Bloomberg
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said the company wants to fly 8 to 12 launches this year, pointing to “unprecedented demand” for satellite launches driven by the expansion of satellite-based internet and connectivity services. The comments frame launch volume as a near-term response to growing constellation rollouts.
Payload
• Elizabeth Howell
By Payload: SpaceX is tasked to fly the ESA Rosalind Franklin rover as soon as late 2028, for a reported $175.7M. But the White House’s FY2027 budget request also suggests canceling NASA’s participation in the Mars mission.
Space Intel Report
• Peter B. de Selding
By Space Intel Report: LA PLATA, Maryland — Satellite direct-to-device startup AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite will be deorbited following its release into unsurvivable low orbit following an anomaly on Blue Origin’s New Glenn 3 mission upper stage, AST said Nov.
Business Wire
Leonard David
Reuters
By Reuters: China's Shenzhou-21 astronaut crew will stay in space for an extra month, after careful consideration from China's Manned Space Engineering Office, the country's state broadcaster reported on Friday.
SpaceNews.com
• Sandra Erwin
By SpaceNews.com: WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is exploring whether it can resume flights of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket without using the solid rocket boosters now under investigation, a workaround that could allow some missions to proceed even as the vehicle remains grounded for national security launches.
Space.com
• Mike Wall
By Space.com: SpaceX will launch a new GPS satellite for the U.S. Space Force early Tuesday morning (April 21), and you can watch the action live.
SpaceNews.com
• Sandra Erwin
By SpaceNews.com: hea Space Activity WASHINGTON — Rhea Space Activity, a Washington, D.C.-based space technology startup, has raised $6 million in a Series A funding round to advance navigation software designed to operate without GPS, the company said.
By Spaceflight Now: SpaceX is positioned to complete its 600th Falcon booster landing during a Starlink mission now planned for Sunday morning. The Falcon 9 rocket will fly on a south-southwesterly trajectory upon departure from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Space Intel Report
• Peter B de Selding
SpaceNews.com
• Andrew Jones