Mission Reports

India’s space agency said Sunday the inaugural demonstration flight of the country’s new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle — the fourth rocket in India’s fleet of launchers — failed to place two satellites into their targeted low Earth orbit.

India’s new rocket, the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, lifted off on its first test flight at 11:48 p.m. EDT Saturday (0348 GMT Sunday). The three-stage, low-cost launcher is designed to carry payloads of up to a half-ton into low Earth orbit.

India’s space agency will debut a new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle Saturday, adding a fourth member to the company’s rocket fleet. The SSLV’s test flight will take off from Sriharikota Island on India’s east coast with a small Earth observation satellite and a CubeSat from an Indian startup focused on science education.

Blue Origin launched six more people on a quick, 10-minute flight to suborbital space Thursday from West Texas. A popular YouTuber and the first people from Egyptian and Portugal to fly above the internationally-recognized boundary of space were among the commercial passengers.

Rocket Lab launched its third mission in a little more than five weeks Thursday in New Zealand, deploying a small classified payload in orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office and continuing the busiest stretch of missions in the company’s history.