The nearly 10-ton-thrust Lieyan-2 firings exceeded the previous electric-pump-fed engine thrust record held by Rocket Lab’s Rutherford.

Jinhua-1 will be 27.5 meters tall and have two stages with a 2.25-meter diameter.

Spark Space’s manufacturing facility in Hefei National High-Tech Industry Development Zone has 10,000 square meters of space.

Spark Space used Deep Blue Aerospace’s test stands for Lieyan-2 engine firings.

Spark Space’s delegation visit included support for the company to make necessary breakthroughs in flying its electric-pump-fed engines.

Yunze Capital and Orbital Chenguang invested in Spark Space’s Pre-A funding round.

Spark Space markets Jinhua-1 for low-cost, high-reliability, rapid-response launches, smaller constellation satellites, and hypersonic testing.

Spark Space’s financing will support iterative development of the electric-pump-fed Lieyan-2 engine.

Jinhua-1 will weigh 72,500 kilograms at liftoff.

Lieyan-2 engine firings at Deep Blue Aerospace’s test stands reached nearly 10 tons of thrust.

Orbital Chenguang is affiliated with the Beijing Astro-Future Institute of Space Technology.

Jinhua-1’s first stage will use nine Lieyan-2 engines producing a combined 90 tons of thrust.

Spark Space’s financing will also support production of the Jinhua-1 launch vehicle.

Jinhua-1 is expected to make its first launch-pad appearance in 2027.

Spark Space plans to expand into neighboring buildings in Hefei during the year and add 20,000 square meters of space.

Spark Space has raised around 200 million Yuan in total capital.

Jiuquan Commercial Aerospace Development Co Ltd is among the organizations represented in the Jiuquan delegation that visited Spark Space.

Spark Space completed a Pre-A funding round on June 1 and raised almost 100 million Yuan.

Jinhua-1 customers will be able to choose a 2.25-meter or 3.35-meter diameter fairing.

Jinhua-1 will carry up to 1,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit or 1,000 kilograms to sun-synchronous orbit.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is being prepared for shipment to Cape Canaveral via NASA's Pegasus barge and is expected to arrive later in June 2026.

The next Falcon Heavy launch carrying NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled for no earlier than August 30, 2026.

Commercial LEO Destinations suppliers with executed Funded Space Act Agreements for Phase 2 scope have a documented NASA obligation.

NASA’s March 2026 Ignition restructuring of Commercial LEO Destinations shifted the program from certifying full commercial station operators to a government-owned core module model.

Vast, Axiom Space, Starlab, and Orbital Reef are the four active Commercial LEO Destinations developers affected by NASA’s Ignition framework.

Vast, Axiom Space, Starlab, and Orbital Reef are the four active Commercial LEO Destinations developers.

NASA’s core module is initially docked to the International Space Station.

Executed Funded Space Act Agreements for Commercial LEO Destinations Phase 2 scope give suppliers a documented NASA obligation and a negotiating floor in renegotiations.

Under NASA’s new Commercial LEO Destinations architecture, NASA owns and operates a core module that is initially docked to the International Space Station.

Commercial firms in the restructured Commercial LEO Destinations program will build add-on modules that attach to NASA’s core module.

NASA currently targets the International Space Station for decommissioning in 2030.

Starlab is a joint venture between Airbus and Voyager.

NASA restructured the Commercial LEO Destinations program in March 2026.

NASA shifted Commercial LEO Destinations from certifying commercial station operators to owning and operating a core module.

Commercial LEO Destinations suppliers that only ունեն letters of intent, teaming agreement invitations, or verbal commitments have no binding NASA obligation.

Letters of intent, teaming agreement invitations, and verbal commitments for Commercial LEO Destinations do not create a binding NASA obligation to suppliers.

Orbital Reef is a partnership between Blue Origin and Sierra Space.

Orbital Reef is a joint venture between Blue Origin and Sierra Space.

Commercial firms in NASA’s new Commercial LEO Destinations architecture will build add-on modules that attach to NASA’s core module.

The International Space Station is currently targeted for decommissioning in 2030.

CZ-12B stage 12A is undergoing grid fin installation.

CZ-12B uses a stage piston separation system with solid motors.

SubOrbital Express-5 provided twelve international scientific projects with more than six minutes of microgravity.

The European Space Agency funded several of the onboard experiments on SubOrbital Express-5.

SSC Space launched its SubOrbital Express-5 sounding rocket from the Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden.

The SubOrbital Express-5 experiment modules were developed over three years in collaboration with international researchers.

ULA plans to conduct a Wet Dress Rehearsal to verify ground support equipment with the smaller Centaur V stage.

Amazon Leo LV-01 is ULA's next Vulcan launch.

Amazon Leo LV-01 is expected to launch in summer 2026 after LA-08 in July 2026.

United Launch Alliance stacked the first 85K LEO-optimized Centaur V upper stage atop the Vulcan rocket for Amazon Leo LV-01.