Mission Reports

Blue Origin launched its reusable New Shepard booster from West Texas on a suborbital flight to the edge of space Thursday on the company’s first mission since founder Jeff Bezos and three crewmates rocketed to an altitude of 66 miles last month.

China launched another military satellite Tuesday aboard a Long March 3B rocket, just four hours after liftoff of a different Chinese launcher with multiple prototype spacecraft for a planned constellation of orbiting internet relay nodes.

United Launch Alliance rolled a test article for its new Vulcan rocket to a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Wednesday, moving the booster into position for a series of cryogenic tanking tests set to begin in the coming days.

China launched two test payloads Tuesday for a planned constellation of internet satellites, a step that could lead to launches of thousands more Chinese spacecraft to match similar commercial networks already being deployed by SpaceX and OneWeb.

Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming accomplished a nearly six-hour spacewalk Friday outside the core module of the country’s new space station, installing a coolant pump and lifting a panoramic camera on the exterior of the complex.