Update on the launch status for three new rockets from Relativity, Rocket Lab, and PLD
Link here. The article describes in detail the present state of development for the three rockets, Relativity’s Terran-R, Rocket Lab’s Neutron, and PLD’s Miura-5.
In the case of Relativity and PLD, it appears both are still on schedule for their first launch before the end of the year.
In the case of Rocket Lab, the company is still targeting a launch before the end of the year, but that date is more questionable because “the program has experienced some hardware setbacks earlier in the year, including the loss of components originally intended for flight use.” In January 2026 the company lost a tank intended for flight during a pressure test. Though the company said it would provide an update in February, no such update has so far been issued.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
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