No Starship will head to Mars this year, but Japan just launched toward Phobos, NASA’s twin ESCAPADE probes are about to leave Earth orbit, and China is racing toward sample return.
Author: The Star Queen
The Reusable Rocket Race, October 2026: Nova, Terran R, Neutron, New Glenn and Starship 🏁
Five rockets are racing to make launch cheaper by flying again and again. Here is a sourced side-by-side of Stoke’s Nova, Relativity’s Terran R, Rocket Lab’s Neutron, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, and SpaceX’s Starship as of October 25, 2026, with every disagreement flagged.
Gigabay Progress Report: August 2026 – Wall All the Way to the Top
Two August drive-by sessions (Aug 9 and Aug 30, five photos shown) and the black wall on the Gigabay now seems to run all the way to the top: the open white steel I saw above the wall in June and July is no longer visible from the road. I spot a long thin slit near the top of the north wall, a small window-like opening at a top corner, churned-up dirt and silt fence on the south side, and the two sets of openings at the base still open. I compare my photos to July, say what I’m not sure about, and explain the new construction words.
Beyond New Glenn: New Shepard’s Pause, Blue Ring and a Crew Ship Takes Shape 🛰️
Blue Origin is more than New Glenn and the Moon. Here’s what happened to New Shepard’s tourist flights, what the Blue Ring in-space vehicle does, and what’s known about the crew spacecraft Blue Origin’s CEO just confirmed.
The Spaceport Boom: Where Tomorrow’s Rockets Will Launch 🏗️🚀
From Cape Canaveral to Starbase to a $100 billion plan in Louisiana, the world is pouring concrete for the next era of launches. Here is what’s real, what’s approved and what’s still a plan.
Vulcan Is Coming Back: ULA Sets November 13 for Its Return to Flight 🚀
After nine months on the ground, United Launch Alliance says Vulcan will fly again on Friday, November 13, carrying 40 Amazon Leo satellites on the first Vulcan ever to wear six solid rocket boosters. Here’s what changed, what we still don’t know, and why the Space Force will be watching closely.
Blue Moon: Blue Origin’s Lunar Landers, the Schedule and the Risks 🌙
Blue Origin has two lunar landers in the works: the cargo-carrying Mark 1 and the crewed Mark 2. Here’s what each one does, how NASA’s new Artemis plan changes things, how it differs from SpaceX’s Starship, and what could slip.
Gigabay Progress Report: July 2026 – The Black Wall Meets the Roof Steel
Two July drive-by sessions (July 2 and July 9, four photos shown) and the big black wall on the north side of the Gigabay now runs all the way up to the thin band of open steel at the top, by eye. On the south side the two very tall steel-framed openings are still open, and the ground around the building is busy with trailers, portable toilets and cones. I compare my photos to June 25, say what I’m not sure about, and explain the new construction words.
New Glenn 7×2 vs 9×4: Blue Origin’s Two Rockets, Explained 🚀
New Glenn comes in two flavors: the 7×2 that flies today and the bigger 9×4 that’s still in development. Here are the published numbers, the flight record, where the May explosion leaves things, and how it all stacks up against Falcon Heavy, Starship, Vulcan and SLS.
Back to the Moon: Artemis Gets a New Map 🌙
Artemis II flew, the heat shield passed, and NASA has rewritten the road to a 2028 landing with a docking test, two landers and a lot of robots.