It’s been the dream of space advocates for decades – reusable rockets and spacecraft that could provide safe, routine, frequent and affordable access to space. Vehicles that could launch to space, return to Earth and fly again with minimal refurbishment. In short, spacecraft and boosters with airplane-like operations that would open up space to a broad range of activities. SpaceX’s Starship will be the largest rocket ever flown and the […]

Some time next week, SpaceX will debut the most powerful rocket ever built, the fully-reusable Starship/Super Heavy behemoth that could provide routine, affordable and safe access to space for the first time in human history. In the meantime, ESA will launch an ambitious mission to study three of Jupiter’s moons that contain subsurface oceans.

Rocket Lab moves launches to New Zealand, Planet Labs works with The Nature Conservancy

Welcome to S-SPACⁱ. Nasdaq granted Astra Space a six-month extension to get its stock into compliance before it is delisted while the exchange moved to delist Virgin Orbit’s stock. And Rocket Lab is moving two launches to New Zealand.

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Nasdaq said it would suspend Virgin Orbit’s (NAS: VORB) stock on April 13, 2023 due to the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last week and its failure to file its 2022 annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The stock fell to $0.15 in after-hours trading on Monday.

A Congressionally-mandated review by the Rand Corporation has recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) be given the authority to formulate safety regulations to protect passengers and crew members on commercial human spaceflights when a regulatory moratorium expires on October 1, 2023.

U.S. commercial human spaceflight is set to accelerate over the next two years as SpaceX launches more commercial missions into orbit, Blue Origin’s New Shepard resumes suborbital flights, and Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity completes its test flight program and enters commercial service.

Launch and spacecraft engine supplier Astra Space (NAS: ASTR) says that it won’t learn Nasdaq’s decision on whether to delist its shares or grant the company another six months to get its stock price up to $1.00 per share.

SES and Intelsat are in merger talks, Astrolab will send a rover to the Moon on SpaceX’s Starship rocket, and D-Orbit has won a $28.3 million contract from ESA.

Virgin Orbit’s bankruptcy could have fallout across the space industry. The company estimates it owes $100-500 million to somewhere between “200-999” creditors. The amount includes debts in excess of $15.3 million to four companies — Arqit, BigBear.ai, Redwire, and Spire Global — on the Space SPAC Index.

Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ: VORB) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a day after completing layoffs of 675 of the company’s 775 employees. The filing in Delaware Bankruptcy Court provides the company with protection from creditors while it seeks to find a buyer.

Astra Space (NAS: ASTR) suffered a net loss of nearly $411.4 million on revenue of $29.5 million last year as the company stopped development of its Rocket 3.3 launch vehicle and spun up production of a spacecraft engine for sale to other companies. The company had no revenue in the fourth quarter.