L3Harris will provide technology to support the Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 (AMDT3) mission, designed to accelerate the US ability to defend against emerging threats from hypersonic and ballistic missiles. By Sandra Erwin, Published by Space News, 24 September 2026 L3Harris, Rocket Lab and BAE Systems clear design milestones as
A ULA Vulcan on the pad before its first—and, so far, only—launch of the year in February. (credit: ULA) By Jeff Foust, Published by The Space Review, 17 August 2026 Last month, Cambridge University researchers published a study hailing a breakthrough in access to orbit. Launch costs, they argued, were
Image credit: Rocket Lab By Nicholas Werner, Published by Jalopnik, 14 August 2026 New Zealand-based space company Rocket Lab has created a new full-suite launch system that can be transported, deployed, and operated anywhere. Called the Global Hypersonic & Orbital Spaceport Technology (GHOST), this modular system was designed to be
A National Reconnaissance Office satellite sits on a Rocket Lab Electron vehicle before its Aug. 4, 2022, launch. Credit: Rocket Lab By Sandra Erwin, Published by Space News, 27 July 2026 New Kodiak facility will support up to 18 suborbital missions for military testing WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab will establish
An artist's depiction of the Pentagon's Golden Dome concept. (Boeing) By Courtney Albon, Published by Air and Space Forces, 13 July 2026 The Space Development Agency announced contracts worth $1.75 billion to build 36 satellites in support of the Pentagon’s Golden Dome missile defense shield. The satellites will be part
Victus Haze Mission By Tim Fernholz, Published by Tech Crunch, 2 July 2026 Militaries routinely send satellites to fly by rival vehicles and suss out their capabilities, but scaling up this kind of reconnaissance is increasingly seen by the U.S. military as a challenge best handled by the private sector.
By Samanth Subramanian, Published by New Republic, 29 June 2026 Space exploration is a rapidly growing industry. But its goal is dominance, not discovery. Two versions of history began when, one fall night in 1957, a two-stage rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and deposited a Soviet satellite called
Iridium low-Earth orbit commercial satellite constellation: Iridium By Jeff Foust, Published by Space News, 29 June 2026 WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab is acquiring satellite telecommunications company Iridium for $8 billion as part of its effort to become an end-to-end space company. The companies announced an agreement June 29 under which
