Space & Aerospace
68 articles RSS
Vertical Aerospace Completes First Piloted Thrustborne Transition, Becoming Third Western eVTOL Developer to Demonstrate the Maneuver
Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace flew its VX4 prototype from vertical takeoff into wingborne cruise on April 2, marking the third such piloted demonstration in the West and clearing the way for two-way transition trials later this year.
GE Aerospace Commits Second Consecutive $1 Billion to U.S. Manufacturing as Engine Demand Surges
GE Aerospace announced plans to invest $1 billion across more than 30 communities in 17 states during 2026, bringing cumulative domestic manufacturing investment since 2024 to $2.5 billion as the company races to meet record commercial and defense engine demand.
ESA Postpones SMILE Launch After Vega-C Component Issue Surfaces Days Before Liftoff
A subsystem production defect forced Avio to delay the Vega-C VV29 flight carrying ESA and China's SMILE magnetosphere-imaging mission, originally set for April 9, with no new date confirmed.
Astroscale Accelerates Orbital Servicing Push With Multi-Orbit Inspection Mission, Franco-Japanese Partnership, and UK Defense Contract
Japan's Astroscale unveils ISSA-J1 to inspect two defunct satellites across different orbits, signs a deorbiting pact with France's Exotrail, and clears a UK military design review, marking a rapid expansion of commercial on-orbit servicing capabilities.
FAA Finalizes Special Conditions for ZeroAvia's 600 kW Electric Engine, Charting a Certification Path for Hydrogen-Electric Aviation
The FAA has published bespoke airworthiness rules for ZeroAvia's ZA601 electric motor, marking the first time the agency has established a regulatory framework for hydrogen-electric aircraft propulsion.
Four Private Spacecraft Line Up for Lunar Landings in 2026 as NASA's Commercial Moon Program Expands
Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, Firefly Aerospace, and Blue Origin are each preparing lunar lander missions for 2026 under NASA's CLPS program, marking an unprecedented year for commercial deep-space exploration.
Blue Origin Targets April 12 for New Glenn's First Booster Reuse, Carrying the Largest Commercial Satellite Ever to Orbit
New Glenn-3 will refly the booster that landed after delivering NASA's ESCAPADE Mars probes, deploying AST SpaceMobile's 2,400-square-foot BlueBird 7 direct-to-device satellite.
Blue Origin Files for 51,600 Orbital Data Center Satellites, Joining SpaceX in the Race to Move AI Compute Off Earth
An FCC filing reveals Blue Origin's Project Sunrise constellation, which would place tens of thousands of computing satellites in sun-synchronous orbits to serve AI workloads.
NASA Launches Artemis II, Sending Four Astronauts Around the Moon in First Crewed Lunar Voyage Since 1972
The SLS rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center at 6:24 p.m. EDT on April 1, carrying a crew of four on a 10-day lunar flyby mission.
Starcloud Reaches Unicorn Status With $170 Million Series A to Build Data Centers in Orbit as Terrestrial AI Infrastructure Hits Its Limits
The Y Combinator graduate plans an 88,000-satellite constellation for orbital AI compute, backed by Benchmark and EQT Ventures.
Artemis II Crew Arrives at Kennedy Space Center as Countdown Begins for First Crewed Lunar Voyage in 53 Years
Four astronauts reached Florida on March 27 ahead of an April 1 launch that will send humans beyond Earth orbit for the first time since Apollo 17.
SpaceX Rebrands Direct-to-Cell as Starlink Mobile, Unveils V2 Satellites Targeting 150 Mbps and Signs Deutsche Telekom as First European Partner
SpaceX used MWC 2026 to rebrand its satellite phone service, announce next-generation V2 satellites with 100x data density, and sign Deutsche Telekom to bring coverage to 10 European countries by 2028.