SpaceX Turns Down US Space Force Launch Work as Spanish Rocket Nears Integration

The US Space Force recently offered SpaceX three military launch contracts, but SpaceX declined, saying it was not interested in that work. The company's rejection was reported on October 22. On the same day, NASA's safety panel said that SpaceX's Starship may require as many as 22 refuelings to support a lunar landing mission.

Turning to other launch developments, PLD Space is bringing its Miura 5 rocket toward completion. The company reports that the vehicle, set to make its first launch next year, is approaching final integration. PLD Space has built three Miura 5 rockets; the other two exist to qualify key system elements, CEO Raúl Torres said in an October 19 program update.

PLD Space is targeting a first flight of the small-lift vehicle before mid-2027. "Manufacturing these three vehicles has allowed our teams to work continuously across different stages of production and integration, applying the lessons learned from each qualification campaign directly to the launch vehicle," Torres said. One Miura 5 second stage is now fully integrated and has arrived at the company's Teruel test facility to begin system-level testing under representative operating conditions, including a wet dress rehearsal and a static hot-fire test.

Reaction Dynamics, a Canadian launch startup, is also moving forward on its own plans. The company said it is seeking to raise $350 million to grow its staff from 68 to more than 350 people. Reaction Dynamics is developing the small-lift Aurora rocket and hopes the vehicle will reach orbit in 2028. The company also announced plans to build a medium-lift rocket called Borealis, with a debut targeted for 2031.

The SpaceX decisions and the Starship refueling assessment stand out because they affect both military and civil space planning. The US Space Force had put the three launch contracts in front of the company, and SpaceX chose not to take them. Meanwhile, the number of potential Starship refuelings for a lunar landing is under review by NASA's safety panel.

PLD Space's Miura 5 work is advancing through integration and testing steps, with the second stage at the Teruel facility for its qualification campaign. Reaction Dynamics is pursuing funding to expand its team and push its rocket programs forward, with Aurora and Borealis on its development roadmap.

The next steps for SpaceX will depend on how the US Space Force proceeds with the three military launch contracts it had offered the company, and how NASA's safety panel continues its review of Starship refueling for lunar landing support. PLD Space will move through wet dress rehearsal and static hot-fire testing of the second stage, and its first flight is targeted before mid-2027. Reaction Dynamics would use any new funding to grow its staff and continue developing its rockets.

We will keep watching these and other launch-related developments as they unfold.