Tag

Private Spaceflight

All articles tagged with #private spaceflight

technology19 days ago•120 min saved

China launches four orbital rockets in 45 hours, highlighting both private and state fleets

China completed a 45-hour orbital-launch sprint from three sites, with LandSpace’s Zhuque-2E (Jiuquan) carrying 10 Qianfan broadband satellites; Orienspace’s Gravity-1 (sea launch off Shanghai) carrying nine SatNet satellites; Long March 12 (Wenchang) carrying nine SatNet satellites; and Kuaizhou-11 (Jiuquan) carrying two radar satellites for Spacety. Two launches were private vehicles, and all four missions succeeded with no landings attempted, underscoring growing private and state launch capabilities in China.

via Space|

#broadband-megaconstellation #china #private-spaceflight

technology1 month ago•135 min saved

Isar Spectrum achieves Western Europe’s first private orbital launch from Norway

Isar Aerospace’s two-stage Spectrum rocket became the first private European launcher to reach orbit, lifting off from Andøya Space Center in northern Norway on Sept. 5, 2026. The mission carried five cubesats and a science experiment, with orbital insertion followed by payload deployment after a circularization burn. After previous launch issues in 2025, Isar updated the vehicle and processes, signaling Spectrum’s role as a potential workhorse for small-to-medium satellites and marking a major milestone for Western Europe’s private spaceflight efforts.

via Space|

#andoya-space-center #isar-aerospace #private-spaceflight

space1 month ago•25 min saved

Private craft nears NASA telescope, but rescue attempt falls short

A private spacecraft from Katalyst Space approached a NASA telescope during thermal vacuum testing at Goddard Space Flight Center, but the mission will not be able to save the telescope.

via AP News|

#katalyst-space #nasa #private-spaceflight

science1 month ago•6 min saved

Private group plots ultra-cheap interstellar probe to Alpha Centauri to test the Fermi paradox

Entrepreneur-led team unveils the Fermi Explorer, a $15 million, 1 kg private probe intended to reach Alpha Centauri in about 77,000 years using solar-electric propulsion and a close solar pass (perihelion pumping). Planned for a 2029 launch from a rideshare into low Earth orbit, the craft would be tracked for roughly 18 months before going silent, aiming to test whether the galaxy’s silence is due to a ‘great filter’ and to spur interstellar exploration ideas outside NASA funding.

via Ars Technica|

#alpha-centauri #fermi-paradox #oberth-effect

space1 month ago•23 min saved

Salvage bid for NASA's Swift telescope canceled

A private consortium's plan to rescue NASA's Swift space telescope has been canceled, ending the salvage effort after preparations for thermal vacuum testing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

via AP News|

#cancellation #nasa #private-spaceflight

space3 months ago•13 min saved

Fram2 achieves first human polar orbit, a private milestone for SpaceX and spaceflight

In late March 2025, four private astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Fram2 mission launched from Florida on Crew Dragon Resilience and reached a true polar orbit of about 430 km, tilting 90 degrees to the equator to fly directly over both poles on every orbit—the first time humans have followed such a path in more than six decades of crewed spaceflight. Led by Chun Wang, with Jannicke Mikkelsen, Rabea Rogge, and Eric Philips, the private mission focused on Earth observations and health/space-tech research, demonstrating that private crews can undertake orbital geometry milestones without a space station as a destination.

via Space Daily|

#crew-dragon-resilience #fram2 #polar-orbit

space4 months ago•6 min saved

NASA unveils Artemis III crew for 2027 Moon return

NASA announced the Artemis III crew—Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, Luca Parmitano and Randy Bresnik—with Bob Heintz as backup, for a 2027 lunar mission that will practice in-space docking with landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX as a stepping stone to a future Moon landing.

via Al Jazeera|

#artemis-iii #astronauts #moon-mission

space4 months ago•13 min saved

Xi’an private rocket startup posts milestone for oxygen-rich kerolox engine

Mega Engine Technology of Xi’an reports that its Chi high-pressure oxygen-rich staged-combustion kerolox engine accumulated 1,000 seconds of test time (2,000 seconds total) as of May 2026, a milestone previously dominated by state propulsion houses. Chi is throttleable from 35–75 tons (87 tons in vacuum) with about 302 s Isp at sea level (rising to ~350 s at altitude). The company plans a second engine, Yan, a 200-ton closed-cycle kerolox, to target heavy lifting, signaling a potential private path toward reusable medium-lift propulsion in China. However, independent verification is lacking, and details about the test article, flight customer, and supply chain remain unconfirmed; the broader context is a deliberate push—civil-military fusion—to move advanced propulsion from laboratories into commercial hands.

via Space Daily|

#kerolox #mega-engine-technology #oxygen-rich-staged-combustion

space-exploration4 months ago•73 min saved

NASA taps private mission to re-boost the Swift space telescope

NASA is funding a fast-paced, private mission by Katalyst Space Technologies’ Link to rendezvous with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in low Earth orbit and raise its altitude to counter atmospheric drag. Swift, launched in 2004 to detect gamma-ray bursts, is still operational but decaying in orbit, and weekly trajectory predictions will guide Link’s maneuvers. The goal is to keep Swift around 185 miles (about 300 km) above Earth into early fall, with a $30 million contract and a June Pegasus rocket launch planned. Success depends on precise tracking amid space weather, but if all goes well Swift could be boosted back to a more favorable orbit rather than deorbiting.

via Space|

#nasa #private-spaceflight #satellite-servicing

technology4 months ago•4 min saved

NASA taps Blue Origin for first private lunar lander on path to Moon base

NASA picked Blue Origin to fly the first of three uncrewed lunar missions, funding roughly $230 million toward the initial two lander missions to test payloads and tech for a future Moon base, with SpaceX as a competing option for crew landers and Artemis missions; the plan pursues an iterative, privately supported path to a sustained lunar presence by the 2030s.

via The Guardian|

#artemis #blue-origin #moon-base

technology4 months ago•5 min saved

LandSpace's Zhuque-2E Y5 launches with heavy payload, signaling private Chinese space push

LandSpace's Zhuque-2E Y5 successfully launched from Dongfeng, delivering a 2.8-ton payload to a 900 km orbit and signaling heavier-payload capability for China's private-space sector; the two-stage methane rocket uses four first-stage engines and a second-stage engine, with a 267-ton liftoff mass and 338 tons of thrust, following Zhuque-3's recovery test and underscoring momentum toward future large-scale constellations.

via Global Times|

#aerospace #china #private-spaceflight

space11 months ago•4 min saved

Impulse Space unveils plans for lunar deliveries and lander development

Impulse Space, founded by former SpaceX employee Tom Mueller, plans to develop a robotic lunar lander with a potential first mission as early as 2028, aiming to deliver up to 3 tons of payload to the moon using its Helios kick stage and in-house built lander, expanding private lunar exploration efforts.

via Space|

#2028-launch #impulse-space #lunar-lander

space1 year ago•3 min saved

International Astronauts Begin Return Journey from Space Station

A crew of astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary, and the US, including veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson, returned from an 18-day mission aboard the ISS, marking significant milestones for their respective countries' space programs and the commercial spaceflight industry, with their capsule set to land in the Pacific Ocean.

via Reuters|

#axiom-4 #international-space-station #peggy-whitson

space1 year ago•3 min saved

SpaceX and NASA Celebrate Multiple Space Missions and Milestones

SpaceX successfully launched four astronauts on the Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station, marking the fourth private spaceflight by Axiom Space. The crew includes veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, and astronauts from Poland and Hungary, returning their countries to human spaceflight after over 40 years. The mission faced delays due to weather and technical issues but proceeded with a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which will remain docked at the ISS for a two-week research mission.

via NPR|

#ax-4-mission #axiom-space #international-space-station

space1 year ago•1 min saved

SpaceX prepares for private astronaut launch to ISS

Four astronauts, including retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and representatives from India, Poland, and Hungary, are launching on a private mission to the ISS organized by Axiom Space and SpaceX, marking the first time astronauts from these countries will live and work on the station. The mission, Ax-4, will last about two weeks and include scientific experiments, with a launch delayed by weather but now scheduled for Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center.

via NBC News|

#axiom-space #crew-mission #international-space-station