The Long March 8A conducted its eighth flight downrange over the South China Sea.
The 8th Long March 8A going downrange over the South China Sea: Mar 12, 2026 A video captured the LM-8A launch from the back of the launch pad.
View of the LM-8A launch from the back of the pad: Mar 12, 2026 The LM-8A launch occurred on March 12, 2026.
View of the LM-8A launch from the back of the pad: Mar 12, 2026 The first two Shiyan 30 satellites previously launched on September 29, 2025.
As for the Xichang launch, it's also successful & it's an old friend: satellites 03 & 04 of some experimental thingy named Shiyan 30 for "Earth observation technological testing and validation", on an LM-2D at 22:33 UTC. The previous 2 went up on September 29 last year. Mar 12, 2026 The Xichang launch successfully placed Shiyan 30 satellites 03 and 04 on orbit.
As for the Xichang launch, it's also successful & it's an old friend: satellites 03 & 04 of some experimental thingy named Shiyan 30 for "Earth observation technological testing and validation", on an LM-2D at 22:33 UTC. The previous 2 went up on September 29 last year. Mar 12, 2026 Shiyan 30 is an experimental Earth observation program for technological testing and validation.
As for the Xichang launch, it's also successful & it's an old friend: satellites 03 & 04 of some experimental thingy named Shiyan 30 for "Earth observation technological testing and validation", on an LM-2D at 22:33 UTC. The previous 2 went up on September 29 last year. Mar 12, 2026 Shiyan 30 satellites 03 and 04 were launched on a Long March 2D (LM-2D) rocket at 22:33 UTC.
As for the Xichang launch, it's also successful & it's an old friend: satellites 03 & 04 of some experimental thingy named Shiyan 30 for "Earth observation technological testing and validation", on an LM-2D at 22:33 UTC. The previous 2 went up on September 29 last year. Mar 12, 2026 Hypergolic UDMH/N2O4 and kerosene/LOX are two different rocket propellant combinations.
Different rocket fuel (hypergolic UDMH/N2O4 vs kerosene/LOX), different combustion cycle (gas generator vs staged combustion), different sounds, same rumbling energy within 3 hours from 2 spots in southern China: Mar 12, 2026 Two rocket-related audio recordings from separate spots in southern China captured similar rumbling energy within a three-hour period.
Different rocket fuel (hypergolic UDMH/N2O4 vs kerosene/LOX), different combustion cycle (gas generator vs staged combustion), different sounds, same rumbling energy within 3 hours from 2 spots in southern China: Mar 12, 2026 Gas generator and staged combustion are two different rocket engine combustion cycles.
Different rocket fuel (hypergolic UDMH/N2O4 vs kerosene/LOX), different combustion cycle (gas generator vs staged combustion), different sounds, same rumbling energy within 3 hours from 2 spots in southern China: Mar 12, 2026 The two recorded rocket events involved different propellants (UDMH/N2O4 versus kerosene/LOX) and different combustion cycles (gas generator versus staged combustion).
Different rocket fuel (hypergolic UDMH/N2O4 vs kerosene/LOX), different combustion cycle (gas generator vs staged combustion), different sounds, same rumbling energy within 3 hours from 2 spots in southern China: Mar 12, 2026 The launch vehicle is labeled CZ-8A (Long March 8A) on its first stage.
More LM-8A launch photos galore ( / ): Mar 12, 2026 The CZ-8A vehicle is shown on a launch pad with multiple engines firing and producing a large exhaust plume at liftoff.
More LM-8A launch photos galore ( / ): Mar 12, 2026 The rocket displays the Chinese national flag and the characters 中国航天 on its body.
More LM-8A launch photos galore ( / ): Mar 12, 2026 Alpha Flight 7 achieved nominal performance and validated key systems ahead of Firefly Aerospace’s Block II configuration upgrade.
It may have taken several delays, but Firefly successfully launched the "Stairway To Seven" mission on Alpha FLTA007! Apparently they did carry payloads for Lockheed Martin, but it sounds like these are hosted experiments rather then actual deployable satellites. Mar 12, 2026 Firefly Aerospace launched the Stairway To Seven mission on Alpha FLTA007 on March 12, 2026.
It may have taken several delays, but Firefly successfully launched the "Stairway To Seven" mission on Alpha FLTA007! Apparently they did carry payloads for Lockheed Martin, but it sounds like these are hosted experiments rather then actual deployable satellites. Mar 12, 2026 The Alpha Flight 7 test flight delivered a demonstrator payload for Lockheed Martin.
It may have taken several delays, but Firefly successfully launched the "Stairway To Seven" mission on Alpha FLTA007! Apparently they did carry payloads for Lockheed Martin, but it sounds like these are hosted experiments rather then actual deployable satellites. Mar 12, 2026 Firefly plans to establish a launch cadence with the Alpha Block II vehicle starting with mission FLTA008.
Hopefully Firefly can build on this successful test flight and get a cadence going with Alpha Block II starting with FLTA008. There's a lot of demand for Alpha for missions like VICTUS HAZE, QuickSounder, and several technology demonstrations (such as TacSat) for Lockheed Martin. Mar 12, 2026 Lockheed Martin has technology demonstration missions such as TacSat that have demand for Firefly Alpha launch services.
Hopefully Firefly can build on this successful test flight and get a cadence going with Alpha Block II starting with FLTA008. There's a lot of demand for Alpha for missions like VICTUS HAZE, QuickSounder, and several technology demonstrations (such as TacSat) for Lockheed Martin. Mar 12, 2026 There is demand for Firefly Alpha launch services for the VICTUS HAZE mission.
Hopefully Firefly can build on this successful test flight and get a cadence going with Alpha Block II starting with FLTA008. There's a lot of demand for Alpha for missions like VICTUS HAZE, QuickSounder, and several technology demonstrations (such as TacSat) for Lockheed Martin. Mar 12, 2026 There is demand for Firefly Alpha launch services for the QuickSounder mission.
Hopefully Firefly can build on this successful test flight and get a cadence going with Alpha Block II starting with FLTA008. There's a lot of demand for Alpha for missions like VICTUS HAZE, QuickSounder, and several technology demonstrations (such as TacSat) for Lockheed Martin. Mar 12, 2026 Firefly completed a successful test flight.
Hopefully Firefly can build on this successful test flight and get a cadence going with Alpha Block II starting with FLTA008. There's a lot of demand for Alpha for missions like VICTUS HAZE, QuickSounder, and several technology demonstrations (such as TacSat) for Lockheed Martin. Mar 12, 2026 A payload from FLTA007 has been cataloged as "ICOR SV".
So it turns out that FLTA007 did in fact carry a satellite for Lockheed Martin. The payload has been cataloged as "ICOR SV", which we hadn't heard about before. Given the secrecy, I'd say it's likely demonstrating more classified technologies compared to the previous tech demo's. Mar 12, 2026 Firefly launched the "Stairway To Seven" mission on its Alpha vehicle designated FLTA007.
So it turns out that FLTA007 did in fact carry a satellite for Lockheed Martin. The payload has been cataloged as "ICOR SV", which we hadn't heard about before. Given the secrecy, I'd say it's likely demonstrating more classified technologies compared to the previous tech demo's. Mar 12, 2026 FLTA007 carried payloads for Lockheed Martin.
So it turns out that FLTA007 did in fact carry a satellite for Lockheed Martin. The payload has been cataloged as "ICOR SV", which we hadn't heard about before. Given the secrecy, I'd say it's likely demonstrating more classified technologies compared to the previous tech demo's. Mar 12, 2026 A Wenchang April launch plan lists three launches on April 7 labeled "商发8A", April 19 labeled "10B", and April 30 labeled "商发8A".
According to the Wenchang travel agency. CZ-10B may plan to launch at 19 April. Mar 12, 2026 The plan indicates a CZ-10B (Long March 10B) launch from Wenchang on April 19.
According to the Wenchang travel agency. CZ-10B may plan to launch at 19 April. Mar 12, 2026 Progress MS-33 is stacked with the interstage.
Progress MS-33 cargo spacecraft is now stacked with the Interstage. Fairing integration is scheduled for tomorrow. The launch is still scheduled for March 22nd, 10 days from now. Mar 12, 2026 Fairing integration for Progress MS-33 is scheduled for March 13, 2026.
Progress MS-33 cargo spacecraft is now stacked with the Interstage. Fairing integration is scheduled for tomorrow. The launch is still scheduled for March 22nd, 10 days from now. Mar 12, 2026 Fueling of Progress MS-33 was completed.
Progress MS-33 cargo spacecraft is now stacked with the Interstage. Fairing integration is scheduled for tomorrow. The launch is still scheduled for March 22nd, 10 days from now. Mar 12, 2026 Progress MS-33 is scheduled to launch from repaired Pad 31/6.
Progress MS-33 cargo spacecraft is now stacked with the Interstage. Fairing integration is scheduled for tomorrow. The launch is still scheduled for March 22nd, 10 days from now. Mar 12, 2026 Progress MS-33 is scheduled to launch on March 22, 2026.
Progress MS-33 cargo spacecraft is now stacked with the Interstage. Fairing integration is scheduled for tomorrow. The launch is still scheduled for March 22nd, 10 days from now. Mar 12, 2026 MTN signed a February 2026 agreement with SpaceX to become an authorized provider of SpaceX’s government satellite services.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 StarEdge Horizon routes traffic on a private path off the public internet to provide an enterprise-grade transport layer.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 MTN made StarEdge Horizon immediately available on the Amazon Web Services Marketplace on March 11, 2026.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 StarEdge Horizon provides secure cloud backhauling and reliable last-mile connectivity without the latency overhead of traditional VPNs.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 StarEdge Horizon enables cloud-centric enterprises to acquire and deploy private Low Earth Orbit satellite connectivity via their existing AWS accounts.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 MTN plans to extend StarEdge Horizon to the maritime sector in late Q1 2026.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 MTN offers StarEdge Horizon for commercial enterprise customers and specialized LEO solutions for defense organizations.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 The integration with AWS routes traffic securely and directly to a customer’s AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 StarEdge Horizon implements a Layer 2 network architecture over SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 StarEdge Horizon allows customers to treat global satellite links as a native cloud resource.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 StarEdge Horizon targets industries with dispersed remote operations, including energy, construction, and logistics.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 MTN is a global provider of satellite and wireless solutions.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 SpaceX’s government satellite services provide military-grade security and orbital priority distinct from commercial Starlink.
MTN Launches Click-to-Deploy StarEdge Horizon Satellite Service on AWS Marketplace Mar 11, 2026 On March 5, 2026 the European Space Agency awarded Mynaric a contract to develop a laser communications demonstration system for the High Throughput Optical Network (HydRON) project.
Rheinmetall Withdraws From Mynaric Bidding Process; Rocket Lab Acquisition Clears Major Competitive Hurdle Mar 11, 2026 If the Ministry of Economic Affairs approves the sale, Rocket Lab will integrate Mynaric into its Space Systems division.
Rheinmetall Withdraws From Mynaric Bidding Process; Rocket Lab Acquisition Clears Major Competitive Hurdle Mar 11, 2026 Rheinmetall considered an intervention in February 2026 to prevent critical dual-use space technology from being acquired by a U.S.-headquartered firm.
Rheinmetall Withdraws From Mynaric Bidding Process; Rocket Lab Acquisition Clears Major Competitive Hurdle Mar 11, 2026 Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger is the chief executive officer of Rheinmetall AG.
Rheinmetall Withdraws From Mynaric Bidding Process; Rocket Lab Acquisition Clears Major Competitive Hurdle Mar 11, 2026 Mynaric exited the StaRUG restructuring process in August 2025.
Rheinmetall Withdraws From Mynaric Bidding Process; Rocket Lab Acquisition Clears Major Competitive Hurdle Mar 11, 2026