There seems to be at least a few stories around indicating that 2026 isn't off to a good start in the space industry.
Rocket Lab's Neutron slips after test failure
Rocket lab has been developing the Neutron for a few years and had been talking about a first launch early this year, when they announced a schedule slip to this summer back in mid-November ('25). During tests on Jan. 21 (Wednesday), they suffered a structural failure of the Neutron’s Stage 1 tank during a hydrostatic pressure test. “There was no significant damage to the test structure or facilities,” Rocket Lab reported. They haven't directly addressed schedule impacts, understandable considering the limited time to examine the damaged tank, when this report first showed up online.
The Neutron rocket is designed to catapult Rocket Lab into more direct competition with legacy rocket companies like SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. “The next Stage 1 tank is already in production, and Neutron’s development campaign continues,” the company said. Setbacks like this one are to be expected during the development of new rockets. Rocket Lab has publicized aggressive, or aspirational, launch schedules for the first Neutron rocket, so it’s likely the company will hang onto its projection of a debut launch in 2026, at least for now.
The Neutron rocket’s Stage 1 tank. Image credit: Rocket Lab
It was a bad day for Chinese Rockets
January 16, to be specific. They lost two vehicles on the same day.
The first loss was a failure of a Long March 3B booster, a rocket that has worked up a good number of successful launches.
The first of the two failures involved the attempted launch of a Shijian military satellite aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang launch base in southwestern China. The Shijian 32 satellite was likely heading for a geostationary transfer orbit, but a failure of the Long March 3B’s third stage doomed the mission. The Long March 3B is one of China’s most-flown rockets, and this was the first failure of a Long March 3-series vehicle since 2020, ending a streak of 50 consecutive successful flights of the rocket.
And then… Less than 12 hours later, another Chinese rocket failed on its climb to orbit. This launch, using a Ceres-2 rocket, originated from the Jiuquan space center in northwestern China. It was the first flight of the Ceres-2, a larger variant of the light-class Ceres-1 rocket developed and operated by a Chinese commercial startup named Galactic Energy. Chinese officials did not disclose the payloads lost on the Ceres-2 rocket.
Isar Aerospace stands down from their next test flight
You might not remember their name but you probably remember their March 30th (2025) 40-second first test flight from Andøya Spaceport in Norway that ended up crashing into the water alongside the launch complex.
They had been preparing for January 21st launch of the Spectrum rocket, when a technical issue surfaced and they scrubbed.
Hours before the launch window was set to open, the German company said that it was addressing “an issue with a pressurization valve.” A valve issue was one of the factors that caused a Spectrum to crash moments after liftoff on Isar’s first test flight last year. “The teams are currently assessing the next possible launch opportunities and a new target date will be announced shortly,” the company wrote in a post on its website.
The Spectrum rocket is in the one metric ton payload class, or 2200 lbs to Low Earth Orbit. About twice the payload of a Rocket Lab Electron, but well short of the Neutron or Falcon 9.
Europe’s satellite industry is looking for more competition for the Ariane 6 and Vega C rockets developed by ArianeGroup and Avio, and Isar Aerospace appears to be best positioned to become a new entrant in the European launch market. “I’m well aware that it would be really good for us Europeans to get this one right,” said Daniel Metzler, Isar’s co-founder and CEO.
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