SpaceX Starship Achieves Crucial In-Flight Engine Relight Milestone
SpaceX successfully reignites a Raptor engine on the Starship upper stage during its sixth test flight, paving the way for full orbital reuse. Meanwhile, Inversion Space secures $44 million for orbital cargo delivery and Raven Space Systems debuts scalable 3D printing for aerospace composites.
SpaceX reaches a critical milestone during the sixth Starship test flight as the upper stage successfully reignites one of its Raptor engines in space for the first time. This achievement paves the way for the vehicle to eventually complete a full orbital loop and return to the launch site for rapid refurbishment and reuse. President-elect Donald Trump observes this historic flight test firsthand from the control room in Brownsville, Texas.
In other major space news, Inversion Space raises a $44 million Series A round to advance its ultra-precise orbit-to-Earth cargo delivery system. The startup draws significant attention from the Department of Defense due to the obvious military applications of its technology. Additionally, Blue Origin successfully completes two suborbital flights of its New Glenn vehicle in just one month, with the most recent mission carrying science TV host Emily Calandrelli.
Raven Space Systems also makes waves by unveiling a new process that enables the first scalable 3D printing of commercial thermoset composite components. These materials see widespread use across the aerospace and defense sectors, particularly for reentry vehicles and hypersonics. The startup's co-founder and CEO explains that this innovation effectively unlocks an entirely new field of 3D printing at a production scale.