Space News reports, “China launched its Long March 10B rocket early Friday and successfully recovered the first stage, marking a huge step for the country’s reusable rocket efforts. The first Long March 10B rocket lifted off at 12:15 a.m. Eastern (0415 UTC) July 10 from Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site on the southern island province of Hainan.”
Full Story (Space News)
Long March-10B first launch and landing (Launch occurs at the 00:43 mark)
SciNews; YouTube
Aviation News reports, “EHang has successfully completed the first flights of its EH216-S pilotless electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Switzerland. This milestone demonstration in Quinto, Ticino marks a significant step forward by proving the capability of autonomous aerial mobility in challenging environments.”
Full Story (Aviation News)
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX broke another rocket reuse record Thursday morning when it launched its most-flown Falcon 9 booster for a 36th time. It flew in support of the Starlink 10-42 mission, which added another 29 broadband internet satellites to the company’s low Earth orbit constellation.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (Launch occurs at the 1:00:20 mark)
Spaceflight Now; YouTube
Aviation Week reports, “Electric aircraft startup Electra.aero has partnered with fixed-base operator Signature Aviation and vertiport developer UrbanV to build the foundation for a point-to-point regional air mobility ecosystem.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Space News reports, “The U.S. Space Force is widening the field of companies eligible to compete for national security launch contracts, adding launch startup Relativity Space and orbital transportation company Impulse Space to a roster of commercial providers as it looks to diversify how military satellites reach orbit.”
Full Story (Space News)
Defense Daily reports, “As the Pentagon posits future confrontations involving advanced adversary aircraft and drone swarms, the U.S. Air Force wants rapid prototyping to develop and field 1,000 to 3,500 supersonic ground-launched counter air (GLCA) missiles with a unit cost of $500,00 or lower. Initially, the Counter Air Missile Program (CAMP) is to develop Enterprise Test Vehicles (ETVs) for the ground-launched counter air missiles.”
Full Story (Defense Daily – Subscription Publication)
Aviation Week reports, “NASA released a long-awaited draft solicitation July 6 for industry partners to design, build and operate a commercial space station in low Earth orbit (LEO) to succeed the International Space Station”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
SPACE reports, “A U.S. Space Force mission pitting two satellites against each other has completed the organization’s first tactical intercept of an orbital target.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Rocket Lab’s ‘VICTUS HAZE’ Launch (launch occurs at the 23:24 mark)
Rocket Lab; YouTube
Spaceflight Now reports the Starlink 17-46 mission flew on the 77th Falcon 9 rocket launch of the year. “Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened 7:57 p.m. PDT (10:57 p.m. EDT / 0257 UTC). The rocket flew on a south-southwesterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base (Launch occurs at the 29:58 mark)
Spaceflight Now; YouTube