HALO Space, a Spanish startup focused on near-space tourism, is preparing to expand its testing and assembly operations to Saudi Arabia. The company plans to conduct a series of test flights for its Aurora capsule, a stratospheric balloon system designed to carry passengers to the edge of space. 

SpaceX announced Monday that a Chinese crypto entrepreneur purchased a flight on Dragon that will fly around Earth’s poles. The mission will feature crew members from three other countries, none from the US, and could launch as soon as late 2024.

Blue Origin announced Wednesday its crew for the NS-26 missions. On board will be several high achieving and and lucky individuals that will get the chance to fly and feel weightlessness above the Karman Line. One of the crew members, a daughter of a previous participant, will become the youngest woman to reach 100 km.

About three weeks ago, Virgin Galactic flew its final SpaceShipTwo mission with Galactic 07. Last week, the company completed a reverse stock split to keep its stock price above the $1 exchange limit, however its price continues to drop. So what is the future of the company that has been repeatedly the butt of jokes by financial experts?

Announced late Friday evening here in the US, the dearMoon mission to launch a team of artists and athletes around the Moon is no more. Its creator canceled the mission due to no near-term schedule certainty.

Following a long delay in flights, Blue Origin is returning to crewed spaceflight missions for its New Shepard rocket, with a launch date scheduled for May 19. The missions will carry six customers to an altitude just above the Karman Line.

If you have ever been interested in seeing Earth from the upper reaches of our atmosphere but can’t afford it, then you should be keeping Halo Space on your radar. The company, similar to other new space tourism companies, have been working on a high altitude balloon system to ferry customers up to the jar dropping views of “almost space.”

The catch is, on each flight they will send someone up there for free!

On Thursday of this week we have a total of four planned launches from around the world from the biggest players in the space launch market. They include Rocket Lab’s first LC-2 mission in 2024, a crew rotation to the ISS by Russia, and a cargo resupply mission to the ISS by SpaceX.

As the deadline looms for Congress to decide on the future of commercial human spaceflight regulation, most space related insiders agree the industry is at a pivotal crossroad. The current restrictions encapsulating the “learning period” that limits the Federal Aviation Administration’s ability to regulate the safety of spaceflight participants are under scrutiny. These provisions are set to expire March 8 and United States House of Representatives and Senate negotiators are in the throes of finalizing a new long term FAA reauthorization bill. 

With a post on social media, Blue Origin announced its return to flight for the New Shepard rocket. Flying science equipment and postcards from its charity Club for the Future, launch is set for no earlier than December 18.

Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese entrepreneur, shared on his Instagram account an update to his dearMoon mission around the Moon. Shocking no one, the flight will not take place this year as the rocket is still very much in development.

Virgin Galactic announced this week it laid off about 185 employees, 18% of its workforce, to better streamline the development of its Delta-class spaceplane. The company also announced during its earnings call that it will begin to slow its flights down before pausing them all together.

This week Virgin Galactic is returning for its six flight within six months. Galactic 5 will be one of many launches happening this week, two others from China and possibly three from SpaceX.

On Wednesday the FAA announced it has closed the mishap investigation it oversaw of Blue Origin’s failed NS-23 mission that took place one year ago. With the investigation now finished, Blue Origin plans to return to flight “soon.”

According to Ars Technica’s Eric Berger, We might finally see a Blue Origin rocket launch after a year of down time. The flight would be the company’s first since suffering a failure of the New Shepard booster which led to the loss of the booster.

Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 03 mission was different from its previous missions in a number of ways. One of those additions was the carrying on of fossilized bones of ancient human ancestors by one of the participants. This act has raised some questions by scientist in the field.

Friday Virgin Galactic launched its latest commercial missions out of New Mexico. However this time there was no fanfare, livestream, or post launch interviews with the customers. They simply went up, had fun, and came back down.

A slow week at least here in the US when it comes to spaceflight activities but we do have an exciting moment Friday. With Virgin Galactic planning its third flight the end of this week, they are trying to keep their momentum going with a truly incredible launch rate.

Last Thursday, Virgin Galactic successfully launched its first group of commercial customers into space aboard its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane, named VSS Unity. This achievement occurred approximately one month after its previous flight. With Virgin Galactic now a significant player in the field, the question arises: Can they outpace Blue Origin in the realm of space tourism?

Yesterday we saw Virgin Galactic complete a final test flight of its whole spaceplane system with the Unity 25 flight. Now, two years after the last “final test flight,” the company is ready to begin commercial flights. Why has it taken so long?

This week is pretty exciting, with lots of activity from multiple companies and nations preparing to launch. However, the bigger story of the week will be Virgin Galactic’s return to powered flight with its VSS Unity spaceplane, its first powered flight since 2021.

After almost two years since its last powered flight to space, Virgin Galactic is finally back in the “saddle” with its first unpowered glide, post renovations. Next up, the company plans to do a powered test flight before resuming commercial spaceflights.