Space Explored

In the month of April, the US launched 18 rockets into space. Nearly all of them were successful. While the vast majority were for SpaceX Falcon 9s launching the company’s Starlink satellites, it was still a diverse set of rockets, including NASA’s Space Launch System, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, and ULA’s Atlas V.

Blue Origin is set to launch its third New Glenn rocket tomorrow, April 19, in the early morning hours. The mission will carry with it a satellite for AST SpaceMobile, but it will also fly something that has already flown before: the booster.

In what is likely the biggest week in Starship development since the last flight of its full rocket, SpaceX completed two static fires of its next-generation Starship rocket down in Starbase, Texas. Both tests are major steps forward in getting both the booster and upper stage...