Welcome to version 3.15 of the Rocket Report! The field of small lifts is filled with news in this version. And as always, our report includes news from around the world, spread this week from Germany, China, India, to South America. We have a global adventure.
As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the following using x (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 at the three launches coming to the lander.
Rocket Lab launches a photon satellite. The launching company said it has sent the first building-design and built-in operational satellite into orbit. “First Light” was deployed to orbit on Rocket Lab’s 14th electron mission, “I Can’t Believe It It Is Not Optical”, which took off from New Zealand’s L’Compunch Complex 1 on 31 August. The mission’s primary customer was a 100kg microsatellite space for Capella.
Now not just the rocket company According to a photo release, the company’s launch from Photon’s launch “cemented the company’s evolution from end-to-end end-to-end solutions that provide turnkey satellites and spacecraft components, launches and on-orbit.” Photons are designed to provide space services, such as power and propulsion to satellites, as well as allow the Moon and Venus to perform deep space missions. (Submitted by Ken Bin)
Virgin Galactic sets a date for the next test flight. According to CNBC reports, Virgin Galactic plans to hold its next crew spaceflight test on October 22, according to documents the company has filed with the Federal Communications Commission. The flight is likely to be the first of two that the space travel company plans to complete testing of its spaceship to spacecraft system, and should have only two test pilots on board.
Commercial service, finally, next year? … Virgin Galactic said last month that the second test spacefight, for which no date has yet been set, will have four “mission experts” inside the cabin. If both test flights are successful, Virgin Galactic expects to fly to founder Sir Richard Branson in the first quarter of 2021. This milestone will mark the beginning of the flight company’s commercial tourism service. (Submitted by Ken Bean, John Carter 17 and Danley)
Landspace raises 175 million. According to Space News, Chinese launch company Landspace has raised 17 5,175 million in C + round funding for the development of its Zuk-2 series of methane / liquid-oxygen launch vehicles. The funding comes two weeks after Chinese rival launch company iSpace received a Series B funding of 17 173 million. Both are impressive cash pulls that signal serious intent.
A powerful small rocket … Landspace is working on the opening of Zuku-2 in June 2021. The 49.5-meter, tall, two-phase ZUC-2 will be capable of delivering up to 4,000 kilograms 200 kilometers low-Earth orbit or 2,000 kilograms. 500 kg sun-synchronous orbit according to landspace. (Submitted by Platycartic and Ken Bean)
NASA will launch an unmanned rocket DUST-2 mission. The new two-stage Black Brant Ninth Subborbital Sounding Rocket, launched from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Tuesday on a DUST-2 science mission, was unveiled. NASA said the rocket began to payload about 346 kilometers of apogee before returning to Earth by parachute.
Cheap access to microgravity … The goal of DUST-2 is to study how individual atoms stick together through dead stars and supernovae. When they do, the molecules form a grain of dust, some of the most basic building blocks in our universe. “What we’re trying to do is duplicate what happens in at least two astrophysical atmospheres,” said Joe Nuth, chief planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. (Submitted by John Carter 17)
Blue Origin Vets launches several new companies. According to reports from Cosmic Law, Blue Origin turned 20 years old this week, and although the privately held company has not yet put people into space or put a rocket into orbit, it has made new pay space space startups, Cosmic Log reports. Relativity scope is well known, but currently more companies are emerging from the semi-stealth mode.
Launch and in-space propulsion … One of them, Stock Space Technological Upper Geese, seems to be working on a technology to enable reuse of the upper phase. Reach Space Technologies seems to be a propulsion company. And Starfish Space says it is working on an “on-demand, in-space transportation service.” We’ll add them all to our company list to track! (Submitted by Ken Bin and BH)
Brazil will launch a site evaluating the proposals. The Brazilian space agency says it has begun evaluating 11 proposals from companies interested in launching a rocket from the Alcantera space center on the country’s North Atlantic coast. This place, just 2 degrees south of the equator, provides the main region for starting the equatorial mission.
Turning to commercial use … Following a preliminary analysis, the companies will finalize their proposals by October 30, Parabolic Arc reports. It is not clear how many companies will accept the Brazilian spaceport, but it is likely to prefer companies with mature or almost mature, rocket designs. Spaceport has so far been used primarily for military launches. (Submitted by Ken Bin)
Australian rocket firm USS has signed a payload. Guillaume Our Space Technologies says it has signed an Australian-Australian customer for the first launch of its Iris rocket before 2022. The space machine company has agreed to launch a 35-kilogram spacecraft into orbit. This could be the first Australian payload from an Australian launch site to orbit an Australian Australian rocket, said Adam Gilmer, co-founder and CEO of Gillam Our Space.
Talking of a big game by the middle of the decade … The first Iris rockets are announced as having the capability to launch up to 305 kg in low-Earth orbit and up to 215kg in 500 km of solar-synchronous orbit. The company says its goals are to reach a flight rate of 12 launches a year by 2025 and will help boost the expansion of the US space industry. (Submitted by Ken Bin and Platicartic)
Germany considers the North Sea launch facility. The German government is studying a German industry proposal to build mobile launch pads for satellites in the North Sea. Under the scheme, small satellites weighing one tonne will be launched from German built rockets. According to BBC reports, the Federation of German Industries is lobbying for the project.
A good place for a polar launch … Pad will be a public-private partnership. German media quoted BDI’s proposal as saying, “A German launch nchpad is technically possible and makes sense in a strategic and economic sense.” Among the companies that could potentially launch from the platform is Isar Aerospace. (Submitted by cpushack, Ken Bean and John Carter 17)
China unveils secret spacecraft. After months of low-key preparations at the Jiukun Satellite Launch Center, China launched an experimental reusable spacecraft on Friday, according to Space News reports. The Long March 2F vehicle launched the spacecraft into orbit after an indefinite launch.
Maybe there is an X-37B clone? … “After a period of in-orbit operation, the spacecraft will return to a scheduled landing site in China. It will test reusable technologies during its flight, providing technical support for the peaceful use of space,” the Xinhua report said. Projection. The plane landed after about two days in space. This Twitter thread The NPR’s own off provides more interesting details about where the Broomfill mission came from. (Submitted by Ken Bin)
The Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission could begin next year. According to a report by DNA India, India’s “Chandrayaan-3” lunar mission is expected to start in the first quarter of 2021. After losing the Chandrayaan-2 mission last September, the Indian Space Agency said it would try again to make a soft landing on the lunar surface.
Enter Chandrayaan-3 … Because the orbiter launched with the Chandrayaan-2 mission remains operational, this follow-up launch will only keep the lander. India’s Satish Dhawan Space Center is expected to launch the GSLV Mark III rocket, and India will be the fourth country to make a soft landing on the moon. (Submitted by John Carter 17)
Toxic rockets are still a problem in China. On Monday, the Long March 4B rocket carried a remote sensing satellite from China’s Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. The 50-year-old spaceport is located in northwestern China, about 500 kilometers southwest of Beijing. The first phase of the Chinese rocket, which often begins with the inland Taiyuan facility, was spent at the bottom of the Long March 4B booster spaceport. In this case, it landed near a school and possibly of toxic gas. Created a large cloud.
Living hydrazine dream (or night night dream) … According to initial reports, hydrazine has been phased out as fuel for launch vehicles. The last large U.S. rocket to use hydrazine was the United States Alliance’s Delta II rocket, which used toxic fuel in the second phase. Yet most of China’s fleet fleet is powered by hydrogen fuel and nitrogen tetroxide id oxidizer. These include its human-rated Long March 2F rocket as well as the widely used Long March 4 family.
Delta IV Heavy Launch Reset for September 18th. United L.A. Alliance teams have determined the reason behind the dramatic, last-second abortion of the Delta IV heavy rocket late last month, Florida Today reports. This sets the stage for a second attempt a week earlier than Friday, and no exact time has been released. This will be the third attempt to launch the NROL-44 classified mission.
Tear into the regulator … 29 August On August, a tear in three pressure regulators at Launch Complex 37 of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station caused a computer-controlled scrub three seconds before the lift before the lift, UN CEO Tori Bruno said. Said via Twitter on Wednesday. The engines briefly caught fire, but remained firmly on the rocket pad. (Submitted by BH and John Carter 17)
The army takes a wait-and-see approach to the super-heavy lift. U.S. The military is happy with the current inings from the United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, but is keeping an eye on future super-heavy rockets under development. That’s according to a comment Briggs made this week. U.S. Gen. D., who oversees service procurement for the Space Force (Space News reports on his comment). Jason Catherne.
If you make it, will they come? … “We believe that current providers address the plans we have today for the near future.” General Catherine said in response to a viewer’s question on the potential military value of super-heavy-lift vehicles such as Starship and New Glenn, developed to go to and beyond the moon. “As those who have acquired the lead for the military space, that is a question we love,” the court was told. (Submitted by John Carter 17 and Platycartic)
SpaceX could roll out a test tank to pad this week. Upcoming tests at SpaceX’s Boca Chika facility are likely to include a test tank instead of a full-scale Starship prototype, Nassaspasflight.com reports. The “SN 7.1” model is a larger test tank than its predecessor, the SN7, and is made of 304L-series stainless steel (or at least one type of alloy). It is likely to be pushed to the point of bursting so that SpaceX engineers can understand its limitations.
Preparing for another pop … While the 304L may not be the “ultimate” alloy, while it is hoped to use Starship and Super Heavy in the long run, all previous Starships are made from 301-series alloys. Future versions, starting with SN8, will use the new alloy. Although two launching mounts are available, it remains to be seen if the SN7. Will take up residence on a regular mount of the Starship or another test mount. (Submitted by Platycortic)
Next three launches
Sep 11: Rocket 3.1 | Astra Demonstration Mission | Kodiak Spaceport, Alaska | 02:00 UTC
17 Sept.: Falcon 9 | Starlink-12 Mission | Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 18:17 UTC
18 Sept.: Delta IV Heavy | NROL-44 | Cape Canaveral, Fla. | TBD
