Every step to take-off counts

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CHONGQING, CHINA – MAY 06: In this photo illustration, the logo of Rocket Lab USA, Inc. is displayed on a smartphone screen.

Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Overview: Every step to take-off counts

Last week, Rocket Lab introduced Launch Complex 3 — the intended take-off pad of its Neutron rocket — located within the Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Neutron itself will arrive a little later to this party, with a first flight targeted this year – but the premiere of the launch site marks a major step for Rocket Lab specifically and for a space industry that’s overall hungry for further launch vehicles.

The company already produces the small-lift Electron launch vehicle, which was performing its first commercial flights by late 2018. The 141-foot-tall Neutron is an upgrade in scale: a medium-lift reusable rocket that burns liquid methane and oxygen designed to carry payloads up to 13,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit (LEO) and 1,500 kilograms for trips to Mars or Venus.

The market scale for global carrier rockets — which are designed to launch a payload on a particular route or orbit — is seen set to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9% between this year and 2034. Forgive the pun, but launch demand’s only risen meteorically, with payloads ranging from space exploration and research equipment to humans and defense and telecommunication satellites for fast-evolving networks.

For years, the industry bemoaned the limited scale of take-off capacity, with European Space Agency’s Director Josef Aschbacher last year acknowledging a “launcher crisis” in Europe that the agency sought to resolve with the launch of the Ariane-6.

Much of that world’s launch capacity is in the hands of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, whose take-off cadence last year exceeded that of both commercial competitors and national programs. In 2024, the company saw through more than 130 flights of its workhorse medium-lift Falcon 9, which reuses its first-stage booster and payload fairings. That’s just over half of the 259 orbital launches undertaken over the period globally — and could increase to more than 180 Falcon 9 launches this year, according to Musk’s estimate of December. An August launch even carried Kuiper satellites for Amazon, whose owner Jeff Bezos’ rival Blue Origin unleashed the New Glenn on its maiden orbital voyage in January.

It’s not taking away from SpaceX’s success story to acknowledge the drawbacks of overreliance on a single provider. Toward the middle of the year, U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to cancel government Musk’s government contracts in the midst of an explosive public row led the tech billionaire to fleetingly float the possibility of decommissioning SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft —  potentially stranding U.S. crew without a ride to and from the International Space Station at the time. The waters have calmed since, and SpaceX and NASA are continuing their partnership, but the incident’s driven home the critical downsides of market dominance. 

We’ve been over this: getting a brand new rocket model off the ground’s no feat for the feeble. Moscow’s still planning to push through the all-Russian Soyuz-5 by the end of the year, and Relativity Space’s reusable Terran R and Firefly Aerospace’s Eclipse are both currently penciled in for liftoff in 2026. Last month, our collective breaths were held as we watched intently whether the second-iteration Starship variant would prevail in the rocket’s 10th test flight, or face another fiery setback. (Elon Musk’s giant won the day.)

But, when the global satellite market is projected to expand seven-fold by 2035, it’s hard not to see why all eyes are glued when space companies reveal their latest and greatest in brand new rockets — or their launch pads.

What’s upCanada prepares its first lunar rover — Canadensys Aerospace is developing the first Canada-built rover to investigate the Moon — a “logical first step” for future space exploration ambitions, according to the company’s CEO. — BBC Senate hears NASA doubts over return to Moon timeline — A former NASA administrator told senators it was unlikely that the space agency would be able to put men back on the Moon ahead of Beijing, which has embarked on similar efforts.  — Space NewsESA spacecraft undertakes Venus flyby — The European Space Agency’s JUICE spacecraft has completed a Venus flyby en route to explore Jupiter’s icy moons and gather data about the planet’s Ganymede, Callisto and Europa moons. — Space.comIndustry maneuversTrump says Space Command HQ to move to Alabama — U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. Space Command’s headquarters will move to Alabama from Colorado, citing the latter state’s mail-in voting system. — NBC NewsWhite House axes labor unions at NASA — Washington has moved to eliminate collective bargaining rights for several government institutions, including NASA, citing national security. — White House executive orderMarket moversRocket Lab reveals new pad ahead of first Neutron rocket launch — Rocket Lab unveiled its new Launch Complex 3 pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, which will be used to test and launch the reusable Neutron rocket that could debut as soon as the end of the year. — Defense NewsAndoya Space, Rheinmetall to bolster efforts to boost satellite launch — Andoya Space and Rheinmetall have agreed to strengthen their combined efforts to bolster satellite launch and space capabilities. — Defence Industry EuropeNordSpace’s Taiga launch delayed by tech, weather issues — Ontario-based tech startup NordSpace has postponed the launch of its Taiga rocket — intended as the first ever commercial rocket take-off from Canadian soil — after a safety system fault and weather disruptions. The company will attempt again in September. — BetakitChina launches Mexican satellites — China’s CAS Space has launched two satellites from Tijuana-based startup ThumbSat as part of a seven-strong batch launched on the Kinetica-1 rocket. — South China Morning PostOn the horizonSept. 5 – SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to launch with Starlink satellites out of FloridaSept. 5 – Galactic Energy’s Ceres 1 to depart with an unknown payload out of Jiuquan, ChinaSept. 6 – SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to leave with Starlink satellites out of CaliforniaSept. 9 – CASC’s Long March 6a to launch with an unknown payload out of TaiyuanSept. 11 – Roscosmos’ Soyuz 2.1a to depart Baikonur, Kazakhstan, with supplies to the International Space Station