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NASA APOD:
The Veins of Heaven
Transfusing sunlight as the sky grew darker, this exceptional display of noctilucent clouds was captured on July 10, reflected in the calm waters of Vallentuna Lake near Stockholm, Sweden. From the edge of space, about 80 kilometers above Earth's surface, the icy clouds themselves still reflect sunlight, even though the Sun is below the horizon as seen from the ground. Usually spotted at high latitudes in summer months, the night shining clouds have made a strong showing so far during the short northern summer nights. Also known as polar mesopheric clouds they are understood to form as water vapor driven into the cold upper atmosphere condenses on the fine dust particles supplied by disintegrating meteors or volcanic ash.
The Launch Library:
Upcoming Launches You Don't Want to Miss
JAKE 4
Launch Date:
7/11/2025, 11:45:00 PM
Launch Vehicle:
Electron,
Rocket Lab
Location:
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C),
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Overview:
Sub-orbital launch under Rocket Lab’s Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) program, details TBD.
Dror-1? ("Commercial GTO 1")
Launch Date:
7/13/2025, 4:31:00 AM
Launch Vehicle:
Falcon 9,
SpaceX
Location:
Space Launch Complex 40,
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Overview:
Note: Payload identity is uncertain and to be confirmed, based on FCC documentation. SpaceX identifies the mission as "Commercial GTO 1".
Dror-1 is a geostationary communication satellite built and developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It is intended to meet the satellite communication needs of Israel for the next 15 years. Dror-1 is c...
Starlink Group 15-2
Launch Date:
7/14/2025, 2:27:00 AM
Launch Vehicle:
Falcon 9,
SpaceX
Location:
Space Launch Complex 4E,
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Overview:
A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Tianzhou-9
Launch Date:
7/14/2025, 9:40:00 PM
Launch Vehicle:
Long March 7,
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Location:
201,
Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China
Overview:
Eighth cargo delivery mission to the Chinese space station.
Maiden Flight
Launch Date:
7/15/2025, 9:30:00 PM
Launch Vehicle:
Eris-1,
Gilmour Space Technologies
Location:
Eris Pad,
Bowen Orbital Spaceport
Overview:
Maiden flight of Gilmour Space's orbital launch vehicle Eris.
JAKE 4
Launch Date:
7/11/2025, 11:45:00 PM
Launch Vehicle:
Electron,
Rocket Lab
Location:
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C),
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Overview:
Sub-orbital launch under Rocket Lab’s Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) program, details TBD.
Dror-1? ("Commercial GTO 1")
Launch Date:
7/13/2025, 4:31:00 AM
Launch Vehicle:
Falcon 9,
SpaceX
Location:
Space Launch Complex 40,
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Overview:
Note: Payload identity is uncertain and to be confirmed, based on FCC documentation. SpaceX identifies the mission as "Commercial GTO 1".
Dror-1 is a geostationary communication satellite built and developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It is intended to meet the satellite communication needs of Israel for the next 15 years. Dror-1 is c...
Starlink Group 15-2
Launch Date:
7/14/2025, 2:27:00 AM
Launch Vehicle:
Falcon 9,
SpaceX
Location:
Space Launch Complex 4E,
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Overview:
A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Tianzhou-9
Launch Date:
7/14/2025, 9:40:00 PM
Launch Vehicle:
Long March 7,
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Location:
201,
Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China
Overview:
Eighth cargo delivery mission to the Chinese space station.
Maiden Flight
Launch Date:
7/15/2025, 9:30:00 PM
Launch Vehicle:
Eris-1,
Gilmour Space Technologies
Location:
Eris Pad,
Bowen Orbital Spaceport
Overview:
Maiden flight of Gilmour Space's orbital launch vehicle Eris.
API Data brought to you by The Space Devs
Space Industry & Godot (2022):
Help wanted: LunCo Space
Recently, I was invited to join the team at LunCo where we plan to create a space simulation game that features industry real world applications. While similar to games like Kerbal Space and No Man's Sky, LunCo will be feature two game styles - digital twin mode for engineers, and story mode for casual enthusiasts. We also plan to allow user generated content (space crafts, trajectories, factories, etc.) and integration with professional tools like CAD, FEA, MBSE, and more.
For story mode, you are playing as a CEO & Founder of a Lunar exploration company in the near future. You will collect resources, build factories, and manufacture robots to create a sustainable lunar base. From there, it's up to you to turn the Moon into a stepping stone and launch past the stars!
Rocket Lab Special Event (2021):
Rocket Lab ($RKLB) goes public
On Wednesday, August 25th of 2021, Rocket Lab began trading on the Nasdaq, becoming the latest space company to close a merger with a special purpose acquisition company and go public. They closed the first day down slightly at $10.45 per share, under the ticker $RKLB.
“We are super excited to bring a high-quality space asset to the market” Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck told CNBC. “I don’t think it will take long for investors to differentiate between the company that’s consistently delivering and the ones that have aspirations to deliver sometime in the future” he later added.
Astra Special Event (2021):
Astra ($ASTR) goes public
On Wednesday, June 30th of 2021, Astra became the first launch company to be traded publicly on NASDAQ. Trading under the ticker $ASTR, with shares previously listed under the special purpose acquisition company Holicity, the announcement expects to bring in around $500 million in proceeds. Astra's idea is to use the funding to continue to develop their rockets - with a goal of launching as many of it's 40ft tall rockets as it can, aiming to launch one per day by 2025.
“Now we have a space company that everyone can invest in on the public markets,” Astra CEO Chris Kemp told CNBC. “The same kinds of things you do to make a rocket great are the same behaviors that you have to invest in to make a company great. You don’t want any inefficiencies.”
About Rocket Downrange
Breaking boundaries, setting standards and transforming humanity for the better. Space has always been the final frontier that keeps on giving. This site serves to be a side project that informs and inspires the next generation of explorers.
Rocket Downrange is an independent hobby project by a guy learning Vue. No endorsements or partnerships exist between Rocket Downrange and the included organizations.
Contact Rocket Downrange
If you love the site or think something needs changed - we want to know! Questions, comments, suggestions and more can be sent below. If you know of any free and interesting API's we should include in the site - include information about where to find necessary documentation and we'll get to it!