China faucets into business area for station missions. China will launch a pair of low-cost area station resupply spacecraft this yr on new business launch autos, Space News reports. The Haolong cargo area shuttle from the Chengdu Plane Design Institute will launch on Landspace’s Zhuque-3. The reusable stainless-steel, methane-liquid oxygen Zhuque-3 rocket is because of have its first flight within the third quarter of this yr. The reusable Haolong automobile can be 10 meters in size, round 7,000 kilograms in mass, and able to touchdown on a runway.

Following a business path laid by NASA … In the meantime, the Qingzhou cargo spacecraft from the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese language Academy of Sciences will launch on the primary flight of the CAS Area Kinetica-2 (Lijian-2) rocket no sooner than September. The event is analogous to NASA’s Business Resupply Providers program, diversifying China’s choices for supplying the Tiangong area station. If even one among these missions takes place efficiently throughout the subsequent yr, it could signify a significant step ahead for China’s quasi-commercial area program. (submitted by EllPeaTea)

H3 rocket launches its fifth mission. Japan’s flagship H3 rocket efficiently launched the Michibiki 6 navigation satellite tv for pc early Sunday, enhancing the nation’s regional GPS capabilities, Space News reports. The launch was Japan’s first of 2025 and means that the comparatively new H3 rocket is beginning to hit its stride.

Getting up to the mark … The expendable launcher’s inaugural launch in March 2023, after quite a few delays, suffered a second-stage engine failure, main controllers to problem a destruct command to destroy the stage and its ALOS-3 payload. Since then, it has had a profitable run of launches, most not too long ago the Kirameki 3 communications satellite tv for pc for protection functions in November final yr. (submitted by EllPeaTea)

Blue Origin lays off 10 p.c of its workers. Rather less than a month after the profitable debut of its New Glenn rocket, Blue Origin’s workforce can be trimmed by 10 p.c, Ars reports. The cuts had been introduced throughout an all-hands assembly on Thursday morning led by the rocket firm’s chief government, Dave Limp. Through the gathering, Limp cited enterprise technique because the rationale for making the cuts to a workforce of greater than 10,000 folks.