Rocket Lab Electron lifts off in December 2025. Photo: Chris Leymaries
2026 promises to be the most transformative year in American spaceflight since the Apollo era. From Artemis II astronauts circling the Moon to the first commercial space stations, here’s what’s coming.
Former Google CEO Invests in Commercial Launch Company
Eric Schmidt, renowned for his tenure as Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011, has been named Chief Executive Officer of Relativity Space. Schmidt has also infused capital into the cash-starved company, giving it life and the means to finish its Terran-R medium lift rocket. That rocket is planned to fly from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as early as next year.
Relativity Space’s Terran-1 rocket lifts off in 2023. Photo: Relativity Space
