| By Jeff Foust
In this today's edition: another Neutron launch delay, Sierra Space gets a new CEO, Space Force keeps the door open to flying guardians in space, and more.
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Rocket Lab is pushing back the first launch of its Neutron rocket to late this year. The company said in an earnings call Thursday that the rupture of a propellant tank during testing last month will delay the first flight of the rocket to at least the fourth quarter of the year. Rocket Lab said a manufacturing defect in the composite tank caused it to rupture during a hydrostatic pressure test, noting that the company had expected the tank to pass the tests. The company is producing a replacement tank using a new automated system rather than the hand-laid process used for the first tank, and is also making minor design changes to the tank. Before the test failure Rocket Lab expected to have the first vehicle on the pad this quarter but had not set a launch date. Rocket Lab added in the call that it continues to see strong demand for its Electron small launch vehicle, including a contract with BlackSky for four launches. [SpaceNews]
The former head of Ursa Major is Sierra Space's new CEO. Dan Jablonsky was named Thursday as CEO of Sierra Space, effective March 2. Company founder Fatih Ozmen had been acting CEO of Sierra Space since the departure of Tom Vice in 2024. Sierra Space initially focused on civil and commercial space infrastructure, anchored by its Dream Chaser spaceplane, but has shifted more recently to defense markets, including satellite manufacturing. The announcement came a week after Jablonsky stepped down as CEO of rocket engine manufacturer Ursa Major. [SpaceNews]
CesiumAstro has acquired a startup specializing in artificial intelligence for multimodal signals analysis. CesiumAstro announced Thursday it had acquired Vidrovr for an undisclosed sum. CesiumAstro acquired Vidrovr to accelerate its campaign to embed AI in space telecommunications and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance infrastructure. That includes enabling radio-frequency optimization, autonomous payload and satellite operations, and reconfigurable edge computing across product lines. CesiumAstro, founded in 2017, builds software-defined phased-array communications systems for commercial and military space and airborne platforms, and announced earlier this month that it had raised $470 million. [SpaceNews]
British mobile operator Virgin Media O2 said it started offering satellite-to-smartphone connectivity in the United Kingdom using Starlink. The service, initially limited to subscribers who have Samsung Galaxy devices, provides messaging and voice services as well as access to some apps. Virgin Media O2, owned by Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, said the space-enabled service expands its U.K. landmass coverage from 89% to 95%, adding an area roughly two-thirds the size of Wales. The operator secured regulatory approval for the direct-to-device service earlier this month after British regulator Ofcom published rules to enable such services. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force is keeping the door open to flying guardians in space. At the Air & Space Forces Association's Warfare Symposium, senior officials said they could not rule out deploying personnel in space at some future time. That could include flying Space Force personnel on future commercial space stations. The Space Force maintains a liaison program with NASA so guardians can gain experience in the planning and ground operations side of human spaceflight. [SpaceNews]
A Chinese astronaut will spend a year in space on the Tiangong space station to allow a flight by a Pakistani astronaut. Chinese officials said Friday that one astronaut from the upcoming Shenzhou-23 mission will spend a year in space to gain data on human health and performance over an extended spaceflight. That would appear to allow China to fly a Pakistani astronaut on the Shenzhou-24 mission late this year, with that astronaut returning days later on Shenzhou-23. Together, the one-year mission and international astronaut plans indicate a shift in China's operational practices and reinforce earlier statements on long-duration missions and international cooperation through Tiangong. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | | Other News
Another day means another Starlink launch. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 7:16 a.m. Eastern, carrying 29 Starlink satellites. It was the third launch of Starlink satellites from Florida and California in the last 72 hours. [Spaceflight Now]
A Dragon cargo spacecraft returned to Earth from the International Space Station Thursday. The CRS-33 Dragon undocked from the station at 12:05 p.m. Eastern, splashing down off the California coast at 2:44 a.m. Eastern Friday. The Dragon, which had been at the station for six months, returned with science experiments and hardware. [NASA]
The founder of a Canadian launch startup is branching out into venture capital. NordSpace Ventures, the venture arm of launch startup NordSpace, announced Thursday it invested in Canadian hyperspectral imaging company Wyvern. The companies did not disclose the investment amount but Rahul Goel, founder of NordSpace, said Wyvern is one of several companies already backed through an initiative aiming to invest up to 2 million Canadian dollars ($1.5 million) per year. [SpaceNews]
Phantom Space has acquired assets of a former launch company led by Phantom's CEO. Phantom Space said Thursday it acquired assets of the former Vector Launch, including flight-proven design elements, engineering data and other technology, that will be incorporated into Phantom's Daytona small launch vehicle. Jim Cantrell, CEO of Phantom, had run Vector until the company ran into financial difficulties in 2019 and ultimately went bankrupt. Phantom is planning a first launch of Daytona in the second half of 2027, several years behind its original timeline. [SpaceNews]
Two of Europe's largest primes, Airbus and Leonardo, reported increased revenues in their respective space businesses in 2025. Airbus Defence and Space reported revenues of 13.4 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in 2025, an 11% increase from 12.1 billion euros in 2024, while Leonardo's Space division reported preliminary 2025 revenues slightly above 1 billion euros, also 11% higher than 2024. The two companies, along with Thales, plan to combine their space businesses into a new joint venture codenamed Project Bromo, but neither company provided significant updates about those plans in earnings calls. [SpaceNews]
NASA has named a new manager of its commercial crew program. NASA said Thursday that Dana Hutcherson, deputy manager for the commercial crew program, will take over as manager effective immediately. She replaces Steve Stich, who had managed the program for the last several years. The announcement came a day after Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for space operations, which includes commercial crew, announced his retirement. Last week, NASA released a report about the Starliner crewed test flight that identified both technical and organizational failings. [NASA]
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| "Texas allows you to get work done, especially in an environment where we're doing some pretty dangerous things that would both bother neighbors and scare people. Texas allows us to do that."
| | – Shea Ferring, chief technology officer at Firefly Aerospace, discussing why his company decided to do work like rocket engine testing in Texas during a panel at the ASCENDxTexas conference Thursday.
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