NASA
Welcome to the 5.25th edition of the Rocket Report! On Thursday afternoon, much of the space world turned to South Texas, where SpaceX conducted what appeared to be a successful static launch test of its Super Heavy rocket. This was an important step towards Starship’s long-awaited orbital flight test this spring.It is like this TRUE Happening.
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.
Georgia’s spaceport effort seems doomedThe Georgia Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Camden County must comply with the March 2022 referendum, with nearly three-quarters of local voters voting against a proposed vertical-launch spaceport. , reports the Georgia Recorder. Since 2015, the Camden County Commission has spent more than $11 million to move the project forward, which has been opposed by some residents and environmental groups.
not quite dead yet … But county officials stuck to the plan to build a commercial spaceport, even after a decisive referendum against the initiative a year ago. Now, after Tuesday’s ruling, the commissioner is evaluating options, a spokesperson said. “The future of Spaceport Camden remains a decision of the Camden County Commission and will be discussed at a future meeting.” We plan to,” said Claire Feisel, a spokeswoman for the committee. Submitted by zapman987, EllPeaTea, Ken the Bin)
Is a small launch “bloodshed” imminent? Demand for small satellite launches is higher than ever, but industry insiders warn that price pressures and lack of access to capital could put many companies out of business in the near future. Space News reports. At a panel discussion at the SmallSat symposium in Mountain View, Calif., on Tuesday, several launch company executives said they see strong demand for their launch services, especially as competition from SpaceX pushes prices down. He said he struggled to make a profit.
super saver price … SpaceX is currently charging $275,000 to launch a small 50-kilogram satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit for its three to four annual “transporter” rideshare missions. This is well below the list price of many dedicated small satellite rockets. Rocket Lab Chief Financial Officer Adam Spice said of Transporter: Mission. “This is a reset that was not on the model just a few years ago.” (Posted by Ken the Bin)
Firefly targets May for next launch attemptFirefly CEO Bill Weber said Tuesday that the Alpha rocket will make its next launch for the U.S. Space Force in May 2023. A flight from the Vandenberg Space Force Base will launch the Tactical Response Space-3 satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit, he reports Space News. This mission is intended to demonstrate rapid turnaround between launch orders and payload deployment.
This will be Alpha’s third release. … the 1-ton launcher attempted its first launch in September 2021, but failed to reach orbit after one of the first stage engines failed during ascent. Her second test flight in October 2022 reached orbit, but the satellite was placed in a significantly lower orbit than originally planned. (Posted by Ken the Bin)
Launch, airline travel. which one gives? Space companies are launching more rockets than ever before, and this is increasingly clashing with airspace as travelers return to flying in droves, CNBC reports. The Federal Aviation Administration stands in the center. The FAA has controlled U.S. airspace with his record-breaking 92 space missions in 2022. This is a 33% year-on-year increase and is expected to surpass this year. That number includes both rocket launches and capsule re-entries and is steadily increasing.
turkey day tug of war … CNBC’s analysis of the data found Florida to be the hardest hit. Most of last year’s missions started from Florida, but at the same time, Sunshine State has attracted more and more travelers in recent years and faces frequent thunderstorms several months a year. With 722,180 flights to, from and within Florida, the state’s return to pre-pandemic flying levels was faster than the national average. This led to conflicts such as when the FAA had to stop his NASA from launching Artemis I.
Virgin closes in on LauncherOne failureVirgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said it was too early to formally announce the root cause of the failure of the company’s LauncherOne rocket, which launched from Spaceport Cornwall in England last month. But he said during a panel at the SmallSat symposium this week that the evidence points to components in the rocket’s second stage engine while the investigation continues, Space News reports.
cheap parts … “Now everything points to a filter that was obviously there when the rocket was assembled, but wasn’t there when the second stage engine started. It means there was a problem with ,” Hart said. Roughly, he added. , the parts cost about $100.Hart did not discuss the company’s financial situation amid his concerns about available cash as he aims to return to flying.
Deep inside StokespaceFor those interested in Stoke Space’s innovative approach to reusable launches, Everyday Astronaut has a new hour-long video that dives pretty deep into the technology. Tim Dodd brings his usual enthusiasm to the video, discussing technology with Stoke Space co-founder Andy Lapsa.
About the heat shield …Dodd takes viewers around Stoke’s headquarters in Washington and asks about the company’s actively regenerative-cooled heat shields and unique offset geometry for precision re-entry and landing. As Ars wrote last October, Stoke is working towards a second phase of “hop” testing later this spring. (submitted by terkans)
Ovzon 3 departs from Ariane 5 due to manufacturing delaysSwedish broadband provider Ovzon said this week that manufacturing delays would prevent it from launching its 1.5-tonne Ovzon 3 satellite on an Ariane 5 rocket. The small satellite was intended to piggyback on one of Arianespace’s last few Ariane 5 launches, which took place from December through February. But a delay by satellite maker Maxar made that impossible, Space News reports.
Farewell Ariadne … As Ariane 5 nears retirement, Ofzon has entered geostationary orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket. Moving to SpaceX Falcon 9 means that Ovzon 3 will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, between July and September of this year. “While we are clearly disappointed with the continued delays in satellite production, we are fully confident in the market demand for Ovzon 3.
SpaceX passes static firing testAt approximately 3:15 pm local time in South Texas, SpaceX ignited a Super Heavy rocket for a “whole life” test of the Raptor engine. According to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, the launch team turned off one engine just before ignition and another automatically shut down. said he would have. This is a major milestone for SpaceX and could put the company in orbit for an orbital test flight scheduled for late March or early April.
great day for the universe … As reported by Ars, this is the most rocket-ignited engine ever. The thrust output of these engines, too, was probably almost double that of NASA’s Saturn 5 rocket or space launch system. The good news for SpaceX is that, at least in the early days, the South Texas launch infrastructure appeared mostly intact. All in all, this was a great day for SpaceX and for NASA. NASA has relied on the Super Heavy and Starship to help mankind land on the moon in this decade. (Provided by EllPeaTea)
Assess when a Vulcan rocket will launchThe United Launch Alliance’s large Vulcan rocket has received dozens of launch orders from the US Department of Defense and Amazon for the Project Kuiper megaconstellation and is expected to debut at some point this year. when? There’s no official date, but Ars reports that the company is likely working towards an earlier than his May launch date. Known as Cert-1 (short for “certification flight-1”), the mission has two main thrusts for him.
It’s always the engine. …the payload itself is not ready yet. Because its primary engine is still being tested at White Sands, New Mexico. Astrobotic now plans to integrate the engine into a Peregrine lunar lander at a rocket launch site in Florida. The Vulcan itself also has to undergo a series of flight-readiness verification tests, including multiple refueling tests and wet-her-dress-her rehearsals, and finally the engine-flight-ready launch. Then set the release date.
NASA tests redesigned shuttle main engineThe space agency conducted the year’s first high-temperature firing test of a modified RS-25 rocket engine Wednesday at the Stennis Space Center near St. Louis Bay, Mississippi. This was part of a “certification” program to ensure the engine design was ready to go into production, he said. The test featured a series of new components and lasted 500 seconds. This is the entire launch duration required to put a Space Launch System rocket into orbit.
No reuse required … four of these main engines power the SLS rocket. For his first four Artemis missions, SLS will use the remaining engines from the Space Shuttle program. The engine tested this week is a slightly simplified version of an older shuttle engine design and features new manufacturing techniques, but it cannot be reused like the space shuttle main engine. Qualification trials for the new RS-25 engine are progressing well and are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023, with the new production engine starting in his 2024. (Submitted by BH, Ken the Bin, EllPeaTea, Tfargo04)
next three launches
February 12th: Falcon 9 | Starlink 5-4 | Cape Canaveral, FL | 04:42 UTC
February 15th: H3 | Debut test flight | Tanegashima, Japan | 01:37 UTC
February 15th: Falcon 9 | Starlink 2-5 | Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. 16:32 UTC
