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Welcome to Rocket Report edition 1.44 In the world of lifts, there is no break, with plenty of activity in the field of smallsat launchers as well as interesting speculation on the future of the Aerojet rocket engines sector. Oh, and we think we know why SpaceX has not had much to say about a Falcon Heavy Moon mission yet.
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.
Relativity Announces First Launch Agreement. The California-based rocket company Relativity announced Friday its first customer, the global satellite operator Telesat. The contract for flights on the Terran 1 rocket includes "several" launches, but Relativity's general manager, Tim Ellis, said he could not provide additional details in an interview with Ars. Although this is the first contract the company has chosen to announce, Relativity has already signed other binding contracts.
Good company to be in … Ellis said that Telesat had been chatting for some time with Relativity, so the satellite operator has good access to Relativity's launch technology. After this due diligence, Telesat chose relativity in addition to previous offers with SpaceX, Arianespace and Blue Origin. In fact, Telesat decided that Relativity's Terran 1 booster, with a capacity of 1.25 tonnes in low Earth orbit, was well-designed to help launch a large constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites that would provide connectivity broadband overall.
Three companies chosen for the DARPA challenge. Vector, Vox Space (a subsidiary of Virgin Orbit) and a stealth fashion company have qualified to participate in the DARPA Launch Challenge, the agency announced at the 35th Space Symposium. Industry sources say the stealth company is probably Astra Space, a company developing a small launcher, reports Space News.
A real winnowing … Competitors will first attempt to launch payloads into orbit in January or February 2020. The exact launch window and location will only be revealed to companies 30 days ago. Each company that launches payload into orbit will receive $ 2 million. A second launch from a different site on short notice will yield up to $ 10 million more. Some 55 companies took part in an industry day on the challenge a year ago, but it remains more than three. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Rocket Lab offers satellite service. The New Zealand-based company has announced that it will offer an internal satellite platform that can be launched from its Electron vehicle. According to the New Zealand Herald, the company believes that this satellite "bus" could further disrupt the aerospace industry than its Electron amplifier.
Take command … "Small satellite operators want to focus on providing data or services from space, but building satellite equipment is a big hurdle to that goal," Beck said, adding that The company was already working with its customers and taking control of the new Manufactured at Rocket Lab's headquarters in Huntington Beach, California, a Photon spacecraft can be launched on Electron in as little as four months from order to orbit. If this is the case, it's a big problem for the small business sector because the process of ordering a satellite and launching it in space has already taken almost four years (submitted by mryall, platykurtic and unrulycow )
Virgin Orbit Formally Adds Guam Launch Site. US Pacific Air Force officials have sent a letter of support to Andersen Air Base for the organization of launches and other exercises with LauncherOne and its dedicated carrier aircraft, the company said Wednesday. A launch from the island could take place within 12 months.
More payload capacity The low-latitude site has unobstructed trajectories in almost every direction, allowing Virgin Orbit customers to control where and when their small spacecraft will be deployed, the company says. The new location allows LauncherOne to deliver more than 450 kg in an equatorial 500 km orbit. Virgin announces its intention to use the site for both commercial and national security missions. It seems that the site would offer the army some measure of secrecy. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Two sound rockets launch a whole show. Late Friday night, two sounding rockets were launched from a small spaceport in northern Norway. The two lean rockets climbed to an altitude of 320 km and, en route, each released a visible gas intended to disperse and illuminate the conditions inside the aurora borealis, reports Ars.
Old launch technology … This NASA-funded AZURE mission, which corresponds to the Auroral Zone Upwelling Rocket Experiment, is part of a series of sounding missile missions launched over the next two years to study this phenomenon and similar phenomena. The Friday night mission included two Black Brant XI-A rockets, a three-story sound reminder with a long legacy dating back to Canadian military research in the 1950s. The Black Brant rockets were launched two minutes apart. on the other side of the picturesque Andøya space center in Norway
SpaceX abandons the protest of the contract with NASA. The rocket company has withdrawn its protest against a contract awarded by the space agency to the United Launch Alliance for the Lucy mission, which is scheduled for launch in October 2021, reports Space News. SpaceX claimed to be able to perform the same mission at a price "significantly lower" than the $ 148.3 million that NASA announced it would pay to United Launch Alliance.
A relief for mission planners … SpaceX did not explain why he had abandoned the protest. But according to the publication, the decision alleviates the worries of mission planners about the additional costs if GAO had confirmed the protest and forced NASA to put the contract back into competition. The time and cost of additional delays would probably have prevented any cost savings from switching to a less expensive Falcon 9 rocket.
Falcon 9, Crew Dragon seems to be a winning combo. Even though it was generally considered a more risky game than Boeing's blue-blooded NASA during the competition of commercial crews in 2014, SpaceX now seems about to win the honor of become the first private company to launch humans into orbit. A crew flight with Dragon could take place as early as this fall, while Boeing will not be taking part in its first non-equipped mission until at least August, and NASA has acknowledged that this date may well fall back. Ars.
Revealing seat costs The article also attempts to determine the price per site that NASA will actually pay to SpaceX and Boeing. NASA has only published a generic number, 58 million dollars. According to the analysis, NASA will pay Boeing about $ 71.6 million per Starliner headquarters and $ 44.4 million per SpaceX per Dragon headquarters. One of the lessons learned from the sales teams seems to be that healthy competition between suppliers is good and that commercial contracts can lead to lower prices.
GEM 63 engine completes second test. Northrop Grumman's new 63-inch solid graphite-epoxy rocket propeller has taken a further step in its flight to flight: a static fire test under "hot" conditions. The booster temperature was raised to 90 degrees Fahrenheit for testing, reports SpaceFlight Insider. The solid rocket engine had already been tested in September by "cold".
Could be stolen next year … Among those who have been closely following the test are Tory Bruno, president of the United Launch Alliance, who will be passing Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-60A solid rocket boosters to the less expensive rocket GEM-63 engine. Atlas V by 2020 and will use variant of it on the future Vulcan rocket of the company. "By sending the key material first on our Atlas V rocket, then on our Vulcan Centaur rocket, this builds self-confidence for the first flight of our new rocket in 2021," said Bruno (submitted by Ken the bin).
SpaceX sets launch date for first Starlink mission. According to Teslarati, SpaceX has announced a launch goal in May 2019 for the launch of its first batch of Starlink operational satellites. The publication indicates that R & D will continue as engineers work to implement the true final design of the satellites, but a significant part of the team's work will now focus on producing as many of the satellites as possible. Starlink satellites, as quickly as possible.
Everyone gets a network … The race to provide the Internet from space has seen many twists and turns, but now it seems that every major space player has its own plans for high-speed Internet LEO or has partnered with someone else. # 39; a. Amazon was only the last to come into this space. There will almost certainly be many more losers than winners, so placing One in orbit earlier, as OneWeb currently does, seems like a good plan. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Short seller raises concerns about Aerojet. The activist hedge fund Spruce Point Capital Management, which raised last year questions about the satellite maker Maxar Technologies before the fall of its course, said that he also thought that the engine manufacturer- Aerojet rockets was overvalued. "We believe that the loss of Blue Origin was the knockout blow to Aerojet by losing ULA, its only customer in the space launch business," says a new report from the investment company.
Contractual losses … According to the founder of the fund, Ben Axler, the action of Aerojet has increased on the basis of the profits of the past two years, but it also resulted in heavy losses due to the fall of the AJ engine -60, the imminent end of the Delta rocket, by ULA. the use of RS-68 engines and the aforementioned AR1 loss of BE-4 engine from Blue Origin. Axler also noted questions about the future of the Space Launch System rocket and the Aerojet contract for the supply of RS-25 engines. The report raises financial reporting and management issues, as short sellers typically do to take advantage of stock price declines. "Investors fundamentally miss the change that is happening in society," says Axler.
The Omega rocket probably needs the Air Force to survive. As the Air Force approaches the publication of a call for tenders for military launches from 2022 to 2026, Northrop Grumman told Space News that & # 39; He hoped to receive a contract. "If we do not win (a prize), we evaluate what we would do with Omega," NASA's former astronaut Kent Rominger, Northrop Grumman's vice president of strategic programs, told NASA. "Depending on perspectives and other factors, we could easily decide to continue with Omega, but there is also a chance, according to what we see, that we decided at the time not to continue, or maybe put it on the agenda of the shelf. "
Let's break it down … If the Omega rocket is not chosen by the military (it competes with United Launch Alliance, SpaceX and Blue), it has no commercial future. The key question is whether the Air Force wants to continue to inject money into large solid rocket engines, especially since the long-term viability of the Space Launch System rocket NASA is not clear. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
How will NASA return to the moon? In a feature article, Ars explains the state of affairs regarding the policy and material of the space agency's new plans to make a lunar return by 2024. For now, the administrator NASA takes a holistic approach. to the equipment, with a mix of NASA vehicles, such as the SLS rocket and private rockets. "He understands that the beginning of the war between Alabama and SpaceX will be the end of the Moon's program," said a Washington, DC-based source. (That's also why SpaceX did not talk much about using its Falcon Heavy for a lunar return).
Congress the key … In the quest for the changes needed to accelerate NASA projects, Bridenstine will have to fight on several fronts. Large aerospace companies, with their influential lobbies, will want to protect existing contracts. NASA's field centers will fiercely protect their territory. The Office of Management and Budget of the White House will be reluctant to engage in new, costly, long-term programs. And there is simply the inertia of a big bureaucracy like NASA and managers who will resist the change their programs. However, Bridenstine's biggest hurdle will be Congress.
Three upcoming launches
April 17: Antares 230 | Supply Mission ISS Cygnus CRS NG-11 | Wallops Island, Virginia | 20:46 UTC
April 26: Falcon 9 | Supply Mission of the Dragon CRS-17 ISS | Cape Canaveral, Florida 09:55 UTC
April to be determined: Electron | US Air Force Armed Forces Quick Launch Initiative | Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. | To be determined
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