Photo: Blue Origin Blue Origin has revealed a full-scale, deployable aerobrake system, marking one of the company’s most significant advances in spacecraft atmospheric-entry and orbital-maneuver hardware to date. Designed to use planetary atmospheres to slow spacecraft and reduce propellant requirements, the new system could reshape how missions to the Moon, Mars, and Earth orbit are planned and executed. The aerobrake prototype—shown in a demonstration released by Blue Origi

Rocket Lab's Electron HASTE mission vertical at Wallops Flight Facility // Photo: Ryan Bale for Spaceflight News Rocket Lab successfully launched its latest HASTE mission—codenamed “Van”—from Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia. The mission lifted off on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at approximately 8:00 a.m. EST following a weather delay the previous day. The mission was originally slated to fly on Monday, but the first launch a

SLS rolling out of the VAB for the first time // Photo: Ryan Bale for Spaceflight News With the federal government reopened and NASA centers returning to full operational tempo, progress on Artemis II  is accelerating once again. Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, the Space Launch System (SLS)  and Orion spacecraft  now stand fully stacked—forming the complete 322-foot rocket that will send astronauts on the first crewed lunar mission of the Artemis

New Glenn lifting off // Photo: John Kraus/Blue Origin Blue Origin has officially entered the heavy lift arena with a flawless launch and recovery of its New Glenn rocket, delivering Rocket Labs twin ESCAPADE spacecraft toward Mars while also achieving its first ever booster landing on an ocean going droneship. This mission stands as a defining milestone not only for Blue Origin but for Rocket Lab, NASA's small mission program, and the future of reusable heavy lift launch sys