Posted: Sat, Aug 22 7:56 AM ET (1156 GMT)
The White House released a new space transportation policy Thursday with a goal of sharply increasing launch rates. The policy, updated for the first time since 2013, sets a goal of being able to support at least 1,000 launches and reentries a year from U.S. facilities by 2030, a roughly fivefold increase from current rates. A major focus of the policy is on spaceports and related infrastructure, including new launch sites and a new federal reentry site. Other elements of the policy include development of a space transportation industrial base strategy and coordination of government purchases of commercial launch services.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  SpacePolicyOnline.com article
•  New York Times article
•  Ars Technica article
•  White House fact sheet

Posted: Sat, Aug 22 7:53 AM ET (1153 GMT)
Rocket Lab launched a Japanese radar-imaging satellite Thursday. An Electron rocket lifted off from the company's New Zealand launch site at 9:04 a.m. Eastern and placed into orbit the QPS-SAR-18 for Japanese company iQPS. This was the the ninth Electron launch of an iQPS satellite with nine more under contract. It was the 14th Electron launch so far this year, including three HASTE suborbital missions, and company executives said in an earnings call earlier this month that the company expects this year to break last year's record of 21 Electron launches.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Space.com article
•  Rocket Lab press release

NASA and Katalyst Space call off Swift reboost attempt
Posted: Sat, Aug 22 7:50 AM ET (1150 GMT)
NASA and Katalyst Space are calling off plans to reboost the orbit of the agency's Swift space telescope. Katalyst said Wednesday its Link spacecraft...

Landspace lands Zhuque-3 booster on second flight
Posted: Sat, Aug 22 7:46 AM ET (1146 GMT)
Chinese launch company Landspace successfully landed the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket for the first time in a flight Tuesday evening. The rocket...

Astronauts remove antenna on ISS spacewalk
Posted: Sat, Aug 22 7:44 AM ET (1144 GMT)
Spacewalking astronauts removed a broken antenna outside the International Space Station Tuesday but ran out of time to install its replacement. NASA astronaut Anil Menon...