Private spaceflight

Spaceflight technology development not paid for by a government agency

Follow Private spaceflight on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!

We include updates on SpaceX, Boeing, Blue Origin, Reaction Engines, Virgin Galactic, Dream Chaser, Rocket Lab, Kuiper Systems, United Launch Alliance, New Shepard, Sierra Nevada Corporation, Maxar Technologies, Firefly Aerospace, Relativity Space, SpaceShipOne, Skyroot Aerospace ... and more.

2025 Orbex planned maiden flight of Prime rocket, dependent on obtaining launch license from Civil Aviation Authority and availability of SaxaVord Spaceport, with intended payload for Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.
May 30 2025 Signed a $460 million agreement with Geost to build the Golden Dome missile defense system.
May 2025 Entered into an agreement to acquire Geost, increasing total headcount by 115 professionals to over 2,600 employees.
2025
Space industry of India
An increasing number of private sector Indian space companies began establishing offices and subsidiaries in the United States to access the American market and compete with domestic U.S. space companies.
May 21 2025 Planned return to flight for Kinetica 1 from LS-130 at JSLC, carrying Taijing-3 04 and Taijing-4 02A satellites into Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
May 19 2025 Adam Gilmour revealed technical details about the fairing separation mechanism failure, explaining that premature explosive bolt firing occurred during pre-flight checks.
May 19 2025 Galactic Energy plans to launch Ceres-1S Y5 rocket carrying Tianqi 37-40 payload to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) from a special converted barge in the offshore waters of Rizhao, Yellow Sea.
May 16 2025 Second launch attempt of Eris-1 scrubbed after an unexplained anomaly caused the rocket's payload fairing to separate on the launch pad, with no damage to property or personnel.
May 5 2025 Stratolaunch Systems officially announced the successful completion of its second hypersonic flight and recovery with TA-2, confirming it as the first fully reusable hypersonic test vehicle that surpassed Mach 5 speed.
May 4 2025 Gilmour announced CASA approval for a launch window starting 15 May, with the first launch attempt subsequently scrubbed due to payload fairing issues.
2025 Planned launch of 35 satellites on an Ariane 64 Block 1 rocket, designated as KAr-01, scheduled for Q4 2025 from Guiana ELA-4. This will be the first of 18 planned Ariane 6 launches.
April 28 2025 The first 27 production satellites were launched aboard an Atlas V rocket. Amazon successfully established communications with all of the satellites.
2025 Scheduled debut flight of the Kinetica 2 medium-lift liquid propellant rocket, featuring a CBC design and using kerosene and liquid oxygen propellant.
April 21 2025
Commercial Resupply Services
SpaceX Cargo Dragon mission CRS SpX-32 flight to the International Space Station.
April 14 2025
New Shepard
Blue Origin completed a successful sub-orbital crewed mission (NS-31) with 6 women: Gayle King, Katy Perry, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe, Lauren Sanchez, and Kerianne Flynn. The flight reached a peak altitude of 106 km and lasted 10 minutes and 21 seconds.
April 2025 Adjusted launch window following delays from Tropical Cyclone Alfred, with continued preparations for the first Australian orbital rocket launch.
2025 Planned ground testing of a new RFA One launch vehicle and anticipated initial orbital launch attempt following the August 2024 test anomaly.
2025 Updated planned timeframe for the first orbital launch and recovery of the Nebula-1 rocket, now set for mid-2025.
2025 Deep Blue Aerospace plans to launch the Nebula-2 rocket, a medium to heavy-lift liquid-fuelled rocket capable of lifting 20,000 kg of payload into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The rocket uses liquid oxygen and kerosene as propellants.
March 2025
Commercial Crew Program
The Starliner crew returned to Earth with SpaceX Crew-9, having not completed their original mission due to technical issues.
2025 ProPublica reported that Chinese investors had found a backdoor into SpaceX through investment vehicles in third countries, raising national security concerns.
2025
Space industry of India
Projected growth of the Indian space economy to $13 billion, accounting for 2% to 3% of the worldwide space economy at a 6% compound annual growth rate.
March 2025 Boeing was awarded a contract to build the U.S. Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, worth more than $20 billion.
2025
Private spaceflight companies
Sierra Space's Dream Chaser Cargo System is planned to become operational, with anticipated launches using Atlas V or Vulcan launch systems.
2025 Planned first flight of Pallas-1 rocket to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with payload details to be announced (TBA).
2025
Commercial Resupply Services
Sierra Space Corporation (SSC) planned Demo-1 flight for the Dream Chaser spacecraft during Q3 2025, marking a significant milestone in Commercial Resupply Services phase 2.
2025
Commercial Resupply Services
Planned Commercial Resupply Services mission NG-23 using new Antares 330 rockets and enlarged 'Mission B' Cygnus spacecraft variant
March 15 2025 Planned maiden flight of Eris Block 1, which will be Australia's first sovereign orbital rocket, to be launched from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in Abbot Point, Bowen. The rocket was unveiled by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
2025
Commercial Lunar Payload Services
Astrobotic Technology's Griffin Mission 1 planned, targeting Nobile Crater and carrying FLIP rover from Venturi Astrolab.
2025
Orbital propellant depot
An intervehicular propellant transfer demonstration mission is planned, which is critical for landing a crew on the Moon with the Starship HLS vehicle.
March 12 2025
Commercial Crew Program
Tenth planned Commercial Crew Program mission, Crew Dragon spacecraft 'Endurance' (C210.4) to be transported to the International Space Station using Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket.
2025 Independence-X Aerospace plans to make their Dedicated Nano Launch Vehicle (DNLV) commercially ready, targeting frequent launches from a near equatorial launch site with at least 24 launches planned for the first year.
2025
Commercial Lunar Payload Services
NASA extended the CLPS program to support large payload missions, expanding the program's capabilities and scope for lunar exploration.
March 2025 Stratolaunch completed the second hypersonic flight of TA-2.
March 2025 Maxar Technologies decided to limit Ukraine's access to its satellite imagery.
March 7 2025 SpaceX launched another Starship rocket from Texas, with contact lost minutes into the test flight. Preliminary investigation revealed an oxygen leak, sustained fires in the aft section, causing engine shutdown and self-destruction.
2025 The first flight of Skyrora XL is expected to take place no earlier than 2025-2026.
March 2025 Launch of Eris-1 was further pushed back to March 2025, with ongoing licensing challenges continuing to cause delays.
March 2 2025
Commercial Lunar Payload Services
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander successfully touches down on the Moon around 3:30 a.m. Eastern Time, carrying ten NASA instruments focusing on lunar dust and its challenges.
March 2 2025
Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost
The Blue Ghost lunar lander successfully landed on the Moon's surface, completing its first mission and demonstrating Firefly Aerospace's lunar landing capabilities.
February 2025 Estimated ticket price for a seat reached approximately $600,000.
February 2025 The Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the discrimination lawsuit against SpaceX with prejudice.
February 25 2025
New Shepard
Tenth crewed flight (NS-30) successfully launched.
February 25 2025
New Shepard
Tenth crewed New Shepard flight with six crew members: Lane Bess, Jesús Calleja, Tushar Shah, Richard Scott, Elaine Chia Hyde, and Russell Wilson (Launch No. 30).
February 25 2025 Blue Origin launched its 10th space tourism mission with New Shepard, sending six paying passengers to suborbital space.
2025 Virgin Galactic plans to begin testing its third generation Delta-class spaceship, designed for higher production volumes and functionally similar to the SpaceShip III class.
February 24 2025 Received regulatory approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
2025 Planned first launch under a 38-launch block buy using a Vulcan VC6L rocket, deploying Kuiper satellites to Low Earth Orbit at 630 km altitude from SLC-41.
2025 Planned first launch of production satellites (Kuiper-1 KA-01) using an Atlas V 551 rocket, targeting Low Earth Orbit at 630 km altitude from SLC-41.
2025 Planned first launch under a 12-launch block buy using a New Glenn rocket, deploying Project Kuiper satellites to Low Earth Orbit at 630 km altitude from LC-36.

We are only showing the most recent entries for this topic.

This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Space industry of India, Orbital propellant depot, Skyrora, Boeing, Galactic Energy, Commercial Crew Program, Gilmour Space Technologies, List of private spaceflight companies, Kuiper Systems, Virgin Galactic, Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost, Blue Origin, New Shepard, SpaceX, Orbex, Rocket Lab, Stratolaunch Systems, Maxar Technologies, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, Deep Blue Aerospace, Rocket Factory Augsburg, Independence-X Aerospace, CAS Space & Commercial Resupply Services, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

See Also