Rocket Report: Long March 6A breaks apart after launch; SLS soars in debut

Enlarge / The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft streak away from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday morning. (credit: Trevor Mahlmann)

Welcome to Edition 5.18 of the Rocket Report! What a year in spaceflight this has been. At the end of 2022 a European rocket put the James Webb Space Telescope successfully into space, and 11 months later NASA's Space Launch System performed an on-target launch. This brings to a close two massive development projects I have tracked for much of my space writing career, and it is so nice that both have a happy ending.

Please note that there will be no newsletter next week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

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.