SpaceX drops three Space Force deals; Spanish rocket targets 2027

SpaceX has turned down three launch contracts from the US Space Force. According to the latest Rocket Report published on October 23, the company told the military branch it would not proceed with the offers. This decision marks one of two major developments for the company this week.

The second development came from a NASA safety panel. The group stated that SpaceX’s Starship vehicle may require as many as 22 refueling operations to support a lunar landing mission. This figure points to the complex engineering demands of the planned architecture.

Meanwhile, Spanish launch firm PLD Space is moving its Miura 5 rocket toward its first flight. The company expects the small-lift vehicle to debut before mid-2027. Aviation Week reports that the rocket is currently in final integration.

CEO Raul Torres said on October 19 that the company has built three Miura 5 vehicles. Two are designated for qualifying key system elements, while the third is the primary launch vehicle. Torres noted that building all three allows teams to work continuously across production and integration stages. He explained that lessons from each qualification campaign are applied directly to the launch vehicle.

One second stage of the Miura 5 is fully integrated. This stage is at PLD’s test facility in Teruel for its qualification campaign. The process includes a wet dress rehearsal and a static hot-fire test. These steps allow system-level testing under conditions that represent actual operating environments.

In Canada, startup Reaction Dynamics is seeking to raise 350 million dollars. The company, one of three prominent launch startups in the nation, aims to grow its workforce from 68 to more than 350 employees. It is developing a small-lift rocket named Aurora, which it hopes will reach orbit in 2028. The company also plans a medium-lift vehicle called Borealis, targeted for a 2031 debut.