Rocket Report: China wants a Raptor 3 engine; SpaceX set for big Starship test

Key Points:

• United Launch Alliance (ULA), once dominant in the US launch market, faces declining fortunes amid competition and reliance on expendable rockets, with hopes pinned on the upcoming Vulcan rocket and potential new ownership investment.
• Italian company Avio is gaining customers turned away by SpaceX’s Falcon 9, while advocating for European subsidies to offset higher launch costs; Vega C recently succeeded in launching two satellites simultaneously.
• China’s commercial space sector is rapidly growing, demonstrated by four launches in two days from various commercial and government-linked entities, signaling a shift from traditional Long March rockets.
• SpaceX achieved its 700th Falcon rocket launch with a mission for SES, and plans its first Starship orbital flight soon, aiming to deploy 26 Starlink satellites and mark a major milestone in Starship development.
• NASA awarded Blue Origin a $700 million Mars Telecommunications Network contract, but Rocket Lab protested the decision, highlighting tensions in the US space industry; meanwhile, Blue Origin is expanding propulsion technology research with the Air Force.