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24 articles
Window for 2026 launch debut of Rocket Lab’s Neutron rocket ‘is narrowing’ as development continues
The announcement came in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of a quarterly investor earnings call on Aug. 10.
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Rocket Lab announces five-launch Neutron deal as it continues aiming for late 2026 debut
The company pivoted to a Neutron rocket launch debut no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2026 following a first stage tank test failure earlier this year. The first flight of Neutron won’t be reusable, but aims to recover the first stage during its second flight with a landing barge.
VideoSpace Development Agency awards roughly $3.5 billion to 4 companies for 72 missile tracking and warning satellites
This batch of satellites will populate what the SDA calls the Tracking Layer of its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) constellation in low Earth orbit. The work will be divided evenly, with each company building 18 spacecraft.
Rocket Lab launches 4 novel DiskSat satellites for U.S. Space Force, NASA
The STP-S30 mission was moved up five months on the launch manifest for Rocket Lab. This was the 20th launch of an Electron rocket in 2025.
VideoRocket Lab Electron rocket aborts liftoff at engine ignition
The ‘Bridging the Swarm’ mission comes two days after the company launched its ‘RAISE and Shine’ flight for JAXA. Liftoff is scheduled for 1:55 p.m. NZDT / 0055 UTC on Dec. 16 (7:45 p.m. EST on Dec. 15).
VideoLaunch preview: Blue Origin to launch NASA’s ESCAPADE following scrubs from clouds, space weather
Blue Origin was able to secure permission from the Federal Aviation Administration for a daytime launch attempt while the emergency order constraining commercial launches remains in place even after the end of the government shutdown. Liftoff is scheduled during an 88-minute-long window that opens at 2:57 p.m. EST (1957 UTC).
NASA scrubs ESCAPADE launch due to ‘highly elevated solar activity’
Blue Origin was able to secure permission from the Federal Aviation Administration for a daytime launch attempt while the emergency order constraining commercial launches remains in place during the government shutdown. However, the solar storms are forcing Blue Origin and NASA to find a new launch opportunity.
VideoRocket Lab delays debut of Neutron rocket to 2026
Sir Peter Beck, Rocket Lab’s CEO, said during an earnings call on Monday that the rocket would arrive at Launch Complex 3 on Wallops Island, Virginia, sometime in the first quarter of 2026, “with first launch thereafter.”
Rocket Lab launches 7th StriX Earth observation satellites for Japan-based Synspective
The ‘Owl New World’ mission was the 13th orbital Electron launch of 2025. The synthetic aperture radar satellite was deployed into a circular low Earth orbit roughly 50 minutes after liftoff from Mahia, New Zealand.
VideoRocket Lab launches BlackSky’s next Gen-3 satellite on Electron rocket from New Zealand
The mission will be Rocket Lab’s seventh Electron rocket launch of the year and its second in 2025 in support of BlackSky. Teams are targeting liftoff from Mahia, New Zealand at 11:57 a.m. NZT on June 3 (7:57 p.m. EDT, 2357 UTC on June 2).