Commercial Infrastructure and Support Industries
Launch Industry
U.S. and Japan launch historic joint space security mission
The United States and Japan launched the first of two planned space domain awareness payloads to enhance detection of threats and vulnerabilities above the Indo-Pacific region.
NASA cheers SpaceX Starship test as lunar deadline looms
NASA leaders cheered SpaceX’s successful fifth Starship test flight on Oct. 13, which demonstrated capabilities the agency plans to use when it returns astronauts to the Moon.
Ariane 6, Europe’s long-awaited launch vehicle, makes maiden flight
Ariane 6, the launch vehicle designed to ensure the European Space Agency’s access to orbit, flew from French Guiana on Tuesday, ending four years of delays with triumph.
SpaceX expanding operations, increasing launches in Southern California
SpaceX is expanding its facility and renewing its lease at the Port of Long Beach to support an increased launch cadence out of Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Boeing Starliner accomplishes first crewed launch to ISS
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral with astronauts onboard for the first time. With this success, Starliner is poised to be only the second commercial crewed vehicle that is certified to bring astronauts to the ISS.
November Space Council Meetings Could Shape Commercial Regulations
The National Space Council asked for comment on new commercial space systems and how the commercial space sector could be regulated during a pair of online meetings set for November. The council wants input from industry and the public. The move is part of a Biden Administration push to deal with issues including crowded orbits and the safety of space tourists.
Rivals Launch Military Satellites Amid U.S.-led Space Defense Drills
A flurry of military and intelligence satellite launches by rival powers this month came as the United States and two dozen partner nations wrapped up the largest global space defense wargame in history.
Russia launched what some leaders have described as a spy satellite for Iran and its own on-orbit snooping satellite Cosmos-2558, which is circling Earth in an orbit conspicuously close to a recently launched U.S. National Reconnaissance Office satellite, a Netherlands researcher confirmed.
ESA Sending Heroic, Fictional Sheep Aboard Artemis I
NASA says its Artemis I flight set to launch as soon as late August will be an uncrewed lunar fly-by. The Paris-based European Space Agency would beg to differ. Shaun is leaving the happy confines of Mossy Bottom Farm to lead the flight around the Moon, an agency press release announced.
2017 – Launch Industry – Snapshot
In 2017, there were 91 launch attempts, 85 of which were successful. Launches procured by commercial satellite operators accounted for . . .
2016 – Launch Industry – Snapshot
Attempted orbital launches decreased from ## in 2015 to ## in 2016. Of these ## launches, ## successfully reached orbit. There were ## launch attempts for commercial payloads…