SpaceX's Starship rocket failed to launch Thursday in South Texas after Raptor engines did not ignite at T-0, causing a delay of several days. Meanwhile, Skyroot Aerospace has set July 18 for the debut flight of its Vikram-1 rocket from India, marking the first orbital attempt by a commercial Indian launch vehicle. The rocket will carry technology demonstration payloads and art projects to a 450 km orbit.

JAXA conducted a successful test flight of its experimental reusable RV-X rocket, reaching 11 meters altitude with a 40-second flight including horizontal translation. In Australia, Spinifex Space launched to provide suborbital launch campaigns from Queensland facilities. China achieved a milestone by recovering a reusable orbital-class Long March 10B booster in the South China Sea using a cable-capture system on an offshore vessel.

AST SpaceMobile announced a $1 billion convertible note offering to fund additional launch access for its Blue Bird satellites after New Glenn delays, and may pursue acquisitions to vertically integrate. Japan targets 30 annual launches by the early 2030s despite only two orbital flights in 2026. Ariane 6 was cleared to carry CubeSats as secondary payloads, with capacity for up to 16U satellites alongside the PLATO telescope in 2027.