Welcome to Edition 3.10 of the Rocket Report! Now that Perseverance to Mars On our way to the red planet, we are happy to congratulate space agencies in the United Arab Emirates, China and the United States on the successful launches to Mars this summer. It’s great to go three by three in the 2020 launch window. In February, we’ll see how many safely make it to their final destination.
As always, we appreciate reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss a problem, subscribe using the box below. Each report will include information on small, medium, and heavy lift rockets, perhaps a small growl, as well as a quick look at the next three launches on the calendar.
Virgin Galactic reveals the look of the interior cabin. Virgin Galactic has released the first images of what the interior of its VSS Unit the spacecraft will be seen. The design shows a seating capacity for up to six passengers who will fly aboard the rocket-powered space plane, climb to an altitude greater than 80 km, and experience a few minutes of weightlessness. The company says it plans one or two more power tests, followed by final test flights from New Mexico, before beginning full commercial service for passengers.
What does the real cabin look like? Notably, the images and sleek video released by the company on Tuesday show mostly renderings rather than actual photos inside. Unit or video from inside the spatial plane. This raises some questions about how final the cabin modifications are and when it might actually be ready to pay customers, Ars reports.
British government finalizes launch regulations. The British government hopes to launch a comprehensive set of regulations soon that will allow companies to launch commercial launches from the country’s space ports. An estimated 900 pages of regulations will cover the licenses and supervision of launch vehicles and launch sites, SpaceNews reports.
Not exactly a beach read … The British government says it has worked closely with the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States, which has decades of experience in commercial launch regulations. That cooperation should reduce the regulatory burden on any US vehicle attempting to launch from the UK, such as the Virgin Orbit Launcher, although those launches will still need an FAA launch license in addition to any UK government license. United. (presented by Ken the Bin)
Location of chosen Michigan launch pad. Promoters say they have selected a 5km stretch of undeveloped land along Lake Superior in Michigan’s upper peninsula for a vertical launch site. Detroit Free Press reports that the site could be operational in the next five to six years if the plans go through. The effort is being led by Gavin Brown, executive director of the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association.
The convergence of cars and space? … “Automakers are trying to figure out how to achieve that connectivity in their cars,” said Brown, noting that the effort his group is making would allow Detroit automakers to benefit from a network that companies would not have to use. build on your own. He noted the advantage Tesla enjoys due to Elon Musk’s connection as the founder of SpaceX, which has become a major player in the commercial space industry. The author of this newsletter grew up in Michigan and this seems hopelessly naive, but we will follow him with interest anyway. (presented by JohnCarter17)
China launches its 21st mission in 2021. Shortly after launching the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars, China launched a Long March 4B rocket with three satellites last Friday. The main charge was the Ziyuan-3 remote sensing satellite, developed by the Chinese Academy of Space Technology, along with two small satellites for X-ray astronomy and business data acquisition.
Halfway … The launch was on the 21 of 2020 of China, including three failures, reports SpaceNews. The inaugural flights of the Kuaizhou-11 and Long March 7A ended in failure. The Palapa-N1 communications satellite was lost in a Long March 3B launch. The Chinese space corporation said earlier this year that it plans to launch some 40 missions in 2020. (presented by Ken the Bin and JohnCarter17)
Georgia spaceport plan becomes more controversial. Defenders of a Georgia spaceport in Camden County must obtain a site license from the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA held its initial public meeting for the project in December 2015, and the county paid at least $ 1.2 million to consulting firm Leidos to prepare the original environmental impact statement. The proposal has stimulated opposition from numerous critics, most of whom cite environmental concerns.
The review is ongoing. … Now, those critics are lamenting an unsuccessful effort by Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter to amend a transportation bill, reports Savannah Morning News. Critics said it was an effort to dilute the necessary environmental review for the spaceport. The Republican congressman, who recently bought land near the spaceport, denied it. The FAA is currently slated to complete its environmental review in the fall of 2021. (submitted by JohnCarter17)
The DoD award process sends “mixed signals”. The Pentagon earlier this month withdrew an earlier decision to award Defense Production Law contracts to six small startup companies. The approach sends “mixed signals” to an industry that has been financially devastated by the virus-induced economic crisis, said Mandy Vaughn, president of VOX Space, SpaceNews reports.
Are we not a priority? … VOX Space was one of six companies that were notified in June that they would collectively receive $ 116 million in contracts to launch small satellites for the United States government. The Department of Defense apparently withdrew the awards due to widespread complaints about the process for selecting those six companies. Vaughn said notifying companies of contract awards and immediately terminating them shows “a bit of a mess” and sends a message to the industry that the Defense Department does not consider it a priority. (presented by platykurtic)
Why did an early investor separate from Rocket Lab?. New Zealand-based publication Stuff published an article about Mark Rocket, one of the first investors to work closely with Rocket Lab from 2006 to 2008. At first, Rocket and company founder Peter Beck ruled out launching charges. military, the article states. “Initially we hoped not to do … certain types of projects,” Rocket told the publication, explaining why he left in 2011. “I was passionate about the business side. You have to work in that line is for you.”
See the light on national security … Since 2008, Beck explained why his views on the matter have evolved. “You also have to remember that intelligence keeps us safe,” said Beck. “Unfortunately, there are many bad actors in the world. I am New Zealander, but you must also understand that national security is global. It is not the responsibility of a single country. New Zealand is part of Five Eyes … it is all very well to criticize security. national until the day you need it. ” It certainly helps pay the bills, too. (presented by platykurtic)
Atlas V launched Perseverance to Mars. An Atlas V rocket successfully launched the Mars Perseverance mission Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The upper stage of the Centaur rocket pushed the spacecraft out of Earth’s gravity onto Mars. The spacecraft will hit the red planet in February, at which time NASA will attempt to land its heaviest vehicle, reports Ars. NASA said it is working to resolve a communications problem with the spacecraft.
Oxygen on Mars … With a mass of 1,025 metric tons, the Perseverance the rover is about 14 percent more bulky than its predecessor, Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012. It carries several notable experiments, including a small helicopter and the MOXIE experiment, which will seek to produce oxygen from the thin atmosphere of Mars. If this experiment is successful, it will demonstrate the potential to derive liquid oxygen for launching rockets from the surface of Mars.
NASA Selects Astronauts For Crew-2 Launch. This will be SpaceX Crew Dragon’s second operational flight to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur will serve as commander and pilot of the spacecraft, respectively, for the mission. JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will join as mission specialists.
A spring release … Crew-2 is slated to launch in the spring of 2021 on a Falcon 9 rocket, after successfully completing NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight mission (expected to return to Earth on 2 August) and the launch of NASA’s SpaceX. Crew-1 mission (directed at the end of September). Crew-2 astronauts will remain aboard the space station for approximately six months as crew members of the expedition. (presented by Tfargo04 and JohnCarter17)
Proton finally ready for debut in 2020. Two satellites designed to broadcast radio and television broadcasts, internet connectivity and other communications services across Russia arrived on a launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for takeoff on Thursday, Spaceflight Now reports. This will be the first Proton release of 2020.
The Proton rocket was last launched in December … Capable of lifting up to 23.7 metric tons to low Earth orbit, the Proton rocket once dominated the commercial launch market, but has since seen a reduced launch frequency due to reliability issues and cost pressure from competitors like the Falcon 9 rocket. May be launched two or three more times during the rest of 2020.
SpaceX applies for FAA license to upload to Starship. On Tuesday, SpaceX submitted its launch license application to fly its Starship vehicle up to 20 km. The company stated that its purpose is “Experimental mid-altitude jump, landing and recovery tests of the Starship Prototype suborbital test vehicle from Boca Chica TX.”
Testing later this year? … The proposed test dates will run from August 18, 2020 to February 18, 2021. It is unclear which Starship prototype will be tested up to 20 km. The current prototype on the Boca Chica launch pad, SN5, can make a short jump of up to 150 meters if it undergoes a successful static fire test this weekend. (presented by danneely)
Next three releases
July 30 Proton | Express 80 and Express 103 | Baikonur, Kazakhstan | 21:25 UTC
July 31st: Ariane 5 | Galaxy 30, MEV-2 and BSAT-4B satellites | Kourou, French Guiana | 21:30 UTC
August 1: Falcon 9 | Starlink-9 Mission | Kennedy space center, fla. | 07:21 UTC (likely to be delayed due to weather)
