[ad_1]
Welcome to Rocket Report edition 1.41! This week, we definitely have an international flavor, with news of space flight efforts from Brazil, Italy, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. There is also a funny story about the hypersonic launch completing some initial tests with seemingly promising returns.
As always, we appreciate the contributions of readers. If you do not want to miss a problem, please register using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-compatible site versions). Each report will contain information on small, medium and large lift rockets, as well as a quick overview of the next three launches of the schedule.
Brazilian spaceport wins important US deal. Brazil's decades-long efforts to launch satellites from its underutilized launch center, Alcântara, could finally bear fruit, reports Parabolic Arc. On Monday, Brazil and the United States signed a technology guarantee agreement that will allow US companies to launch orbital rockets from Alcântara.
Near the equator … The launch site, which is the subject of much debate, is only 2 degrees from the equator, making it the perfect place for the launch of geosynchronous communications satellites. Brazilian officials said that a number of established US space companies, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and SpaceX, had expressed interest in launching from the spaceport. For the moment, the agreement brings this possibility closer, but it remains to be seen whether an American rocket company, large or small, will engage for the site. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
An Italian rocket company sees its revenues increase. Avio, the company that builds the Vega European rocket and the future Vega C, announced on March 14 that its revenue for 2018 had risen 13 percent to $ 440.6 million, while its net profit had jumped 18 percent. %. SpaceNews. "What lies behind our business, it's a segment of the market growing very fast," said Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio. "All these small satellites in low Earth orbit, in one way or another, they are developing very quickly."
A competitive market … The Vega rocket competes with the Indian polar satellite launch vehicle, and the Vega C rocket will be slightly more powerful as it looks for customers for small satellite and carpool missions. Avio has planned four Vega missions this year, which would be the highest number of Vega launches in a single year since the launch of the rocket in 2012. The Vega C launcher is expected to debut in 2020. This schedule would give priority to the European society most of the other small satellite launchers coming online soon. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
The Japanese launch a start-up to try again; With help. After unsuccessful launches in 2017 and 2018, Interstellar Technologies wishes to take advice from the Japanese space agency JAXA and the country's major rocket manufacturer, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. "We realized that it's difficult to develop a big rocket entirely by ourselves," said general manager Takahiro Inagawa, according to Asian Review.
Largest planned rocket … The company has announced that it will attempt to launch its Momo rocket again this spring. The recall is capable of lifting 10 kg at an altitude of 100 km. The company's largest zero rocket, capable of lifting 100 kg in a low Earth orbit, could be ready for its first test flight in three or four years. Interstellar wants to limit launch costs to about $ 5 million. As always, take these planned launch dates with a grain of salt.
The launch concept of the Ram accelerator performs the first tests. Founded by Mark Russell, Blue Origin employee # 10, HyperSciences recently completed a series of high altitude tests at a launch site in New Mexico, TechCrunch announced. The company has launched "a number of projectiles" ranging from 1.5 feet long to over 9 feet long. The ram accelerator throws projectiles from the surface at a speed five times faster than sound.
Lots of G … The idea is that the initial shake releases enough energy to send payloads on a high suborbital trajectory. (NASA supported the concept with a Phase I research grant). Such a method could of course never be used for sensitive payloads, because the initial G forces are extreme, 600 to 1000 times the force of gravity on the surface of the Earth. But some payloads can certainly tolerate this, paving the way for cheaper access to space.
Satellite Internet provides more funding. While rocket companies are looking for new launch contracts in the context of the slowdown in geostationary missions, the constellations of low-Earth orbit satellites proposed by several companies are attracting considerable interest. The financial health of at least some of these companies looks solid, OneWeb has organized its largest fundraising so far and has secured $ 1.25 billion in new capital, reports Fierce Wireless.
Aggressive launch schedule to come … In February, OneWeb launched its first six satellites on a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana. It is now preparing to launch up to 650 satellites over the next few years on various rockets, including Ariane's Ariane 6 launcher. OneWeb will begin an aggressive launch schedule, with monthly launches of 30 satellites at a time, starting in the fourth quarter of 2019, the company said. (submitted by Whiteknave and Unrulycow)
Expect a lull at the launch of Vandenberg in 2019. A reader reported that Colonel Michael Hough, Commander of 30 Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, spoke at a civic event on the central coast of California earlier this month and had predicted a decrease followed by an increase in launches since the Western Range Vandenberg this year. According to Hough, only one launch is currently on the 2019 calendar. This would be SpaceX's May 16 launch of the Radarsat Constellation mission.
More time to come … There are also other possible missions (another Falcon 9 carrying the satellite SAOCOM 1B appears in the manifesto of 2019, but it will apparently slide). Firefly has also indicated its intention to launch its Vandenberg Alpha rocket at the end of this year. Despite the appeasement of 2019, Hough is expecting more busy days and said the California-based launch site was preparing to welcome many commercial tenants, including Firefly Aerospace, Vector, Northrop Grumman, Relativity Space, Rocket Lab and Blue Origin. (Submitted by SLC Kicks)
Starliner flight delayed until the end of the summer. It seems likely that Boeing's first flight with the Starliner capsule (on an Atlas V rocket) will not take place until August. The author of this newsletter has shared so much on Twitter last week, and now Reuters hears the same thing. We contacted Boeing's PR department earlier this week for confirmation, but we have not heard anything official yet.
It was coming … The delays are not a surprise, as they have been prevalent for some time. Boeing has yet to perform a pad abandonment test, which was originally scheduled to take place last June. If there is one positive point for Boeing, it is that we are told that the company is trying to place Starliner in a configuration very close to the final design of a crewed mission to minimize the time between flight tests.
Mars Hope Mission on the road to launch for 2020. That's what Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's chief scientist, said Wednesday with the media on the sidelines of the World Space Congress in Abu Dhabi. "I think the UAE will have a very good chance of success, and all my American partners and colleagues and colleagues think here is that this mission is on track for 2020," said Zurbuchen. Gulf News.
T-16 months … NASA provides technical support to the mission and will make its network for open spaces available for communications. This is the first Arab mission on Mars. The satellite will study the fine atmosphere of the planet after its launch on a Japanese rocket HII-A built by Mitsubishi. The launch date is currently set for July 2020.
SpaceX eliminates costly carbon fiber tooling. SpaceX seems to have permanently abandoned its Starship and Super Heavy development tents, located in the Los Angeles harbor, as well as its customized tools to support the manufacture of carbon composite spacecraft and boosters. These tools may have earned tens of millions of dollars, reports Teslarati.
All stainless steel … The company did not accept the delivery of the Ascent Aerospace tools until a year ago. More recently, Elon Musk has touted the thermal properties of stainless steel for his reusable rocket and spacecraft. It remains to be seen if the decision to pursue a stainless steel design instead of carbon fiber was a very expensive mistake, a stroke of genius or something in the middle. It seems at this point that there is no turning back.
The air force will soon accept offers for the launch of mid-2020. Before the end of March, the US Air Force could give rocket companies an opportunity to bid for about 25 launches between 2022 and 2026. The "RFP" is full of intrigue. and will have major implications for all major US rocket companies, reports Ars.
Holders are favored … As part of this competition, the Air Force will choose only two companies to meet its launch needs from 2022 to 2026, a provider winning 60% of the contracts and the other 40 %. There is no provision for other companies during the reporting period. This puts in place a rather frantic competition between ULA and SpaceX historical operators alongside newcomers Blue Origin (with its New Glenn booster) and Northrop Grumman (with its Omega rocket). In addition, the timing seems to be hurting competition for incumbents, who already have existing launch systems and the government can evaluate.
Blue Origin studies reused upper floors. Blue Origin has studied the conversion of the upper floors of its future New Glenn launcher to serve as habitat or for other applications as part of a series of NASA-funded commercial studies. . SpaceNews reports. The study was part of a series of NASA study contracts last August to evaluate future concepts to support commercial spaceborne low-Earth-orbit spaceflight.
First, you have to fly … Blue Origin was one of 13 companies, ranging from aerospace companies to consulting firms, having received NASA contracts for LEO marketing studies. The contracts have a total value of $ 11 million, with no individual award exceeding $ 1 million. Until now, the space agency has not published the results of these studies nor even a summary. (We would like to see them, of course). In any case, Blue Origin knows that New Glenn must fly before asking what to do with the upper floors. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
The next launch of Falcon Heavy is essential for reuse certification. The next launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled for April 7-10, and this mission to strengthen the Arabsat communications satellite will use new hardware. But if this flight succeeds, the side boosters will be re-used on the next Falcon Heavy flight later this summer, and the Air Force will monitor the events, reports Spaceflight Now.
reuse … The Air Force has already certified the Falcon Heavy for national security launches, but it has not yet allowed its payloads to fly with used boosters. "This gives the Air Force a first opportunity to understand the process of using previously stolen equipment in order to open future EELV missions to reusable launch vehicles", said an air force official at the publication. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Three upcoming launches
March 22: Vega | PRISMA Satellite | Kourou, French Guiana | 1:50 UTC
March 24: Electron | DARPA R3D2 Mission | Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand | 22:30 UTC
March 25: OS-M1 | OneSpace first orbital test flight | Jiuquan, China | To be determined
[ad_2]
Source link