Free Republic

SpaceX may have just dropped its biggest hint yet about what comes after Starship Flight 13. Indeed, FINALLY! Starship's Next Giant Leap may be here as the new filings point toward an Orbital Return Demo that could mark the next major milestone on the road to full reusability. With that work continues at Starbase on Pads 1 and 2, the Gigabay, and future launch infrastructure. Elsewhere this week, we cover Falcon 9 launches carrying BlueBird satellites, Starlink, and another classified NRO mission, Cargo Dragon’s return from the International Space Station, Astrobotic’s Griffin lunar lander preparing for launch, Ariane 6’s impressive...

Well my friends SpaceX Starship Flight 13 is getting closer! This week we cover the latest Starbase progress, Pad 2 upgrades, and the massive new expansions as SpaceX pushes toward more frequent launches. We also touch on the historic SpaceX IPO, and ambitious space data centre architecture. Indeed SpaceX Just Revealed Its Biggest Plans Yet! With that, record-breaking Falcon 9 mission, plus updates from Stoke Space and Japan’s H3 rocket. NASA also revealed major new Artemis III details, including Blue Origin’s Blue Moon demonstrator, Orion docking plans, and how Starship fits into future Artemis missions. There’s also the latest from...

Well Starship Version 3 Is Finally About To Light Up! SpaceX is about to roll Super Heavy Booster 19 to Pad 2 at Starbase in Texas. In this week's update we break down the latest Starship testing at Massey's, including Ship 39 cryogenic testing, flap actuation tests, and new Version 3 hardware ahead of Flight 12. We also cover major progress on the orbital launch mount, Pad 2 preparations, Ship 40 production for Flight 13, updates to NASA's Artemis program and lunar landing plans, multiple Falcon 9 Starlink launches, Rocket Lab's Electron mission, and the latest developments across the rapidly...

Blue Origin and Sierra Space have announced plans for Orbital Reef, a commercially developed, owned, and operated space station to be built in low Earth orbit. The station will open the next chapter of human space exploration and development by facilitating the growth of a vibrant ecosystem and business model for the future. Orbital Reef is backed by space industry leaders and teammates including Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University.Designed to open multiple new markets in space, Orbital Reef will provide anyone with the opportunity to establish their own address on orbit. This unique destination will...