Enlarge / Starship is seen stacked on top of the Super Heavy rocket on April 5, 2023. (credit: SpaceX)

Welcome to Edition 5.32 of the Rocket Report! We have plenty to discuss this week, including the surprising success of a quasi-private Chinese company that reached orbit on its first launch attempt. I don't think this achievement has quite gotten the attention it deserves.

As always, we welcome reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy . The launch company announced Tuesday morning that it has filed for bankruptcy in the US District of Delaware, Ars reports . The cash-strapped company said it views bankruptcy as the best means of selling itself. "At this stage, we believe that the Chapter 11 process represents the best path forward to identify and finalize an efficient and value-maximizing sale,” said Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit. To continue the business with a skeleton crew for minimal operations, founder Richard Branson has agreed to provide $31.6 million in debtor-in-possession financing. If approved by the bankruptcy court, this financing would allow the company funding to continue these operations while seeking a buyer.

Enlarge / This otherworldly photo was taken of the debut launch of the Terran 1 rocket on March 23, 2023. (credit: Relativity Space/John Kraus)

Welcome to Edition 5.31 of the Rocket Report! We're about to tip over into April, and all signs continue to point to the likelihood of a Starship orbital launch attempt this month. I've heard all sorts of dates, but most recently, SpaceX appears to be working internally toward April 10. That lines up with about when a launch license is expected from the Federal Aviation Administration.

It probably won't happen that soon, but we are pretty darn close, y'all.

As always, we welcome reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets and a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Enlarge / The Terran 1 rocket sure cleans up nice. (credit: Relativity Space/John Kraus)

Welcome to Edition 5.30 of the Rocket Report! A hearty congratulations this week to both Relativity Space and Innospace, both of which got their debut missions off the launch pad this week. Making that final decision to push the button and go is never easy. As a bonus, the engine shots of Relativity's Terran 1 rocket at liftoff are some of the most beautiful rocket photos I have ever seen.

As always, we welcome reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Relativity Space has a successful failure . The shiny white Terran 1 rocket launched on its third attempt Wednesday night, lifting off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The small, methane-fueled rocket then produced some stunning views as a blueish-green flame powered it toward space against the blackness of night. The first stage, with nine engines, appeared to perform nominally as it rose smoothly through the atmosphere, firing for more than two minutes. Then the rocket's second stage successfully separated, Ars reports .

Enlarge / Japan's next generation "H3" rocket, carrying the advanced optical satellite "Daichi 3", leaves the launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan on March 7, 2023. (credit: STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images)

Welcome to Edition 5.29 of the Rocket Report! It was a big week for new rockets, with the failure of Japan's new H3 booster and then the near-launch of Relativity Space's Terran 1. Speaking of the H3, I guess I didn't quite realize that Japan put a satellite valued at more than a quarter of a billion dollars on the debut flight of the rocket. That was, umm, bold.

Please note: There will no newsletter next week because I'll be enjoying a Spring Break respite with my family

As always, we welcome reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Enlarge / India's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle takes flight on Sunday. (credit: ISRO)

Welcome to Edition 5.06 of the Rocket Report! The big news this week is Northrop Grumman's deal with both Firefly and SpaceX to make sure it can continue flying Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station. This is a bold move that draws upon the deep US commercial space industry in order to meet NASA's needs in space. It is great to see this kind of cooperation in the aerospace community.

As always, we welcome reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Astra pivots to larger rocket . Astra will shift away from its previous mantra of being lean in terms of staffing, moving at breakneck speed, and tolerating some failure in launch vehicles, Ars reports . It will also go bigger in terms of its rocket size. "First, we've increased the payload capacity target for launch system 2.0 from 300 kg to 600 kg," CEO Chris Kemp said. "Second, we're working with all of our launch service customers to re-manifest on launch system 2.0. As such, we will not have any additional flights in 2022. And third, we're increasing investments in testing and qualification."

Enlarge / Estes is now selling a New Shepard model rocket for $69.99. (credit: Estes )

Welcome to Edition 4.13 of the Rocket Report! While there may be a LOX shortage in launch, there is no shortage of launch news this week. So this report runs long.

As always, we welcome reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Virgin Orbit to go public, expand offerings . Virgin Orbit will use the proceeds of a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company to expand its launch business and develop a satellite constellation for Internet-of-things and Earth-observation services. After merging with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II, in a deal expected to close at the end of this year, Virgin Orbit will receive as much as $483 million in capital before transaction expenses. The deal includes $100 million in funding from Boeing and AE Industrial Partners, SpaceNews reports .

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Enlarge / Starship SN15 takes to the skies in early April. (credit: SpaceX )

Welcome to Edition 3.44 of the Rocket Report! I took just three days off from work last week, and when I returned to the home office, there was an absolute torrent of launch news to catch up with. In this report, I attempt to do just that.

As always, we welcome reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Canadian spaceport secures funding . The company behind a proposed spaceport in Canso, Nova Scotia, has secured financing it says will allow it to begin construction on the facility this fall and get its first launch off the ground in 2022. Maritime Launch Services is receiving $10.5 million from Toronto investment bank PowerOne Capital Markets, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports .

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Enlarge / The Transporter-1 mission launches from Florida on January 24, 2021. (credit: SpaceX )

Welcome to Edition 3.33 of the Rocket Report! Plenty of news this week about NASA awarding contracts to launch companies and also some new details about a pair of German rocket startups seeking to develop orbital boosters.

As always, we welcome reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Firefly wins lunar lander contract . NASA has awarded Texas-based Firefly $93.3 million to deliver a suite of 10 NASA-sponsored science and technology demonstration payloads to Mare Crisium in the Moon's Crisium basin. Firefly's "Blue Ghost" lunar lander will deliver the payloads to the lunar surface in 2023 in fulfillment of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services task order, the company said .

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Enlarge / Eighteenth SpaceX Starlink mission streaks to orbit from the Space Coast of Florida on Thursday, February 4. (credit: Trevor Mahlmann / Ars Technica )

Welcome to Edition 3.32 of the Rocket Report! The Starship prototype SN9 gave us quite a week, what with the FAA drama surrounding its (eventually fiery) launch and hard landing, but let's not forget the couple of small satellite-launch companies seeking public funding. With help from readers, we're doing our best to stay on top of it all.

As always, we welcome reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Astra to become a publicly traded company . After very nearly reaching orbit during its second launch attempt in December, Astra announced this week it would be joining a "special purpose acquisition company," or SPAC, that valued the company at $2.1 billion. The public listing is expected to take place in late 2021 when Astra combines with Seattle-area investment company Holicity. The stock would trade as ASTR on Nasdaq.

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