Virgin Galactic lays off staff as it focuses on next-generation suborbital vehicle (spacenews.com)
WASHINGTON — Virgin Galactic said it will lay off staff and cut expenses to conserve resources for its next generation of suborbital spaceplanes....
Astra secures interim financing deal (spacenews.com)
In which Astra inexplicably continues to hang on by a thread.
Ariane 6 cost and delays bring European launch industry to a breaking point (arstechnica.com)
Sierra Space completes first Dream Chaser (spacenews.com)
The company announced Nov. 2 the completion of the first Dream Chaser, named Tenacity, at its facility in Louisville, Colorado. The vehicle will be shipped in the “coming weeks” to NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility, the former Plum Brook Facility, in Ohio for environmental testing....
ESA to start commercial cargo program (spacenews.com)
“I’m asking for a small but very impactful step, the first step that enables a much bigger ambition,” Josef Aschbacher, ESA director general, said in remarks at the opening of the ESA Council meeting there. “I propose a competition between innovative European companies to deliver a space cargo return service to transport...
Launch Roundup: SpaceX pushes for 100 flights in the year with a ISS resupply, a rideshare mission, and more - NASASpaceFlight.com (www.nasaspaceflight.com)
Astra, low on cash, defaults on loan (spacenews.com)
Not too surprising given their current situation and previous launch success rate. If anything, I’m surprised how long it is taking for the company to go under.
Norway opens Andøya spaceport (spacenews.com)
Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway, inaugurated the spaceport at a ceremony Nov. 2. The spaceport is located at Nordmela on the Norwegian island of Andøya inside the Arctic Circle and is in the final stages towards operating capability, according to a Nov. 2 press statement....
After leading NASA’s mission to Pluto, Alan Stern flies to space himself (arstechnica.com)
Interesting tidbit:...
How long will Jeff Bezos continue to subsidize his New Shepard rocket? (arstechnica.com)
Nothing to see here, just Blue Origin continuing to achieve slow and small results on a large budget.
After decades of dreams, a commercial spaceplane is almost ready to fly (arstechnica.com)
I can’t wait to see this baby shuttle fly at last! Current NET date for Dream Chaser is April 2024
(SpaceNews) China’s iSpace launches and lands rocket test stage (spacenews.com)
The Hyperbola-2 methane-liquid oxygen reusable verification stage rose to a height of 178 meters during its 51-second flight. It performed a powered descent and soft landing, supported by four landing legs. The 3.35-meter-diameter, 17m-long test stage is powered by a variable thrust Focus-1 engine....
LAUNCH: Virgin Galactic-05 - Dr. Stern and Kellie Gerardi fly on Spaceship Two - YouTube (www.youtube.com)
🇷🇺Putin wants to know why Russia can only build 40 satellites a year (arstechnica.com)
🇳🇿Rocket Lab plans late 2024 launch of Venus mission (spacenews.com)
🇳🇿Rocket Lab Receives Federal Aviation Administration Authorization to Resume Launches (www.businesswire.com)
🇨🇳Shenzhou 16 Return Discussion & Updates Thread
Welcome everyone!...