Rocket Report: Chinese launch firm raises big money; Falcon 9 back to the Bahamas
The Rocket Report: Edition 8.30
Welcome to the latest edition of the Rocket Report, where we bring you the latest news and updates from the world of space launch. In this edition, we'll be covering a range of topics, from the latest developments in sovereign launch to the ongoing struggles of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
Sovereign Launch: A Growing Trend
Several longtime US allies are now seeing sovereign access to space as a national security imperative, Ars reports. Taking advantage of private launch initiatives already underway within their own borders, several middle and regional powers have approved substantial government funding for commercial startups to help them reach the launch pad. Australia, Canada, Germany, and Spain are among the nations that currently lack the ability to independently put their own satellites into orbit, but they are now spending money to establish a domestic launch industry.
Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have committed the most government funding to homegrown launcher development. The fruits of the UK's investment are in question after the failure of the Scottish rocket company Orbex, which we wrote about in last week's Rocket Report. Other countries with real, although less credible, orbital launch programs include Brazil, Argentina, and Taiwan.
Update on German Launch Startup
German rocket builder Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) is making significant progress toward once again attempting an inaugural flight of its RFA One rocket, European Spaceflight reports. The company is moving forward with commissioning its launch pad at SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland as it works toward a hot fire test of the rocket's first stage. The RFA One rocket is a 30-meter (98-foot) tall two-stage rocket designed to deliver payloads of up to 1,300 kilograms (2,866 pounds) to low-Earth orbit.
The company has been manufacturing a replacement for the destroyed first stage and upgrading the vehicle's upper stage to resume preparations for launch from SaxaVord Spaceport. RFA's chief executive told European Spaceflight that the rocket's booster is being transported from its German factory to the launch site in Scotland. That will be followed by the upper stage. "We are taking the time to do it properly. We remain aggressive, fast, and flexible, but the wild times before August 2024 are over," Indulis Kalnins, the company's CEO, said.
UAE Launches Hybrid Rocket
The first hybrid rocket domestically developed in the United Arab Emirates launched on February 13, marking a significant step in the country's push to build sovereign space and propulsion capabilities, the Khaleej Times reports. The sounding rocket, developed by the Technology Innovation Institute, reached an altitude of 3 kilometers (1.6 miles) during a test flight over the UAE desert, validating a fully UAE-designed and operated propulsion system for the first time.
At the core of the mission was a hybrid propulsion engine combining nitrous oxide with a solid polyethylene-based fuel—a system that blends elements of solid and liquid rocket technologies. "This achievement is the result of years of disciplined research, engineering, and iteration," said Elias Tsoutsanis, chief researcher at the institute's Propulsion and Space Research Center. "That capability is the foundation for everything that follows—higher altitudes, heavier payloads, and more complex missions, all from the UAE."
SpaceX Restores Full Crew to ISS
A Crew Dragon spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on Saturday, and astronauts popped open the hatches a few hours later to bring the lab back to a full crew complement of seven astronauts and cosmonauts. The arrival of four new astronauts as part of the Crew-12 mission—Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway of NASA, Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency, and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos—came a day after their launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
SpaceX Resumes Bahamas Landings
For just the second time, a Falcon 9 booster returned to Earth Thursday night on a drone ship stationed among the islands of the Bahamas during a mission to deploy 29 Starlink satellites for SpaceX's satellite Internet service. The booster landed on the drone ship parked near The Exumas less than 10 minutes after lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
LandSpace Lays Out Plans for 2026
Chinese commercial launch firm LandSpace is targeting the second quarter of this year for a second orbital launch and booster recovery attempt of its Zhuque-3 rocket, followed by a reuse test in the fourth quarter, Space News reports. A LandSpace official provided the update in a presentation earlier this month before the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.
Another Chinese Launch Company Rakes in Cash
Chinese launch firm iSpace has secured a record D++ funding round to accelerate its reusable rocket development efforts and expand its industrial footprint, Space News reports. The money will support test flights of the company's Hyperbola-3 rocket, a medium-lift launcher powered by nine main engines. The first launch is scheduled later this year.
NASA Vows to Fix Those Pesky Hydrogen Leaks
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Saturday the agency is looking at ways to prevent the fueling problems plaguing the Space Launch System rocket before the Artemis III mission, Ars reports. Artemis III is slated to be the first crew mission to land on the Moon since the Apollo program more than 50 years ago.
Florida Community Braces for Big, New Rockets
Before SpaceX's Starship mega-rockets arrive on Florida's Space Coast, leaders in Cape Canaveral want to explore state and federal grants to mitigate potential infrastructure damage caused by vibrations and sonic booms, Florida Today reports. The first Florida Starship launch could occur as early as late summer or fall, with US Space Force Col. Brian Chatman calling 2026 "the year of the giants" in Brevard County during a January space conference in Orlando.
Next Three Launches
Feb. 21: Falcon 9 | Starlink 17-25 | Vandenberg Space Force Base, California | 08:00 UTC
Feb. 22: Falcon 9 | Starlink 6-104 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida | 02:04 UTC
Feb. 24: Falcon 9 | Starlink 17-26 | Vandenberg Space Force Base, California | 14:00 UTC
