Rocket Report: Rebuild begins at Blue Origin launch pad; Relativity targets Mars SpaceX’s Starship could see its next test flight next month, a suborbital hop with an Indian Ocean splashdown, while Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket faces continued delays due to technical issues, despite significant funding. NASA’s Swift observatory faces rescue by a satellite built by Katalyst Space Technologies, with launches coming soon.

• SpaceX’s Starship Flight 13 is tentatively scheduled for next month, featuring a suborbital flight path and Indian Ocean splashdown.
• Isar Aerospace has scrubbed its latest Spectrum rocket test flight due to fluid system anomalies, marking the fourth delay in five months.
• Katalyst Space Technologies is ready to launch its reboost satellite, Link, to save NASA’s Swift observatory, integrated with a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket.
• A new launch complex, Launch Complex 51, is being considered at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to accommodate Army and Navy missions.
• French startup Latitude has removed the ‘Zephyr’ name from its rocket, likely due to trademark issues with Airbus subsidiary AALTO.
• The upper stage of China’s Zhuque-2E rocket broke up in orbit, creating debris near the ISS and Starlink satellites.
• Relativity Space plans a Mars science and telecommunications orbiter mission for late 2028, launching on its Terran R rocket.
• Japan’s H3 rocket successfully returned to flight with its H3-30S variant, designed for lower-cost medium-class satellite launches.
• AST SpaceMobile launched three BlueBird satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9, a crucial step after a previous satellite was lost on a Blue Origin rocket.
• Amazon is relying heavily on Europe’s Ariane 6 for its internet constellation, with Ariane 64 setting a new European lift record.
• Blue Origin has begun rebuilding its damaged Launch Complex 36 after a New Glenn explosion, aiming for a return to flight by year-end.
• Upcoming launches include SpaceX’s Starlink 17-28, China’s Long March 7A, and SpaceX’s Starfall Demo. Continue reading https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/rocket-report-rebuild-begins-at-blue-origin-launch-pad-relativity-targets-mars/