Yestertainment – The Cox .049: the engine that modern America banned
An evening pause: This bit of technological history with a sad ending.
Hat tip Blair Ivey.
Tag: competition
13th Starship/Superheavy launch goes almost perfectly
Starship/Superheavy, shortly after launch and looking
down at Boca Chica
SpaceX today successfully launched its Starship/Superheavy rocket on its 13th orbital test flight, during which the company was able to complete almost all of its planned tasks, as intended.
The only issue occurred when Superheavy ignited its engines for its landing burn a couple of miles off the coast of Texas. The plan was to fire 13 Raptor-3 engines. Instead, only ten lit initially. Almost immediately another two engines cut out, leaving eight firing, only for three more to shut down a few seconds later. The five working engines however were not enough to slow the booster enough for a soft splashdown. It instead continued to fire until the rocket hit the water hard.
In orbit, Starship successfully deployed 20 version-3 Starlink satellites, with the last two using cameras to photograph the ship’s exterior, as was done on the previous flight with the dummy satellites. Engineers were able to activate and communicate with all 20, and also link the satellites using communication lasers, before the satellites began breaking up in the atmosphere as their orbits decayed.
The ship then did a 14-second engine firing of one Raptor-3 engine, proving again that the engines can relight reliably once in orbit to accurately de-orbit Starship.
Starship afloat and intact after the flight
Finally, Starship completed a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean, once again proving that its thermal system works as planned. In fact, the splashdown was so soft and perfect that Starship fell sideways and then floated serenely on the ocean. On previous landings after splashing down vertically, the ship fell over hard and exploded. This time it remained afloat long enough for drones to get great imagery of the thermal tile system post landing. Even cameras inside the ship beamed back images. As noted by one announcer, the heat shield seemed “pretty intact. … You could count the number of missing tiles on one hand.” I would not be surprised if SpaceX manages to salvage the ship and bring it back to Boca Chica.
This success makes it very likely that the 14th test flight will be a full orbital test, lasting several orbits at least but more likely a full day.
The failure of several of Superheavy’s Raptor-3 three engines during the landing burn needs to be addressed, but this flight showed a significant improvement over the last flight, where multiple engines failed to light on both Superheavy and Starship after stage separation. The improvement suggests SpaceX’s engineers have a handle on this issue, and are making progress in fixing it. Based on the company’s multi-decade track record, once fixed it will not reappear ever again.
I predict that the next flight will take place no more then six weeks from now.
Though this flight did not complete a full orbit, I consider this an orbital success, because that low orbit was intentional. The rocket demonstrated the ability to reach orbit, and did so successfully. I thus add it to my launch count. The leaders in the 2026 launch race:
89 SpaceX
48 China
10 Rocket Lab (plus two suborbital HASTE launches)
10 Russia
For the third straight year SpaceX leads the entire world combined in total launches, 89 to 83.
Google owns 6% of SpaceX
Based on information in the most recent quarterly filing by Google’s parent company Alphabet, it owns about $94.1 billion in SpaceX stock, including both private and public investment, which according to the Wall Street Journal equals a 6% stake in the rocket company.
Of the total holding, approximately $80 billion remains subject to short-term post-IPO lockup restrictions, preventing near-term sales. An additional $14.1 billion faces longer-term restrictions, extending into the third quarter of 2027. This structure limits immediate liquidity but protects against market volatility as SpaceX transitions into public trading.
The SpaceX position contributed significantly to gains in Alphabet’s broader investment portfolio, which also includes a major stake in AI leader Anthropic. Combined, these holdings helped drive nearly $100 billion in investment gains during the second quarter, providing a substantial boost to net income amid ongoing AI spending pressures.
This revelation tells us that Google was one of the earlier investors in Starlink and Starship, making it possible for SpaceX to build the rocket with private funds and no government aid. It is also evidence that a major shift has been going on at Google since since 2017, when its woke/leftist employees forced the firing of an employee for criticizing the company’s leftist bias. Throughout the Covid panic the company also took action to squelch conservative free speech.
After Covid however there appeared to be a shift towards the middle at Google, though the company was still censoring political content it didn’t like. This major investment in SpaceX in recent years suggests that some common sense has percolated back into the company’s upper management.
Japan’s lunar lander startup Ispace wins $74 million contract from Europe
Artist rendering of Ispace’s Ultra lunar lander
Only a little more than a week after NASA canceled a major lunar lander contract with the Japan’s lunar lander startup Ispace, the company’s European division has won a $74 million lunar lander contract from the European Space Agency (ESA).
The agreement represents ESA’s commitment to funding MAGPIE, Europe’s first lunar polar ice exploration rover and its flight. MAGPIE will investigate the Moon’s south polar region, advancing scientific understanding of lunar volatiles, water ice stability and regolith properties while supporting future resource prospecting to enable lunar exploration.
The contract, valued at €65 million, funds the full remaining delivery of the MAGPIE mission, including rover and payload development, manufacture, testing, transportation to the lunar surface and lunar surface operations.
MAGPIE will fly on Ispace’s planned fourth mission, scheduled for a 2029 launch and already under construction. That lander, dubbed Ultra, is being funded by Japan’s Space Strategy Fund (designed to encourage Japanese private enterprise). This new contract apparently provides it a European payload.
China launches five classified satellites
China today successfully placed five classified satellites into orbit, its solid-fueled Kinetica-1 rocket (also called Lijian-1) lifting off from its Jiuquan spaceport in northwest China.
China’s state-run press provided no information about the satellites, not even mentioning their names. That state-run press also said nothing about where the rocket’s lower stages crashed inside China.
The leaders in the 2026 launch race:
88 SpaceX
48 China
10 Rocket Lab (plus two suborbital HASTE launches)
10 Russia
For the third straight year SpaceX leads the entire world combined in total launches, 88 to 83.
Watching the 13th orbital test flight of SpaceX’s Starship/Superheavy
Starship/Superheavy at T-4:00 minutes on July 16th.
Click for source.
UPDATE: Delayed 24 hours due to weather. Now scheduled for 5:45 pm (Central) on July 24th. More specifically, the weather above the Gulf was too cloudy for good observations of Starship’s heat shield during ascent. The company decided to delay until tomorrow, when conditions is expected to be “ideal.”
Originally posted July 19, 2026. Bumped to today, the launch date.
Original post:
————————–
Now that SpaceX has confirmed the launch date for the 13th orbital test flight of Starship/Superheavy for July 20, 2026 July 23, 2026 July 24, 2026, with a 90-minute launch window beginning at 5:45 pm (Central), it is time to provide my readers with the many ways they can watch the launch. I have embedded several live streams below. SpaceX’s live steam can be found here. I have embed it below:
Watch Starship's thirteenth flight test https://t.co/qkYYJiX24h
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 23, 2026
The flight plan remains the same as last week, a low orbit that will bring the ship down in the Indian Ocean. The main goals are to test the Raptor-3 engines, bring Superheavy back as planned, relight a Raptor-3 engine in orbit, and test the ship’ thermal tile system during re-entry. In addition, the company will attempt to deploy 20 actual Starlink satellites rather than dummies.
» Read more
Local officials in Louisiana hold meeting about possibility of SpaceX spaceport
Pecan Island SpaceX facility?
A state senator and local realtor yesterday held a public meeting — attended by hundreds — to describe the ramifications to the community should SpaceX or some other big space company establish a spaceport in Vermilion Parish, where the unincorporated village of Pecan Island is located, as shown on the map to the right.
Hundreds of residents gathered at the Erath Community Center to hear from state Sen. Bob Hensgens of Abbeville and local realtor Jim Keaty about the possibility of aerospace development — potentially involving SpaceX — coming to Vermilion Parish, with both men acknowledging the rumors while stopping short of confirming any deal.
Hensgens, a Republican representing District 26, opened the meeting of the Abbeville Rotary Club by making clear the limits of what he knew. “I wanna thank y’all for coming and, and I wanna start off the statement by saying I know no details of any hyper deal economic development in Vermilion Parish right now,” he said. “But like the rest of my constituents, I’ve heard over the last six months the rumors,” he added.
Realtor Jim Keaty added some advice for businesses in the construction trade.
He said those working in construction-related trades in Acadiana may want to prepare now, noting that SpaceX already accepts applications from prospective vendors. “If I was into construction and I was in a trade, like electrical engineer or a contractor, I certainly would try to apply to become a vendor for SpaceX,” he added.
Keaty is the realtor who first revealed the rumors in May. At this moment however nothing is confirmed. SpaceX has not made any firm statement about Louisiana or the 200-plus squaire-mile plot owned by Exxon that is appears to be for sale. Nor has any state official, all of whom like Hensgens say they have no confirmed information about a deal.
Starlink now available in the Seychelles Islands off the eastern coast of Africa
Starlink has now offering terminals to citizens of the Seychelles Islands, located about 800 miles east of Africa.
Starlink has launched commercial satellite internet services in Seychelles, expanding its footprint to 28 African countries. Unlike its previous African markets, Seychelles already has one of the continent’s highest internet penetration rates and affordable broadband.
The one tidbit of information from this story that struck me was its claim that 28 African nations have approved Starlink. I had not thought it was that high, considering the number of stories of African governments opposing the SpaceX company.
China launches a communications satellite for its manned space program
China last night successfully launched a communications satellite used by its manned space program, its Long March 3B rocket lifting off from its Xichang spaceport in southwest China.
No mention was made in China’s state-run press as to the crash sites of the rocket’s lower stages, which use very toxic hypergolic fuels.
The leaders in the 2026 launch race:
88 SpaceX
47 China
10 Rocket Lab (plus two suborbital HASTE launches)
10 Russia
For the third straight year SpaceX leads the entire world combined in total launches, 88 to 82.
Chinese pseudo-company launches nine satellites from ocean platform
The Chinese pseudo-company Orienspace today successfully placed nine satellites into orbit, its solid-fueled Gravity-1 rocket lifting off from an ocean platform off the coast of northeast China.
This was the third launch of Gravity-1, all successful. Though supposedly privately designed and built, solid-fueled rockets are routinely used for military missiles. It is thus very likely this “company” was closely supervised by China’s military in developing the rocket, which also likely controls its actions in all ways.
The leaders in the 2026 launch race:
88 SpaceX
46 China
10 Rocket Lab (plus two suborbital HASTE launches)
10 Russia
For the third straight year SpaceX leads the entire world combined in total launches, 88 to 81.
Rocket Lab wins another War Department suborbital contract, worth $266 million
The War Department yesterday announced it has awarded Rocket Lab a second big contract, worth $266 million, for launching its HASTE suborbital version of its Electron rocket.
Rocket Lab USA Inc., Long Beach, California, has been awarded a $266,000,000 firm-fixed-price completion contract for suborbital launch. This contract provides for the launch of 12 suborbital launch vehicles, with six optional launches. Work will be performed at Pacific Spaceport Complex, Alaska, and is expected to be completed by Dec.31, 2028. [emphasis mine]
This deal is on top of a $190 million Pentagon contract Rocket Lab got in March 2026 to do 20 HASTE suborbital hypersonic launches.
Though the announcement does not specifically say the new contract adds 12 HASTE launches to the total, it is the only way Rocket Lab can do suborbital missions. The announcement also carries one very interesting additional detail, as indicated by the highlighted sentence. Rocket Lab presently has launchpads in New Zealand and Wallops Island, Virginia. To launch HASTE from Alaska would require a new pad entirely.
The location however would provide the military greater security and secrecy. Suborbital launches from Wallops are difficult if not impossible to hide. For example, Rocket Lab tried very hard to limit any information about a HASTE launch in April, but the public knew about as it happened. Suborbital launches from Alaska however could occur without anyone knowing. It also might provide the military a hypersonic launch site that could reach Russia and China.
Hat tip to BtB’s stringer Jay.
Northrop Grumman writes off $91 million because of its solid-fueled booster nozzle failures
Nozzle failure during February 12, 2026 Vulcan launch
In releasing its second-quarter earnings report, Northrop Grumman revealed it has taken a charge of $91 million as a result of the repeated nozzle failures on its GEM 63XL solid-fueled boosters, used by ULA on its Vulcan rocket.
This charge against earnings is on top of a write off of $71 million in the first quarter, for the same reasons.
ULA is itself losing many millions as well, as it can’t launch and earn revenue. Worse, some customers have begun switching to other launch providers, eliminating that revenue completely.
As for fixing the nozzle issue:
Neither Northrop nor ULA has disclosed details about the cause of the anomaly. In an earnings call, Kathy Warden, president and chief executive of Northrop Grumman, said the company had taken unspecified “corrective actions” that included new components for the motor. “We progressed on the root cause investigation on the GEM 63XL program, and we are implementing corrective actions to address the anomaly we experienced on a launch in the first quarter,” she said. “These include a component redesign, which has now been proven in a successful static-fire test.”
However, she indicated that the redesigned motors may not be delivered for several months. “We expect to begin delivering the redesigned motors by the end of the year,” she said.
This delay also impacts Amazon and its Leo constellation, which awarded ULA a 39-launch contract for launching its Leo satellites. Amazon only has 396 satellites in orbit, and has to get more than 2,660 launched by July 30, 2029 to meet its FCC license. Without those Vulcan launches the company will be hard-pressed to make that date.
SpaceX launches Northrop Grumman’s MRV robotic servicing satellite
In doing its second launch in less than eight hours, SpaceX today successfully placed Northrop Grumman’s Mission Robotic Vehicle-1 (MRV) into orbit, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Florida.
The MRV carries three Mission Extension Pods (MEPs), each assigned to attach to a different geosynchronous satellite to provide them fuel and power and extend their life for up to eight years. Two pods will attach to two Intelsat satellites, and the third will attach to an Australian Optus communications satellite. Though Northrop has done this kind of extension mission before, this is the first time it is launching an MRV with multiple pods. Previous robots, dubbed Mission Extension Vehicles (MEV), attached to only one satellite per mission.
The rocket’s two fairings completed their 7th and 31st flights respectively. The first stage (B1069) completed its 32nd flight (81 days after its previous mission). Because of the fuel required to get the MRV to geosynchronous orbit where its target satellites are located, the first stage was not recovered. Instead it splashed down in the Atlantic. The flight however solidified the booster’s position in sixth place in the rankings for the most reused launch vehicle:
39 Discovery space shuttle (retired)
36 Falcon 9 booster B1067
35 Falcon 9 booster B1071
33 Atlantis space shuttle (retired)
33 Falcon 9 booster B1063
32 Falcon 9 booster B1069 (retired)
29 Falcon 9 booster B1077
29 Falcon 9 booster B1078
The leaders in the 2026 launch race:
88 SpaceX
45 China
10 Rocket Lab (plus two suborbital HASTE launches)
10 Russia
For the third straight year SpaceX leads the entire world combined in total launches, 88 to 80.
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.
Australia’s leftist government issues a new policy statement on space
The leftist Labor party that is presently running Australia’s government today issued a new policy statement on the nation’s space industry, focused on trying to encourage its growth.
You can read the statement here [pdf]. Though it is mostly filled with meaningless bureaucratic and leftist jargon, including an an “acknowledgement” of the primary land rights of the aborginal population (or as it calls them, “the many nations of First Peoples”), the statement has one item at the very end that suggests this government recognizes its bureaucracy is slowing development.
After many pages of gobbly-gook that has little substance in reality, that last action item is the following:
Action: Advance regulation and international governance:
- Evolve domestic regulatory frameworks to support current and emerging
Australian space activities, ensuring safety, security and national interests
while enabling entrepreneurship and innovation.- Shape international governance by contributing to global rules and norms
for the safe and sustainable use of outer space.
It appears the Labor government recognizes the regulatory framework in Australia is slowing development, and is at least willing to say it wishes to fix the issue. At the same time, it also vows its continuing allegiance to international globalist regulations and the need to make space “safe and sustainable.”
These two goals are generally opposed to each other. How Labor will square this circle is quite unclear, but at least it appears it is aware of the regulatory issues. Its ability to fix them however will I think be hampered by that party’s very “woke” focus. For example, the statement opens by endorsing ancient aboriginal religious beliefs, but never once recognizes the very basic western values of private property and law that built the country that presently exists.
SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites
SpaceX this morning successfully placed another 24 Starlink satellites into orbit, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The first stage (B1082) completed its 23rd flight (51 days after its previous mission), landing on a drone ship in the Pacific.
The leaders in the 2026 launch race:
87 SpaceX
45 China
10 Rocket Lab (plus two suborbital HASTE launches)
10 Russia
For the third straight year SpaceX leads the entire world combined in total launches, 87 to 80.
SpaceX plans a second launch later today, to place Northrop Grumman’s Mission Robotic Vehicle-1 (MRV) into orbit. The MRV-1 is the first of that company’s next generation of robotic servicing spacecraft. It carries three pods that the company has contracts to deploy to dock with three different geosynchronous satellites and extend their life.
A launch later today by a Chinese pseudo-company is also expected, though this schedule is not as certain.
Another bad indicator relating to the UK’s space effort
A space junk removal demo mission first proposed in 2024 by the United Kingdom’s space agency has apparently missed a deadline for issuing the final contract award to one of two startups to fly the mission.
The UK Space Agency has missed a deadline to award a £75.6 million contract for the country’s first mission to capture and remove dead satellites from low Earth orbit.
A call for Phase 3 of the mission’s development was published in July 2025, with the contract initially expected to be awarded by 30 March 2026. However, in its final annual report as an independent entity, published on 14 July, UKSA admitted that the contract award had been delayed. The agency is now targeting summer 2026 but has not explained the reason for the delay or provided a more precise timetable.
The two companies are Astroscale (based in Japan with a UK division) and Clearspace, which has been attempting to launch a junk removal mission for the European Space Agency now for almost a decade, with nothing getting off the ground.
This delay should not be a surprise. The Labor government that is presently in power has been in the process of shutting down the space agency, even as it has allocated a half billion dollars for space-related government projects. It has also done nothing to eliminate the red tape that is squelching its private space industry.
It thus makes great sense that this contract hasn’t been issued. For one, the bureaucracy involved is probably in chaos as the Labor government rearranges deck chairs. For another, there is probably little interest by the private sector to do any work in the UK, because the red tape there is stifling, and has already bankrupted two rocket startups and one spaceport. It is very possible both companies declined to bid. Or if they did, the confusion in the government made any decisions impossible.
India’s government invests approximately $7 million in home-grown satellite company
In a complicated arrangement involving the Indian government and an Indian venture capital firm, the Indian satellite company Dhruva announced last week that it obtained approximately $7 million in private investment.
The money comes out of a government investment fund of just under $200 million — dubbed the Antariksh Venture Capital Fund — established by the agency IN-SPACe but administered by the venture capital company SIDBI Venture Capital Limited. Unlike India’s space agency ISRO — which has for decades run India’s entire space program — IN-SPACe is focused on encouraging a competitive and independent private space sector.
This was the first investment in that government investment fund, coming just before the first successful launch this past weekend by a private Indian rocket company, Skyroot. Besides building satellites, Dhruva appears to also act as a satellite aggregator, obtaining launch services from rocket companies for other satellite companies and then serving to integrate and deploy their satellites. With this investment the company now has $330 million in capital in hand.
It is a bit puzzling why this first investment went to a satellite company, rather than a rocket startup, of which India has several. For India’s space sector to really grow, it needs home-grown commercial rockets. Satellites can’t reach orbit without rockets.
Russia launches 2nd set of Rassvet satellites
Russia today successfully launched 16 more Rassvet satellites as part of its own Starlink-type internet constellation, its Soyuz-2 rocket lifting off from its Plesetsk spaceport in northeast Russia.
This launch was originally scheduled for April but never occurred. Furthermore, Russia issued multiple flight plans for this launch covering a period of 24 hours, all likely designed to prevent the Ukraine from targeting the actual launch with drones. The Ukraine considers this constellation a direct military threat, and it appears it has attempted to use drones to attack Plesetsk during earlier launches.
With this launch the Rassvet constellation has 31 satellites in orbit. It is being built by Bureau (Buro) 1440, a so-called private company in Russia, which hopes to get the full 700+ satellite constellation in orbit by 2035.
The leaders in the 2026 launch race:
86 SpaceX
45 China
10 Rocket Lab (plus two suborbital HASTE launches)
10 Russia
For the third straight year SpaceX leads the entire world combined in total launches, 86 to 80.
SpaceX: 13th Starship/Superheavy test orbital launch now set for July 23, 2026
UPDATE: Less than a few hours after I posted this announcement, SpaceX changed the launch date from July 20th to July 23rd. The post below now reflects that change.
SpaceX today issued an update confirming the company’s intention to launch Starship/Superheavy on its 13th test orbital launch July 23, 2026, one week after the rocket had a launch abort at T-0 seconds.
The 90-minute launch window opens at 5:45 pm (Central).
The update describes the mission, which remains unchanged from last week, but provides no details as to what the company has done to correct the issue that caused four Raptor-3 engines in Superheavy to misfire. Previously Musk had indicated they would replace two engines, but no further information has as yet been released.
Regardless, it is clear the company is pushing hard to complete this launch, as it wishes to go to full orbital test flights on the next mission.