Blue Origin announced a delay for New Glenn's return-to-flight mission from December to January, along with a new kick stage for the rocket and a new engine design. The company is rebuilding its launch pad at Cape Canaveral following a catastrophic explosion nearly six months ago. NASA, Amazon, and the Space Force await New Glenn's return to service.
Three former SpaceX Falcon 9 engineers, the Carlisle brothers, founded Argo Space in late 2022 to build satellites powered by water. The spacecraft carries a reservoir of liquid water that solar power splits into hydrogen and oxygen gases for thrust. Argo Space's first mission launched in July but failed when a solar array did not deploy. Two more missions are scheduled for 2027 to test the water-based thrusters.
Interstellar Technologies received government backing from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for its Zero rocket program under the Space Strategic Fund. The program provides grants up to $76 million per company. Interstellar has raised more than $250 million total from government and private sources. The company achieved Japan's first successful firing test of an orbital-class methane engine. Satoshi Nakayama, director of the board and president, said the company must "swiftly turn these proven development results into operational commercial services." Zero is designed to carry up to 1 metric ton to low-Earth orbit, with a first launch planned for 2027.
Analytics firm Quilty Space estimates a global launch shortage of about 150 missions between now and 2030, excluding China. The shortage could double if U.S. military demand is added and SpaceX does not extend Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy operations. Caleb Henry, director of research at Quilty Space, stated the launch crisis is "more severe than we thought and that it will not go away this decade for sure, and it might not abate until sometime late in the 2030s." Contributing factors include Ukraine war impacts on Russian rockets, Amazon Leo constellation demand, delays in New Glenn, Vulcan, Neutron, Terran R, and Nova, and Falcon 9's retirement from commercial service.