SpaceX achieved a milestone with the first orbital launch of its Starship rocket, deploying the first 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The flight reached 99% of orbit previously but was delayed by safety concerns. Meanwhile, Rocket Lab secured its largest contract yet: 20 Electron launches for Synspective, a Japanese Earth-imaging company.
This brings total Synspective bookings to 47 missions, including 13 already flown. In other news, Portuguese firm Omnidea acquired the assets and intellectual property of collapsed Scottish rocket maker Orbex. The deal includes Orbex’s Scotland manufacturing facility, with plans to expand operations and recruit former employees.
Omnidea, a space industry supplier, will use the site for structures and electronics development. Separately, the Crew-13 mission launched from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station for a six-month expedition.
Source: Ars Technica · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing