Rocket Report: Why SpaceX stays in LA, Russia moves on, buy a missile silo

Enlarge / The Rocket Report is published weekly. (credit: Arianespace/Aurich Lawson)

Welcome to Edition 1.22 of the Rocket Report! We have plenty to discuss this week, from Paul Allen's untimely passing to the Atlas V rocket's success as well as why SpaceX remains in Los Angeles despite California's high taxes and regulations. We also have a fun story about a Titan II missile silo for sale.

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.

Rocket Lab takes steps toward high launch cadence. It may have been nine months since Rocket Lab launched its Electron booster, but the company is growing both in people and facilities. The New Zealand Herald reports that Rocket Lab's staff has nearly doubled, to 330, in the past year, with around 200 in New Zealand and the remainder in the United States. The company plans to hire another 180 employees over the next year.