~4 minutes

WASHINGTON — German launch startup Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) says it is planning its first launch for this summer after delivering two of its stages to the launch site.

RFA announced March 6 that the first and second stages of its RFA ONE rocket had arrived at SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland, ahead of a launch planned for some time this summer.

The first stage was shipped to the spaceport directly from the company’s factory in Augsburg, Germany, while the second stage came from a test site in Esrange, Sweden, where the company performed a hot-fire test of its single engine.

While the first stage is now at SaxaVord, its nine Helix engines are not. RFA said those engines are still undergoing final acceptance testing in Sweden and will be shipped to SaxaVord once that testing is complete.

The company said integration and “further testing” of the vehicle is planned at SaxaVord before the launch, but did not elaborate. That will likely include hot-fire tests of the first stage on the launch pad once its engines are installed.

It was during similar tests in August 2024 that another RFA ONE first stage, intended for a launch then weeks away, was destroyed in a fire. The company said days after the incident that one engine suffered a “very unusual” anomaly that caused a fire to break out, spreading to others.

“Following the incident in 2024, we thoroughly reviewed, analyzed and tested everything and improved the systems to achieve even greater reliability,” Stefan Brieschenk, chief development officer at RFA, said in a statement. “The arrival of our first and second stages at the SaxaVord spaceport is proof of our team’s commitment and expertise.”

RFA is one of several startups in Europe developing small launch vehicles seeking to reach orbit in the next year. Isar Aerospace attempted the first orbital launch of its Spectrum rocket last March, but the rocket malfunctioned and crashed near its launch pad in Andøya, Norway, shortly after liftoff. The company is planning a second launch as soon as March 19.

PLD Space, which announced March 4 it raised 180 million euros ($209 million), is working on its Miura 5 small launch vehicle, which is slated for a first launch before the end of the year from French Guiana. French company MaiaSpace is also developing a small launch vehicle now expected to make its first launch from French Guiana in early 2027.

All four companies won funding from European Space Agency member states at the agency’s ministerial conference in November as part of the European Launcher Challenge. RFA received 190.5 million euros, primarily from Germany. A fifth company, Orbex, was also part of the European Launcher Challenge, but the company filed for bankruptcy in the United Kingdom in February.

6–7 minutes

HELSINKI — China has designated aerospace to be an “emerging pillar industry” in a draft national economic plan, also setting major objectives for the five years ahead.

The designation appeared in the annual government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Qiang at the opening of the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing March 5. The report says China will “foster emerging pillar industries such as integrated circuits, aviation and aerospace, biomedicine and the low-altitude economy,” placing aerospace alongside sectors considered central to the country’s long-term technological and industrial development.

These are sectors expected to become foundational drivers of economic growth, likely meaning they will benefit from strong policy support, state financing and industrial development programs. The move suggests Beijing intends to expand the space sector beyond strategic state programs toward a larger industrial ecosystem encompassing launch services, satellites and downstream data applications.

The Work Report also stated China would “encourage central government enterprises and other state-owned enterprises to take the lead in making application scenarios more accessible.” China’s main space contractor, CASC, earlier this year indicated plans to push into emerging domains such as space resources and on-orbit digital infrastructure during the 15th Five-year plan period (2026-2030).

This move appears to align with the recent emergence of the concept of “space+” in China, which envisions space treated less as a separate, standalone sector, and more as an enabling infrastructure to be integrated with other economic and strategic domains and national priorities.

Commercial aerospace was previously identified as a strategic emerging industry in recent government work reports, indicating policy support for the sector’s development. The designation as an emerging pillar industry suggests a further elevation of its importance.

Deep space ambitions

The NPC is part of China’s annual political sessions, held in March each year in Beijing. Once every five years, the NPC approves a new Five-year plan, outlining the country’s objectives and strategy for the coming five years. A draft of China’s 15th Five Year-plan national economic plan, covering the period 2026-2030, has circulated online following the opening of the NPC. The draft will be debated ahead of official approval later in the Congress.

An unofficial translated draft of the 15th Five-year plan posted online by NPC Observer, an independent research website, shows a number of space-related programs and objectives.

A column on frontier technology breakthroughs, including the areas of AI, quantum science and biotechnology, includes a segment on China’s deep space ambitions. The passage identifies implementing a second phase of planetary exploration projects, near-earth asteroid defense projects and solar system edge exploration projects.

China launched its second interplanetary mission, Tianwen-2, in May 2025, with the spacecraft now approaching the near-Earth asteroid Kamoʻoalewa. Tianwen-3 is a Mars sample return mission scheduled to launch in late 2028, while Tianwen-4, slated for around 2030, will target Jupiter. The country has also announced plans for a planetary defense mission around 2027. SpaceNews reported earlier this year that plans for dual solar system boundary missions were advancing, with the draft text suggesting this is now close to approval.

The section on deep space also notes objectives to develop reusable heavy-lift launch vehicles. This could refer to the Long March 10 series and larger Long March 9. The text also notes the construction of an international lunar research station (ILRS) and “implementation of lunar exploration projects.” The latter may be a reference to China’s stated objective of landing its first astronauts on the moon before 2030.

Satellite internet, commercial space

China will also comprehensively advance satellite internet, according to the draft, including the launch segment and satellite constellations. Plans include constructing what is termed an integrated sky-Earth-ground, communication-navigation-sensing-computing fused comprehensive service system. China has previously signaled an intent to build a unified national space infrastructure architecture, though this latest statement includes the addition of computing, following the emergence of Chinese plans to establish orbital data centers. It will also expand applications and internationalization of the Beidou navigation system, with the first new-generation Beidou satellites to launch around 2027.

A section on commercial space calls for breakthroughs related to space-based computing, rocket and satellite design and reusable launchers, formation flying and space situation awareness.

While not approved, the draft provides an early indication of China’s key objectives for space up to 2030. A space white paper, published by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), typically follows later in the year after the approval of a new Five-year plan, which will provide a more detailed outline of China’s plans to the end of the decade and beyond.

5–6 minutes

WASHINGTON — Commercial space station developer Vast has raised $500 million in its first significant outside investment round.

Vast announced March 5 it has closed a $300 million Series A equity round along with $200 million in debt. The round was led by Balerion Space Ventures with participation from IQT, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Mitsui & Co., MUFG, Nikon, Stellar Ventures, Space Capital and Earthrise Ventures.

The company had been funded until now by Jed McCaleb, the cryptocurrency billionaire who founded the company. McCaleb also participated in the new round.

“Vast was founded with a long-term vision of billions of people living and thriving in space. Achieving a goal of this magnitude requires deliberate steppingstones, and our strategy of building, testing and iterating with real hardware is delivering results,” McCaleb said in a statement. “It is exciting to welcome additional investors who recognize Vast’s long-term potential and share our belief in making this vision a reality.”

Before the new funding round, Vast had invested more than $1 billion into building up the company and developing a line of commercial space stations. The company, based in Long Beach, California, now has more than 1,000 employees.

The company is currently building Haven-1, a single-module space station scheduled to launch in early 2027. It is intended to be a precursor to the multi-module Haven-2 station the company intends to offer NASA through the agency’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations, or CLD, program.

“Our key differentiator is that we don’t believe we can start with that,” Max Haot, chief executive of Vast, said of Haven-2 during a panel discussion at the ASCENDxTexas conference Feb. 25. “We believe we need steppingstones to make sure it’s safe and also to make sure that we prove to ourselves and our partners that we can do it.”

Vast launched last year Haven Demo, a small satellite to test key subsystems planned for use on Haven-1. Haot said at the conference that the company safely deorbited the spacecraft in recent weeks after completing those on-orbit tests.

The company also won Feb. 12 a private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, scheduled for no earlier than mid-2027. It will be similar to those flown by another commercial space station developer, Axiom Space, which has completed four such missions and has an award for a fifth in early 2027.

Vast and other commercial space station developers are waiting for NASA to release the final request for proposals (RFP) for the second phase of the CLD program. Delays in the release of that procurement was one reason cited in a NASA authorization bill approved by the Senate Commerce Committee March 4 for extending the life of the ISS by two years, to the end of 2032.

“The RFP should come out when [NASA Administrator] Jared Isaacman and potentially the White House and other stakeholders are ready,” Haot said at the conference. “I think there’s some urgency, but I think Jared and them team will get it out as soon as they can.”

On that panel, which included representatives of several other space station developers, Haot said that Vast was counting on NASA and other space agencies for much of the initial business for its space stations, rather than emerging markets like microgravity manufacturing or pharmaceutical research.

“In the long term, we all want the LEO economy to thrive. We want to be making drugs in space,” he said. “In our internal projections, in our fundraising and our business model, we have close to zero dollars for the LEO economy in the next five years.”

“We need to be profitable on the current market,” he said, which he described as NASA and other Western ISS partners, along with a “growth market” of emerging space agencies and a small number of “self-funded” individuals.

The Vast round comes less than a month after Axiom Space raised $350 million. That round was co-led by QIA, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, who also participated in the Vast round.

As part of the Vast round, A.C. Charania, a Balerion adviser and former NASA chief technologist, will join the board of Vast.

“With its impressive hardware and expertise, Vast is the only operational commercial space station company to have designed, built and flown its own spacecraft, Haven Demo,” Charania said in a statement.

“Haven stations will play a critical role in sustaining a continuous human presence in orbit and the LEO economy while providing nations around the world the opportunity to strengthen leadership in space,” he added.

4–5 minutes

WASHINGTON — The third launch of a small launch vehicle developed by a Japanese company failed shortly after liftoff March 4, raising questions about the rocket’s future.

A Kairos rocket lifted off from Spaceport Kii in southern Honshu at 9:10 p.m. Eastern. This was the third launch attempt after weather postponed a Feb. 28 effort and an issue with a safety system scrubbed a second attempt March 3.

The solid-fuel rocket ascended from the pad and initially appeared to be flying normally. However, about 70 seconds after liftoff, an energetic event became visible in the rocket’s plume. Several fragments appeared, including one large piece that was clearly tumbling.

In a social media post, Space One, the company that operates Kairos, said it activated the rocket’s flight termination system after it “determined that mission success was difficult,” according to a machine translation. The company did not immediately disclose additional details about the problem that triggered the termination of the launch.

This is the third failure in as many attempts for Kairos, a rocket designed to place up to 150 kilograms into sun-synchronous orbit. The first Kairos launch, in March 2024, failed seconds after liftoff in a spectacular explosion. Space One later said underperformance of the rocket’s first-stage motor triggered the flight termination system.

The second Kairos launch took place in December 2024. On that flight, the rocket appeared to lose attitude control about a minute and a half after liftoff. Space One determined that a failure in the thrust vector control system, which adjusts the position of the nozzle, caused the rocket to tumble.

This launch was carrying five small satellites from Japanese companies and organizations as well as the Taiwanese space agency.

The failure raises questions about the future of Kairos and Space One, whose investors include Canon and IHI Aerospace. Despite failures on the first two Kairos launches, Space One, working with Space BD, won a contract from the Japan Ministry of Defense in May 2025 for the dedicated launch of a small optical imaging satellite.

The failure is the latest in a series of setbacks for Japan’s launch industry. The country’s flagship launch vehicle, the H3, suffered a launch failure in December that an initial investigation linked to an issue during separation of the rocket’s payload fairing. The shock of the fairing separation may have damaged both the upper stage and the satellite payload, causing the satellite to prematurely separate from the upper stage.

The smaller Epsilon rocket has been grounded since an October 2022 launch failure. The Epsilon program has also suffered failures of upgraded solid rocket motors in two static-fire tests in July 2023 and November 2024. Those setbacks led the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in October 2025 to purchase two launches of Rocket Lab’s Electron for satellites originally slated to fly on Epsilon.

4–5 minutes

HELSINKI — Chinese launch firm CAS Space is preparing for the inaugural launch of its reusable Kinetica-2 liquid rocket in late March, carrying a prototype cargo spacecraft.

Launch of the Kinetica-2 is now scheduled for late March from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, according to Chinese outlet Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily. The flight will carry a prototype of the Qingzhou-1 cargo spacecraft developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAMCAS).

Qingzhou-1 is one of two low-cost space station resupply spacecraft being developed under a program initiated by China’s human spaceflight agency, CMSEO, to support the Tiangong space station. A full version of the spacecraft is currently also being produced. CAS Space itself is a commercial spinoff from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Kinetica-2 is a 53-meter-long launcher with three 3.35m-diameter core stages. Its core stages each use three YF‑102 kerosene-liquid oxygen engines developed by state-owned space giant CASC. It is designed to carry up to 12,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit or around 7,800 kg to a 500-kilometer-altitude sun-synchronous orbit, with plans for reusability.

The entire CAS Space team wishes you a healthy and prosperous Year of the Horse – Galloping Through the Stars, Soaring Across the Heavens 🐎🚀
马载星途 箭啸九天 金驹辞岁，载星途荣光归航 福马迎春，赴天穹新程再启

航天事业从无停歇 正如新春灯火长明不熄 探索脚步永不止步… pic.twitter.com/SxuegTWSko

— CAS Space (@cas_space) February 16, 2026

CAS Space performed a hot fire test of the Kinetica-1 first stage in June 2025, targeting an inaugural launch that fall, before the launch was apparently pushed back. It plans three further Kinetica-2 launches across the rest of 2026, including internet megaconstellation launches and other major national missions, according to the report.

The company is already regularly flying its smaller Kinetica-1 solid rocket. CAS Space aims to launch the Kinetica-1 no fewer than eight times across 2026, including two sea launches. The rocket has flown 11 times with one failure. CAS Space conducted its first suborbital launch and capsule landing test in January, in a step towards establishing a space tourism service.

Chinese launch activities have paused in recent weeks due to Chinese New Year celebrations and holidays. The most recent activity saw an in-flight abort test for the new–generanation Mengzhou spacecraft, which doubled as a simulated first stage orbital flight test for the Long March 10A, which ended with a successful powered descent and splashdown landing test for reusability. This was followed by a Jielong-3 launch of a remote sensing satellite for Pakistan Feb. 12.

Kinetica-2 is one of a number of new, potentially reusable Chinese rockets set to debut in 2026, bringing new capabilities and signaling a further increase in launch cadence.