Rocket Report: Meet the Gravity-1 rocket; will Starship really cut launch costs?

Enlarge / A rendering of Orienspace's "Gravity11" launch vehicle. (credit: Orienspace)

Welcome to Edition 4.44 of the Rocket Report! This week saw the successful completion of Boeing's Starliner test flight to the International Space Station, which is a promising step forward for assured US astronaut access to space. And wherever you find yourself this Memorial Day Weekend, I hope it is a happy and safe one.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets, as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Virgin Orbit targets August UK launch. The California small launch company expects to perform its first mission from England in late August, pending receipt of a launch license, Space News reports. In a speech at Space Tech Expo in Southern California, Jim Simpson, chief strategy officer of Virgin Orbit, said the UK mission will come after a launch from Mojave Air and Space Port in California called "Straight Up," scheduled for no earlier than June 29. It will carry seven US government payloads.