NASA’s Office of Inspector General released report IG-26-011 on April 24, 2026, as a formal audit of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

NASA returned Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon after an extended stay on the International Space Station.

Starliner’s propulsion anomalies during Crew Flight Test involved the service module’s Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control thruster system and helium pressurization subsystem.

Aerojet Rocketdyne supplies propulsion components to Boeing’s Starliner program.

NASA returned Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon after their extended stay on the International Space Station.

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner has been grounded since August 2024 after propulsion system anomalies during the Crew Flight Test mission.

NASA has not developed a comprehensive cost estimate for completing Boeing’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability certification.

Minister of Economic Affairs Vincent Karremans acknowledged that structurally low investment in ESA could lead the organisation to relocate parts of ESTEC activities to other countries.

The Netherlands formalised the Netherlands Space Agency’s mandate and added the Ministry of Defence to its steering committee for the first time.

The Netherlands Space Agency has five objectives, including improving Dutch space policy coordination and implementation, strengthening the country’s technological and scientific position, and building closer links between research, industrial, and innovation sectors.

The Netherlands Space Agency is tasked with identifying and addressing dependencies and vulnerabilities linked to the country’s space activities.

The Netherlands Space Agency’s steering committee includes the ministries responsible for economic affairs, infrastructure and water management, education, culture and science, and defence.

The Netherlands Space Office was rebranded as the Netherlands Space Agency (NLSA) on 3 March at the Amsterdam Space Symposium.

The Dutch Research Council is no longer required to remain involved in the Netherlands Space Agency’s governance.

The Netherlands Space Agency is jointly funded by the ministries responsible for economic affairs, infrastructure and water management, education, culture and science, and defence.

The Netherlands ultimately increased its commitment to ESA to €453.3 million at the Bremen conference.

Ahead of ESA’s Ministerial Council meeting in November 2025, the Netherlands’ cabinet proposed committing €344.3 million to ESA’s programmes for 2026 to 2028.

The Netherlands Space Agency remains part of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency within the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate.

The Netherlands Space Agency’s steering committee approves its multi-year programme, monitors its performance and spending, and oversees organisational decisions.

ESA director general Josef Aschbacher said the Dutch contribution to ESA was far below what he considered appropriate for the Netherlands.

The Netherlands Space Agency’s governance agreement and mandate were officially signed on 12 June and published in the Government Gazette on 6 July.

MRV-1 and the Mission Extension Pods will separately raise their orbits to geostationary orbit before rendezvousing there.

Northrop Grumman’s Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV-1) is scheduled to launch no earlier than July 21 at 21:15 UTC.

The Mission Robotic Vehicle will install Mission Extension Pods on satellites from Intelsat, SES, and Optus.

Northrop Grumman’s Mission Robotic Vehicle is scheduled to launch with SpaceX on Tuesday, July 21, at 5:15 pm ET.

MRV-1 will launch with three Mission Extension Pods.

Northrop Grumman’s Mission Robotic Vehicle is described as the United States’ first multi-mission robotic servicer in space.

Northrop Grumman built the Mission Robotic Vehicle in partnership with DARPA and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

Reflect Orbital plans to launch a constellation of 50,000 additional mirrors.

Reflect Orbital received an FCC license to fly its first in-space demo satellite, Eärendil-1.

Reflect Orbital’s debut flight is scheduled to fly this year.

Reflect Orbital’s core technology for Eärendil-1 is an 18-meter film reflector designed to beam sunlight down to Earth.

The FCC limited Reflect Orbital’s license to a single mission and declined to weigh in on environmental and astronomy concerns tied to the larger constellation.

Italy made a second request in four months for an extension of the deadline to operate its Sicral 3A and Sicral 3B military satellites.

Regulators rebuffed Italy’s request for an extension of the deadline to operate the Sicral 3A and Sicral 3B military satellites.

SpaceX says it has spent about $15 billion developing Starship.

Reaction Engines entered administration in October 2024.

Some Falcon 9 boosters have flown more than 30 times each.

Dawn Aerospace’s upcoming Mark II is designed to reach 100 kilometers of altitude with a 15-kilogram payload.

HOTOL used an engine that started as an air-breathing engine and later switched to a rocket engine.

The X-37B, China’s Shenlong, and Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser are spaceplanes that launch atop conventional rockets.

Reaction Engines received £6 million in funding in 2009.

Interim HOTOL used the Antonov An-225 as an air-launch platform.

Reaction Engines received £60 million from the UK government in 2013.

Alan Bond, John Scott Scott, and Richard Varvill founded Reaction Engines Ltd. in 1989.

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo and its successor SpaceShip are suborbital spaceplanes that air-launch.

Dawn Aerospace has developed Aurora in New Zealand.

China made its first booster recovery with the Long March 10B rocket last week.

Parker estimated that developing a spaceplane could cost up to 30 billion euros.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn has followed Falcon 9 in booster recovery and reuse.