Rocket Report: SLS not available for science, OneWeb reaches milestone

Enlarge / Space shuttle Atlantis launched on Friday, July 8, 2011, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. This was the final launch of the space shuttle program. (credit: NASA)

Welcome to Edition 4.06 of the Rocket Report! After years and years of promises, the era of suborbital space tourism is really and truly upon us. What a weekend we have coming up in launch: Richard Branson is set to make his long-awaited spaceflight aboard the rocket-powered VSS Unity on Sunday morning. I'll be onsite, in New Mexico, to take in the scene and report back.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Astra unveils plans for growth as it goes public. One week has passed since Astra became a publicly traded stock as part of a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. (The company's stock, ASTR, is up about 10 percent during that time). In an interview with Ars, Astra CEO Chris Kemp said the company is using the funds raised from this transaction-about a half-billion dollars-to continue operations, accelerate growth toward a larger launch vehicle, and to become a space services company. The company's next launch of its Rocket 3 series is on track for later this summer, and there are plans for two more launches this year. The company hopes to reach a monthly cadence by the end of 2021, Kemp said, and it is targeting a total of 15 launches next year.

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