Cowboy Space unveiled its Big Iron medium-lift rocket, joining the growing trend of new launch vehicles but lagging behind competitors with little hardware to show. Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic's new Delta-class rocket plane departed its Arizona factory for Spaceport America, targeting its first commercial suborbital flight in early Q2 2027.
Background
The medium-lift launch vehicle market is seeing increased interest from new entrants as demand for launch capacity is expected to outpace supply. Virgin Galactic previously halted commercial flights of VSS Unity in 2024 while transitioning to its next-generation Delta-class vehicle.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Oct 30, 2026 at 07:00 PM
- Score
- 5.0 / 10