While traditional giants like Northrop Grumman and United Launch Alliance continue to contribute to space exploration with decades of experience, a new wave of ambitious and pioneering companies is rising.
It was another bustling month for spaceflight, the dog days of summer are blazing with the added heat from botched engine tests and a trove of fiery rocket launches. As always, the past month of spaceflight presented a plethora of captivating visuals.
California-based Rocket Lab—the company voted most likely to compete with SpaceX—appears to be tinkering with its Neutron blueprints, as new artwork suggests.
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket launched seven satellites to orbit for its latest mission before its booster gently glided its way back down for a parachute-assisted ocean splashdown to test its reusability.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images and Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images