Searching for to scale … “Due to this location, we can industrialize Zephyr manufacturing as much as 50 items per 12 months whereas sustaining management over our progress tempo,” mentioned Isabelle Valentin, chief working officer of the corporate. Latitude goals to launch its Zephyr rocket in 2026 from the Guiana House Centre, in French Guiana, for the primary time. The corporate additionally mentioned it has signed two main contracts, together with a strategic mission for the European Defence Fund and a contract with the French area company, CNES, for microgravity demonstrations.
Japan’s H2A rocket makes remaining flight. Japan’s flagship H2A rocket lifted off for the ultimate time on Sunday from the Tanegashima House Middle in Kagoshima Prefecture, efficiently concluding a 24-year run that has outlined the nation’s area capabilities, The Japan Occasions studies. The rocket’s fiftieth and remaining mission carried the GOSAT-GW, a government-developed hybrid environmental commentary satellite tv for pc.
Out with the outdated, in with the brand new … Collectively developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Company, the 53-meter rocket debuted in 2001 and shortly grew to become the workhorse of the nation’s area program. It had a superb document, with 49 successes out of fifty launch makes an attempt. The choice to retire the H2A comes amid rising world competitors within the area launch trade, the place cost-efficiency has turn out to be a key differentiator. Japan hopes its new H3 rocket, though expendable, can be extra price aggressive.
SpaceX to win DOD satellite tv for pc contract. The Trump administration plans to cancel a fleet of orbiting knowledge relay satellites managed by the House Growth Company and change it with a secretive community that, to this point, depends totally on SpaceX’s Starlink Web constellation, Ars studies. Whereas particulars of the Pentagon’s plan stay secret, the White Home proposal would commit $277 million in funding to kick off a brand new program known as “pLEO SATCOM” or “MILNET.” The funding line for a proliferated low-Earth orbit satellite tv for pc communications community hasn’t appeared in a Pentagon funds earlier than, however plans for MILNET exist already in a unique type.
X marks the spot … In the meantime, the funds proposal for fiscal 12 months 2026 would remove funding for a brand new tranche of information relay satellites from the House Growth Company. The pLEO SATCOM or MILNET program would change them, offering essential help for the Trump administration’s proposed Golden Dome missile protection protect. Whereas SpaceX’s function is not talked about explicitly within the Pentagon’s funds paperwork, the MILNET program is already on the books, and SpaceX is the lead contractor. It has been made public in latest months, after years of secrecy, though many particulars stay unclear.
