SpaceX achieves triple launch day and first orbital Starship flight; Rocket Lab lands major Electron contract
SpaceX completed three launches in under 13 hours, including its first orbital Starship flight that deployed 26 new Starlink satellites, while Rocket Lab secured a 20-mission Electron launch deal with Japan’s Synspective.
SpaceX conducted three separate launches within a 13-hour window on Thursday, marking one of the company’s busiest days. A Falcon 9 lifted a Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral, followed by a Falcon 9 rideshare launch from Vandenberg that placed 130 payloads into polar orbit. The day concluded with a Falcon Heavy launch from Kennedy Space Center carrying a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload, and all boosters returned safely to their launch sites.
On Monday, SpaceX’s Starship reached low-Earth orbit on its 14th test flight, deploying 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. The vehicle achieved orbital velocity despite an engine failure that shortened the flight, and it splashed down at a backup site north of Hawaii.
"Signing 20 launches in a single deal is a massive vote of confidence not just in Electron but in the launch cadence, mission reliability, and orbital precision that Rocket Lab consistently delivers," Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said.
Rocket Lab announced a 20-mission launch service agreement with Japanese Earth-imaging firm Synspective, bringing the total number of scheduled Electron launches for the customer to 47. The contract represents the company’s largest launch agreement to date.
In other industry news, a Portuguese firm, Omnidea, acquired the assets and intellectual property of the defunct Scottish rocket maker Orbex, planning to use the former Orbex facility in Scotland for structures development and electronics.
NASA disclosed plans to fund Boeing’s Starliner program and to certify United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket for crewed missions, allocating $359 million for reaction-control system upgrades and ordering two additional Starliner flights.
Blue Origin submitted a draft environmental assessment to the FAA seeking permission to increase New Glenn launch frequency from 12 to 50 flights per year, along with corresponding first-stage recoveries and static-fire tests.
Canada’s Rocket Company outlined a medium-lift launch vehicle concept, the R-2, targeting a 12.5-tonne payload capacity to low-Earth orbit and a potential first flight by 2032.