The space industry just cannot catch a break from bad karma this week. Orbital debris scattered across a heavily trafficked zone near the International Space Station, a French startup had to drop a perfectly good rocket name because of a trademark dispute, and Blue Origin is desperately trying to rebuild its launch pad after a spectacular explosion. Oh, and Relativity Space thinks it can send a Mars mission in two years. Sure, why not?
That Time A French Startup Learned AboutTrademarks The Hard Way
French launch startup Latitude has quietly scrubbed the name “Zephyr” from its website, now simply calling the rocket “Our Launcher” as if the marketing team ran out of ideas. But this isn’t a case of rebranding for coolness. According to European Spaceflight reporting, the company likely hit a legal wall. Airbus subsidiary AALTO has held a trademark on “Zephyr” since 2005, covering UAVs, satellites, and crucially, “launching apparatus.” Nothing kills a rocket name faster than a cease-and-desist from a European aerospace giant with deeper pockets and better lawyers.
The two-stage Spectrum rocket (wait, no, that’s Isar’s thing) stands 19 meters tall and is targeting 200 kg to LEO. Latitude is aiming for its first flight in the second half of 2027, which feels optimistic given that this is the same startup that’s currently dealing with naming drama instead of actual hardware. The lesson here? Maybe Google your rocket name before you print the stickers.
China’s New Rocket Is Already Making A Mess Of Orbit
In rather more concerning news, the upper stage of China’s Zhuque-2E rocket broke apart in orbit last week, spawning somewhere between 50 and 150 pieces of debris in a region that happens to be home to the International Space Station and a sizable chunk of SpaceX’s Starlink network. The US Space Force is tracking at least 51 objects, and orbital tracking firm LeoLabs says the fragmentation likely generated roughly 100 to 150 pieces. This is not ideal.
The rocket, built by LandSpace, was carrying two direct-to-cell communications satellites when it reached orbit on June 9. The breakup occurred around the time the upper stage was expected to perform a disposal burn, which suggests something went wrong during that critical maneuver. The debris is currently orbiting between 208 and 263 miles, which is uncomfortably close to the ISS altitude. The one silver lining: atmospheric drag should pull most of this debris down within months to a year. Still, this is exactly the kind of incident that makes orbital traffic controllers lose sleep.
Relativity Says It’s Going To Mars. Again.
Relativity Space announced yet another Mars mission this week, this time a science and telecommunications orbiter planned for late 2028. The company’s Interplanetary Sciences Program represents a stretch goal for a launch company that hasn’t even flown its Terran R rocket yet. The mission would include atmospheric profiling instruments from NASA Ames, a radar to map subsurface ice, and a communications relay package.
Look, I’ve seen Relativity announce Mars things before. Back in 2022, they and Impulse Space talked up a Mars lander for 2026. Then 2023 came and went with no updates. Now they’re back with an orbiter and a different timeline. There’s something almost admirable about the persistence, but also something slightly concerning about a company that can’t stop announcing future missions while its core launch vehicle remains perpetually “coming soon.” Eric Schmidt took over as CEO with talk of data centers and planetary missions, but maybe they should, you know, launch something first. The Terran R might fly as soon as next year, or it might not. We’ve been here before.
Blue Origin’s Race Against Time
On the brighter side, Blue Origin is actually doing something instead of just talking about it. The company has started rebuilding Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, less than three weeks after a New Glenn rocket exploded during a preflight test. Jeff Bezos and CEO Dave Limp appeared at VivaTech in Paris to reassure everyone that yes, they’re still planning to fly again before the end of the year. That timeline is aggressive given the damage, but at least there’s actual construction happening.
The real question is what this means for NASA’s Moon plans. Blue Moon Mark 1, the lunar lander prototype, was supposed to launch in the next few months on New Glenn. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman suggested Blue Origin find an alternate ride. Limp’s response: Mark 1 is now targeting early next year, once New Glenn is back in service. That’s either confident or delusional, and we’ll find out which in about six months.
Amazon Finally Gets Good News From Europe
Meanwhile, Amazon’s satellite constellation is finally getting some love from European rockets. Arianespace’s Ariane 64 launched its third mission for Amazon this week, and it marked the heaviest payload ever launched by a European rocket. The updated configuration with larger strap-on boosters increased capacity from 32 to 36 Amazon satellites per launch. This matters because Amazon has thousands of satellites waiting in Florida, and their three chosen rockets (Vulcan, New Glenn, and Ariane 6) have had vastly different track records. Ariane 6 is the only one that has actually come through.
It’s a strange position for Amazon, a company that built its empire on logistics and supply chain mastery, to be so dependent on launch providers that can’t deliver. United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V is retiring, and there’s only one mission left. New Glenn is grounded. So Arianespace becomes the unexpected hero of the story. Who saw that coming two years ago?
The Week Ahead
Three launches are on the calendar for the next few days. SpaceX has a Starlink mission from Vandenberg on June 21, followed by a Chinese Long March 7A launch on June 23. Then there’s another Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral on the 23rd, carrying something called “Starfall Demo.” I have no idea what that is, but I’m increasingly curious about what SpaceX gets up to with mystery payloads. Stay tuned.
This week’s takeaway: space is hard, trademarks are dangerous, and maybe don’t announce Mars missions until you’ve actually launched something to orbit. The industry keeps pushing forward anyway, debris and all.
