelligence warns China is close to mastering reusable orbital launch systems

SpaceNews.com

Lockheed Martin delivers 21 satellites for next U.S. military 'Transport Layer' Lockheed Martin has delivered 21 satellites destined for the next launch of the U.S. military's 'Transport Layer', marking a significant production and integration milestone ahead of the scheduled mission. The shipment moves the program forward toward fielding its dedicated transport-layer satellite capability.

2025-09-22T15:48:10.644092-07:00

Lockheed Martin delivers 21 satellites for next U.S. military 'Transport Layer'

Leonard David

ESCAPADE Mars Probes Delivered to KSC for Fall Launch on Blue Origin's New Glenn NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars smallsats have arrived at Kennedy Space Center for a launch no earlier than this fall aboard Blue Origin's New Glenn. Built, tested and integrated by Rocket Lab for UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Lab, the probes fly under NASA's SIMPLEx program.

2025-09-22T14:52:24.747051-07:00

ESCAPADE Mars Probes Delivered to KSC for Fall Launch on Blue Origin's New Glenn

NASA Spaceflight

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Kuiper, Starlink and NASA's IMAP set for a packed late‑September launch manifest A busy slate of launches in the last full week of September will include Amazon's Project Kuiper and multiple Starlink flights alongside NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, which completed its flight readiness review and is bound for an L1 orbit roughly a million miles from Earth.

2025-09-22T14:07:56.955858-07:00

Kuiper, Starlink and NASA's IMAP set for a packed late‑September launch manifest

opb.org

Oregon's Aerostar Tillamook stitches high‑tech fabrics for balloons, spacecraft membranes and splashdown airbags Oregon-based Aerostar Tillamook assembles advanced textile systems for high-altitude balloons, airtight spacecraft membranes and inflatable airbags that ensure capsules remain upright during ocean splashdowns. Its high-precision fabric integration supports both near‑space platforms and recovery hardware used in commercial and government space programs.

2025-09-22T11:15:07.203190-07:00

Oregon's Aerostar Tillamook stitches high‑tech fabrics for balloons, spacecraft membranes and splashdown airbags

Space.com

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SpaceX launches NROL-48 from Vandenberg — 11th 'proliferated architecture' batch of U.S. spy satellites On Sept. 22, SpaceX launched NROL-48 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, carrying the 11th tranche of U.S. 'proliferated architecture' spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. The mission advances deployment of distributed military sensing and communications nodes in low Earth orbit.

2025-09-22T11:04:20.853376-07:00

SpaceX launches NROL-48 from Vandenberg — 11th 'proliferated architecture' batch of U.S. spy satellites

science.nasa.gov

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NASA and NOAA target Sept. 24, 7:30 a.m. EDT Falcon 9 launch for IMAP and two L1 space‑weather probes NASA and NOAA, with SpaceX, target 7:30 a.m. EDT Sept. 24 for a Falcon 9 launch carrying IMAP and two NOAA space‑weather probes to the Earth–Sun L1 point. The three missions will map the heliosphere and boost early warning for geomagnetic storms that threaten satellites, GNSS and HF comms.

2025-09-22T09:44:44.659788-07:00

NASA and NOAA target Sept. 24, 7:30 a.m. EDT Falcon 9 launch for IMAP and two L1 space‑weather probes

Space Intel Report

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SpaceX tells FCC it will use EchoStar spectrum to deploy ~15,000‑satellite LEO network at 330 km SpaceX told the FCC it plans to use mobile‑satellite spectrum rights it is buying from EchoStar to field a roughly 15,000‑satellite low‑Earth‑orbit broadband constellation operating near 330 km altitude. The filing frames the EchoStar purchase as central to Starlink's next large‑scale capacity expansion.

2025-09-22T09:02:23.259440-07:00

SpaceX tells FCC it will use EchoStar spectrum to deploy ~15,000‑satellite LEO network at 330 km

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