Space Commerce Week

The 68th Electron rocket was launched last weekend, deploying a single satellite to space for a confidential commercial customer. The mission was the second of two launches for Rocket Lab from the same launch site in less than 48 hours, a new launch record for the company.

The ‘Symphony In The Stars’ mission lifted-off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand on June 28th to deploy a single spacecraft to a circular Ear...

Monday was a very busy day for commercial space launch companies, and both coasts saw some launch action this week.

In the early morning hours Monday, SpaceX lofted another 27 Starlink satellites into orbit just before 2:00 am. The launch marked a milestone for the booster that was used. It was the 25th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-...

You've heard of the "Big Beautiful Bill" ... also known as the Budget Reconciliation Act. One of the provisions in that bill is for space companies to pay a fee for launching rockets beginning next year. According to the text of the bill in both houses of Congress, starting in 2026, the Secretary of Transportation would impose fees on each space launch or reentry under a license or permit.

The fee will be the lesser of a specified a...

The 66th Electron rocket launched by Rocket Lab has deployed the latest satellite to orbit for Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS). The ‘The Mountain God Guards’ mission was Rocket Lab’s second launch in less than a month for iQPS and its fourth overall with 100% mission success.

The deployment of the QPS-SAR-11 was relayed to the early-morning YouTube audience by Rocket Lab Mission Control and Senior Communications M...

ispace suffered another setback Thursday when the HAKUTO-R Lunar Lander was apparently lost during its landing attempt.

Telemetry was lost from the lander about 65 seconds before the scheduled landing time. After a tense half hour, the ispace commentators on the company live YouTube stream said that the mission control team had been unable to establish communications with the lander.

"We haven't been able to confirm, but MCC members ...

SpaceX has a mantra: Fly, Learn, Repeat. And there will be a lot for SpaceX to learn from the ninth test flight of Starship, which ended with the loss of both the booster and 'Ship'.

Starship’s ninth flight test lifted off at 6:36 p.m. CT on Tuesday from Starbase, Texas. The Super Heavy booster supporting the mission made the first ever reflight in the Starship program, having previously launched on Starship’s seventh flight test in...

(Editor’s Note: After the production deadline for the audio version of our weekly review, the FAA approved Starship for its Return to Flight)

The FAA has approved license modifications for the SpaceX Starship Flight 9 mission. The approval includes final action allowing SpaceX to increase Starship operations from five up to 25 per year at Boca Chica, Texas.

However, SpaceX may not launch until the FAA either closes the Starship Fligh...

The FAA has released its Final Tiered Environmental Assessment authorizing SpaceX to conduct as many as 25 Starship launches per year from Starbase in Boca Chica.

The Revised Final EA evaluates two alternatives in detail: the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative.

The Proposed Action alternative would modify SpaceX’s existing vehicle operator license. It would authorize the company's proposal to increase the cadence of the St...

The first look at the NASA budget, and a self-assembling space architecture. Here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

The FY26 federal budget proposed by the Trump administration would accelerate NASA's human space exploration of the Moon and Mars with what the administration calls a fiscally responsible portfolio of missions.

The Budget refocuses NASA funding on beating China back to the Moon a...

Closing In on a NASA Administrator, and the Impact of the Space Economy. Here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

The Senate Commerce Committee voted 19-9 on Wednesday to advance the nomination of Jared Isaacman to be the next administrator of NASA. The nomination now moves to the full senate for a final vote.

Isaacman, 42, has traveled to space on two occasions on private missions aboard SpaceX...

Obtaining Space Situational Awareness Data, and a Curriculum for the Final Frontier. Here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

The Office of Space Commerce (OSC) has released a Request for Information seeking input on a future multi-vendor contract structure for obtaining space situational awareness (SSA) data and services. Responses will help shape OSC’s acquisition strategy for commercial data ...

Space employment and space investment are both on the rise. Here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

The Space Report 2025 Q1, which shows space sector employment growth outpacing U.S. private sector growth, has been released by The Space Foundation. In the last decade, overall private sector employment increased 14.3%, while space sector employment increased 27%. Five-year growth for the indust...

NASA Administrator nominee Jared Isaacman meets with the U.S. Senate, and Political Change and Space Commerce. Here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee held a hearing Wednesday to consider the nomination of Entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to be the next NASA Administrator. While Isaacman by his own admission to the committee is not a sci...

The impact of space commerce on the U.S. economy, and another all-civilian space flight. I'm Tom Patton, and here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has released new and updated U.S. space economy statistics for 2012–2023. These statistics provide estimates of the U.S. space economy's gross domestic product (GDP) and gross output by industry in current...

SpaceX looks to increase its launch cadence from Cape Canaveral. I'm Tom Patton, and here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

The FAA has posted for public review a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) analyzing the SpaceX proposal to increase Falcon 9 operations from 50 to up to 120 per year from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Draft EA also revi...

Lunar Success, and the return of Crew-9. I'm Tom Patton, and here are some of the stories we covered for you this week on The Journal of Space Commerce.

After landing on the Moon with NASA science and technology demonstrations March 2, Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 concluded its mission March 16. But analysis of data returned to Earth from the NASA instruments continues, benefitting future lunar missions.

“We collected ove...

Blue Ghost captured a solar eclipse from a unique angle this week. Here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

Normally, when we think about a solar eclipse, it's the Moon crossing in front of the Sun and casting a shadow on Earth. But this week, the Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost lander watched the Earth pass in front of the sun from its vantage point on the Moon in Mare Crisium.

The eclipse lasted ...

Space exploration is all about successes and setbacks, and there was some of both this week. I'm Tom Patton, and here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

We'll start with a success. On Sunday, Blue Ghost Mission 1 ... dubbed by Firefly Aerospace as "Ghost Riders in the Sky"… successfully landed on the Moon. The achievement marked the first time that a commercial company achieved a fully successf...

Starship tries again for orbit, and Intuitive Machines is on its way back to the Moon. I'm Tom Patton, and here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

SpaceX has updated its projection for the 8th Starship test flight to not earlier than Monday, March 3. The launch window will open at 5:30 p.m. CT.

The launch was originally planned for last Friday, but it was delayed for unspecified reasons. The up...