How India Is Defeating SpaceX | India Makes History With Skyroot Aerospace

Very recommendable! How to balance the private and public sector/national security?

(1) How India Is Defeating SpaceX | India Makes History With Skyroot Aerospace | The Blueprint - YouTube

US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Approves Giant Space Mirror in the Sky. Really!

I have some serious doubts about these kinds of projects! What are the consequences (beyond bothering astronomers)?

I could not find an image of the giant space mirror on the company's website.

"Federal regulators have approved a California startup’s plan to launch a giant space mirror that will catch sunlight and beam it back down to targeted spots on Earth long after the sun has set.

The company, Reflect Orbital, aims to fly the craft later this year, unfurling a steerable reflector about 60 feet on a side. It hopes to have tens of thousands more circling the planet by 2035.

The company promises sunlight on demand, powering solar farms after dark, lighting construction sites overnight, and aiding search-and-rescue crews. ..."

Tuesday, July 14, 2026 - Join The Flyover

Reflect Orbital co-founder and CEO Ben Nowack with the company's Earendil-1 demonstration satellite, which is slated to launch to Earth orbit sometime in 2026.  (Source)

Source

China recovers reusable rocket used in the maiden launch of Long March 10B

China is coming for Elon Musk!

"... Soon after launch, the first stage of the rocket returned vertically and was recovered via a sea-based net platform, according to state news agency Xinhua. ..."

Breaking | China recovers reusable rocket used in the maiden launch of Long March 10B | South China Morning Post "Soon after launch, the first stage of the rocket returned vertically and was recovered via a sea platform: state media"

ZQ-3: China test fires its first reusable heavy rocket

Good news! Competition is good, more competition is better!

"... The latest tests from October 18 to 20 included a full-scale propellant rehearsal and a static-fire test, marking the XQ-3's entry into final flight preparation, with the first flight slated for November or December 2025.

The ZQ-3 is a two-stage launcher that lifts off vertically and the first stage lands vertically. Standing about 216 ft (66 m) tall with a core diameter of 15 ft (4.5 m), it's very similar to Falcon 9, though with methane fuel instead of kerosene for the first stage, and is made of stainless steel rather than aluminum/lithium alloy. Though only slightly smaller than Falcon 9, its reported orbital payload is only about half of the American launcher. ..."

ZQ-3: China’s SpaceX Rival Completes First Static Fire "China showed off its ambitions for space in the 21st century as its first reusable heavy booster, the ZhuQue-3 (ZQ-3) Y1 from the Landspace company, conducted its first static firing at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China."

Honda Conducts Successful Launch and Landing Test of Experimental Reusable Rocket

Good news! Competition is good, more competition is better! Elon Musk is getting company!

"June 17, 2025 – Honda R&D Co., Ltd., a research and development subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., today conducted a launch and landing test of an experimental reusable rocket*1 (6.3 m in length, 85 cm in diameter, 900 kg dry weight/1,312 kg wet weight) developed independently by Honda. The test was completed successfully, the first time Honda landed a rocket after reaching an altitude of nearly 300 meters.

This test marked the first launch and landing test conducted by Honda with an aim to demonstrate key technologies essential for rocket reusability, such as flight stability during ascent and descent, as well as landing capability. ..."

Honda Conducts Successful Launch and Landing Test of Experimental Reusable Rocket | Honda Global Corporate Website

Credits: Honda hebt ab

Israel, Azerbaijan sign historic and comprehensive space agreement

Good news! But the timing is odd! Just after the Armenian exclave Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"... The agreement, explained Uri Oron, director of the Israel Space Agency, will lead to joint projects in the field of space, including the development of space technologies, satellites, space exploration systems from robotics, vehicles, and optical systems, as well as academic collaborations, Earth observation, monitoring, and educational projects. ..."

Innovation in the stars: Israel, Azerbaijan pen historic space agreement - The Jerusalem Post

Israel Aerospace Industries successfully launches commercial satellite enabling all-weather, night coverage from India

Amazing stuff!

"Israel Aerospace Industries launched the DS-SAR satellite at 4 a.m. on Sunday, which successfully entered orbit and now enables 24-7 all-weather coverage.

Launched using a PSLV C56 launcher from India, the satellite carries a Synthetic Aperture Radar payload and is based on IAI’s success with the Ofek and TECSAR satellites. ...
India’s Space Research Organization said that ST Engineering will use it for multi-modal and higher responsiveness imagery, and geospatial services, for their commercial customers. ...

In March, a new Israeli spy satellite, Ofek 13, was successfully launched into space.

While Ofek 13 is tailored for military use, the DS-SAR satellite is customized for commercial use, including by foreign customers.

The vast majority of the technology remained the same, though there are likely various changes to prevent classified Israeli capabilities from being compromised. ..."

IAI successfully launches satellite enabling all-weather, night coverage - Defense News - The Jerusalem Post The satellite is already performing its own initial checks to make sure it is functioning properly and simultaneously sending initial images.

India's Space Sector to Make $100 Billion Yearly by 2040? with Palki Sharma

Recommendable!

China beats SpaceX with world’s first methane-powered rocket launch

Wow! Impressive! By a private company!

India lands reusable space plane prototype for 1st time

India, a rising superpower!

"On Sunday (April 2), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India’s national space agency, announced that it had completed the second of four experiments designed to get its robotic Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) space-ready.  ..."

India lands reusable space plane prototype for 1st time (video) | Space India is working to become a member of the space plane club.

Japan's H3 rocket launch aborted after booster fails to ignite

Even in the year 2023 it is not guaranteed that a rocket launch by an technologically advanced country like Japan succeeds!

Japan's H3 rocket launch aborted after booster fails to ignite - Nikkei Asia Another setback for country's space industry after failure of Epsilon in October

The launch of Japan's H3 rocket was called off on Feb. 17 after an apparent engine failure at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.

Palm-sized satellites, 3D-printed rockets herald new era in space

Recommendable! Amazing stuff! Next step garbage collection in space!

"It is expected that more than 20,000 satellites for observation and communication will be launched into space within the next 10 years. A total of about 30,000 satellites, including those currently in operation, will fly above the Earth, and this is expected to revolutionize life on the ground through the use of satellite data. ...

Since successfully putting its first satellite into orbit in 2018, Rocket Lab  has successfully launched 29 times as of December 2022 and sent more than 150 satellites into space. ...There were many rockets in the process of being manufactured in the factory in Auckland, northern New Zealand. They were the company's Electron model, a small rocket for launching small satellites. The company finishes about one rocket per month. ...

With an overall length of about 18 meters and a diameter of about 1.2 meters, it is about a quarter the size of the current model of the Falcon 9 rocket (70 meters in length) of Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The cost of launching a small satellite, previously about $50 million, has been reduced to about $7.5 million. This is a major boost to space development by the private sector. Launched into Low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 2,000 kilometers or less, the Electron can carry satellites weighing up to 300 kilograms. When fully fueled before takeoff, the total weight of the rocket is about 13 tons.

Nine engines are built into the first stage of the rocket. Rocket Lab develops and manufactures its Rutherford engines, which are key components, in-house at its U.S. base.

In a world first, the company utilizes 3D printing for all major parts of the engines installed in the Electron, including the combustion chamber and pumps. In this way, it has achieved a complex and lightweight structure that was difficult to attain with conventional manufacturing technology."

Palm-sized satellites, 3D-printed rockets herald new era in space - Nikkei Asia Number of satellites to triple to 30,000 -- and change life on the ground

From the Electron rocket:

2022 was a record year for space launches with 180 rockets successful lift offs. China is replacing Russia as number two space power!

Good news! It has become a private business domain! Collision avoidance in space is now a major preoccupation!

"2022 was a record year for space with 180 successful rocket launches to orbit — the most ever, and 44 more than in 2021. The launches were dominated by rockets from US company SpaceX and from the Chinese government and businesses. ...
SpaceX ... sent one of its Falcon rockets into orbit once every six days, on average, throughout the year. Its total of 61 successful launches is tied with a 1980 record, for Soviet R-7 rockets. ... There are now more than 3,300 operational Starlinks, by far the largest satellite constellation ever ...The growing congestion in space means that, between late 2020 and late 2022, SpaceX has had to move its Starlinks out of the way more than 26,000 times to prevent collisions with other objects in space. ...
China conducted 62 successful launches, 9 more than in 2021 ... Many were government launches, but a quickly growing fraction belongs to commercial rocket providers. Overall, China’s launch rate in 2022 was almost triple that of Russia. “China is replacing Russia as the number-two space power,” ..."

2022 was a record year for space launches 180 rockets lifted off successfully, with SpaceX driving the pace.

Der deutsche Weltraumbahnhof: Von der Nordsee ins All?

Besser spät, als nie! 

Wie sieht es mit privaten Anbietern a la SpaceX in Europa aus?

Ist der quasi deutsche Alleingang hier gut beraten? 

Ist ein Schiff ausreichend? 

Warum auf dem Meer und nicht auf Land, wie üblich (und wahrscheinlich teurer)?

Wie verhält sich der deutsche spaceport zu dem der EU spaceport  in Kourou, Französisch-Guayana?

Der deutsche Weltraumbahnhof: Von der Nordsee ins All? - ingenieur.de Ein „Weltraumbahnhof“ bzw. ein Spaceport in der Nordsee kann Deutschland den Zugang zum Weltraum sichern. Eine Startrampe soll schon 2023 auf einer schwimmenden Plattform stehen und Kleinsatelliten in den Weltraum befördern.

Ein Spaceport für Deutschland Der Treiber für einen starken Wirtschafts- und Raumfahrtstandort

Space is Getting Crowded, So LeoLabs Built a Solution

Very recommendable! Watch a new collision avoidance system for currently about 5,000 satellites in low earth orbit! LEO is full of debris! When will we have space vacuum cleaners for all that debris?

Did I hear correctly 400 million collision alerts per month?