SpaceX's Rising Tide - Discussion of non-SpaceX launch companies

[HVM]

Ok, it over for Virgin Orbit:

Virgin Orbit fails to secure funding, will cease operations and lay off nearly entire workforce

Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart gave employees an update in an all-hands meeting on Thursday, according to audio obtained by CNBC.

www.cnbc.com

 

[ecarfan]

Virgin Orbit, Richard Branson’s rocket company, will lay off 85% of staff

Virgin Orbit — the rocket company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson — is laying off the vast majority of its workforce as company leadership struggles to secure additional funding.

About 675 employees will be terminated by April 3, according to a public document filed Thursday, amounting to around 85% of Virgin Orbit’s workforce. The move was made to “reduce expenses in light of the Company’s inability to secure meaningful funding.”

It is unclear to me why anyone would want to invest in VO at this time. What is their edge in the small launch market?

 

[Grendal]

The article also mentions that Astra is in financial trouble.

Astra says Rocket 4 development on schedule for late 2023 first flight

Astra is still planning to conduct a first launch of its Rocket 4 vehicle before the end of the year as it scales up production of spacecraft thrusters.

spacenews.com

 

[mongo]

Virgin Orbit has filed Chapter 11
VIRGIN ORBIT TO CONTINUE SALE PROCESS UNDER CHAPTER 11 PROTECTION | Virgin Orbit

 

[Electroman]

Not really sure if VO advanced science or engineering. I believe a pilot lost his life?

Are there any positives to take away from VO's short life span?

 

[mongo]

Not really sure if VO advanced science or engineering. I believe a pilot lost his life?

Are there any positives to take away from VO's short life span?

That was Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company.
I think the VO takeaway is that business plan/ financials matter (along with execution) and a niche operational advantage isn't enough.

 

[mongo]

Relativity report on Terran 1
Slow valve actuation and likely a gas bubble in the oxygen pump.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1646151884766429188

 

[bxr140]

New Zealander without college degree couldn’t talk his way into NASA and Boeing—so he built a $1.8 billion rocket company

After years of dreaming about building rockets, Peter Beck realized that the only path to his dream job was starting his own company. Here's what happened next.

www.cnbc.com

 

[scaesare]

Relativity report on Terran 1
Slow valve actuation and likely a gas bubble in the oxygen pump.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1646151884766429188

I'm amazed at how many little things have to go right for it all to work, and the challenges they present in a vehicle with high acceleration forces, operating from full atmospheric pressure all the way to vacuum, from earth gravity all the way up to 0G, temps from 100's below 0 all the way up to 100's above, etc...

Seems like "little" things all the time: sticky valves, bubbles, liquid slosh, etc...

It's almost like space is hard...

 

[mongo]

ULA test failure video
H2 leak into test rig that then ignited.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1646572389193625600

 

[Grendal]

Astra wins $11.5 million contract to launch military experimental payloads

Astra wins $11.5 million contract to launch military experimental payloads

spacenews.com

 

[Grendal]

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. 2023 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation (NASDAQ:RKLB)

The following slide deck was published by Rocket Lab USA, Inc.

seekingalpha.com

 

[mspohr]

The Capitalist Generation’s Space Race

Ashlee Vance’s “When the Heavens Went on Sale” chronicles a new competition striving for escape velocity.

nyti.ms

The Capitalist Generation’s Space Race The Capitalist Generation’s Space Race

 

[Grendal]

Firefly:

Firefly to launch Lockheed Martin small-satellite experiment

Firefly to launch Lockheed Martin small-satellite experiment

spacenews.com

 

[ecarfan]

The article also mentions that Astra is in financial trouble.

Astra says Rocket 4 development on schedule for late 2023 first flight

Astra is still planning to conduct a first launch of its Rocket 4 vehicle before the end of the year as it scales up production of spacecraft thrusters.

spacenews.com

And Astra is still in trouble according to this new report from Ars Technica. Their Rocket 4 may never get off the ground if they don’t find new investors.

As of the end of June, Astra reported $26.3 million of cash, cash equivalents, or marketable securities on its balance sheet, less than the company projected in its previous quarterly report. Astra forecasts that figure to fall to between $15 million and $20 million by the end of September. The company's net loss for the second quarter of this year was $14 million.

Despite the cost-cutting, layoffs, and plans for a stock sale, Astra said in its quarterly filing with the SEC that it still has "limited cash resources." The company said it will need additional capital to fund commercial-scale production. If Astra obtains "significant additional financing" and continues to limit capital expenditures, the company's management wrote that it expects to be able to continue operating for at least the next 12 months.

 

[Grendal]

Firefly selected to launch three L3Harris satellites

Firefly selected to launch three L3Harris satellites

spacenews.com

 

[RichardL]

Quite surprised this evening sitting on our deck around 8pm, just after dark to see a launch from Vandenberg.
Appears to be a military launch by Firefly Aerospace.
Since it was only 30 minutes after sunset the contrail was brightly illuminated and after MECO the second stage was quite visible. That seemed very slow compared to the regular SpaceX launches, so I assume it was a much higher trajectory for the payload.
Always a pleasant surprise to see a launch!

 

[HVM]

Launch Roundup; Rocket Lab fails during "We Will Never Desert You" launch; SpaceX to launch booster for 17th time - NASASpaceFlight.com

The week of Sept. 18 through Sept. 24 is set to see three orbital launches,…

www.nasaspaceflight.com

4/40 failure rate 10% is not good, but not far from industry average (before SpaceX) that was ~7%

 

[mongo]

Launch Roundup; Rocket Lab fails during "We Will Never Desert You" launch; SpaceX to launch booster for 17th time - NASASpaceFlight.com

The week of Sept. 18 through Sept. 24 is set to see three orbital launches,…

www.nasaspaceflight.com

4/40 failure rate 10% is not good, but not far from industry average (before SpaceX) that was ~7%

20 flights since previous failure though.

 

[Grendal]

Another delay for ESA:

ESA delays Vega C return to flight to late 2024

The return to flight of Europe’s Vega C small launch vehicle has slipped to late 2024 after the ESA concluded a rocket motor nozzle needs to be redesigned.

spacenews.com