Trevor Merlman
Welcome to our first Rocket Report of the new year, issue 5.22! We look forward to seeing what happens in the launch world in 2023. Expect to see many new heavy-duty rockets this year, including Japan’s H3, SpaceX’s Starship, and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan. And there are many small rockets. We are here all year round to follow it with you.
As always, we look forward to reading your contributions. If you don’t want to miss an issue, use the box below to subscribe (the form is not visible in his AMP-enabled version of the site). Each report includes information on small, medium and heavy rockets and a summary of his next three launches on the calendar.
Vega rocket fails againEurope’s Vega rocket failed in late December for the third time in eight flights. The BBC reported that the Vega vehicle was lost 150 seconds into its latest mission from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, carrying two French-made high-resolution Earth-imaging probes into low-Earth orbit. The failure puts further pressure on Europe’s satellite sector, which no longer uses Russian rockets and will retire its heavy-lift Ariane-5 launcher later this year.
unprecedented crisis … The anomaly occurred in the rocket’s second stage, Zefiro 40, and immediate analysis showed that pressure in the segment’s combustion chamber had dropped. This was only his second launch of an upgraded version of the Vega rocket, known as the Vega-C, and European officials said the commission would investigate the accident. This means a year of relatively few launches by Arianespace, which operates the Vega and Ariane rockets. There are only two left before the Ariane 5 rocket is completed, and the Ariane 6 rocket probably won’t debut until he’s in 2024. (submitted by Tfargo04 and Ken the Bin)
Virgin Orbit Launch Date ApproachingSpace Tracker Marco Langbruck pointed out on twitter A navigational warning was posted for the LauncherOne “Start Me Up” mission from Cornwall, England, on 9 January, backed up on 18 January. The flight is intended to deliver a payload to a 555 km sun-synchronous orbit. After the warning was posted, Virgin Orbit said it was not yet ready to announce an official launch date for the mission.
Look, let’s go! … the highly anticipated launch – the first orbital launch ever to begin from British soil – has been postponed by several months into 2022 due to regulatory issues. These concerns seem to have disappeared since the The final launch date is therefore likely to be highly dependent on technical issues and weather conditions off the southwest coast of the UK. (Posted by Ken the Bin and EllPeaTea)
Lawmakers want to buy seats in New ShepardIn one of the strangest laws I’ve seen, South Carolina Rep. Neil Collins (R-Pikens) allows the state to purchase seats in Blue Origin New Shepard cars and transfer them to residents. I hope “There are some companies that have allowed ordinary people to go to space. Would you like to?”
Taxpayer-Funded Private Spaceflight? … Mr. Collins’ plan was for the state to convene a commission responsible for the selection of space tourists. A seven-member committee made up of representatives from the aerospace industry, academia, and government established the program’s selection criteria and encouraged careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Select the applicants best suited to further your goals. Collins said he hopes to fund the program out of South Carolina’s General Fund budget. Blue Origin lobbyists agree with anyone working in South Carolina. (Posted by Ken the Bin)
