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Rocket Lab launches BlackSky’s next Gen-3 satellite on Electron rocket from New Zealand – Spaceflight Now

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SpaceX

Rocket Lab launches BlackSky’s next Gen-3 satellite on Electron rocket from New Zealand – Spaceflight Now

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off from New Zealand to begin the ‘Full Stream Ahead’ mission on June 2, 2025. Image: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab successfully launched its 65th Electron rocket to date on a mission in support of its customer, BlackSky, and the next launch for its Gen-3 satellite constellation. Teams launched the mission, dubbed ‘Full Stream Ahead,’ from Pad A at Rocket Lab’s launch complex in Mahia, New Zealand, at 11:57 a.m. NZT on June 3 (7:57 p.m. EDT, 2357 UTC on June 2). “With each successive launch BlackSky expands on-orbit capacity, introduces Gen-3 capabilities, and furthers our ability to meet the demands of the most time-dominant missions,” said Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CEO, in a post on X following the launch. “Our partnership with Rocket Lab has demonstrated excepti...

Qubit breakthrough could make it easier to build quantum computers

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Science

Qubit breakthrough could make it easier to build quantum computers

Could a new approach help make quantum computers error-free?Nord Quantique A Canadian quantum computing start-up claims its new qubit will enable much smaller and cheaper error-free quantum computers. But getting there will be a steep challenge. To correct its own errors, a traditional computer saves duplicates of information in multiple places, a practice called redundancy. For quantum computers to achieve their own version of redundancy, they typically require many additional quantum bits, or qubits – hundreds of thousands of them. Now, Julien Camirand Lemyre at Nord Quantique and his colleagues have created a qubit that they say will let them slash that number to mere hundreds. “The basic underlying idea behind our hardware is… having qubits that have intrinsic redu...

U.S. Space Force awards BAE Systems $1.2 billion contract for missile-tracking satellites

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NASA

U.S. Space Force awards BAE Systems $1.2 billion contract for missile-tracking satellites

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force awarded BAE Systems a $1.2 billion contract for 10 missile-tracking satellites for a constellation in medium Earth orbit.The contract was awarded to BAE Systems Space and Mission Systems on May 29 through a firm fixed price Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement, the Space Systems Command said June 2 in a news release.The program is known as Resilient Missile Warning Tracking Epoch 2, which marks the second phase of the Space Force’s program to develop a missile-tracking network in medium Earth orbit (MEO). The constellation is intended to help defend against evolving missile threats, particularly hypersonic weapons that have become a key focus for U.S. defense planners.BAE Systems Space and Mission Systems, based in Broomfield, Colorado, was f...

SpaceX scrubs Monday morning launch of 23 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now

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SpaceX

SpaceX scrubs Monday morning launch of 23 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now

File: A Falcon 9 stands ready to launch the Starlink 12-5 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Image: Spaceflight Now. Update June 2, 12:14 p.m. EDT: SpaceX scrubbed the Monday morning launch attempt and is now targeting Tuesday, June 3. SpaceX decided to scrub its plans to launch 23 Starlink satellites in the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning, though the company didn’t state a reason for the change in plans. The launch team is now targeting a liftoff of the Starlink 12-19 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday, June 3 at 12:29 a.m. EDT (0429 UTC). Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff. On Sunday, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 75 percent chance...

President Trump withdraws Isaacman nomination for NASA Administrator days before confirmation vote – Spaceflight Now

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SpaceX

President Trump withdraws Isaacman nomination for NASA Administrator days before confirmation vote – Spaceflight Now

Jared Isaacman, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next administrator of NASA, appears before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington. Image: NASA/Bill Ingalls Update May 31, 11:40 p.m. EDT: Added comments from President Trump and Jared Isaacman. In an abrupt about-face on Saturday, President Donald Trump pulled the nomination of his pick for the next person to lead NASA. His nomination was days away from a vote in front of the full U.S. Senate. The withdrawal of Jared Isaacman, an entrepreneur and commercial astronaut, came less than a day after NASA published its proposed budget, which fleshes out the deep cuts forecast in the “skinny budget” previously released. “I am incredibly ...