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SpaceX's Rising Tide - Discussion of non-SpaceX launch companies
- Thread starter bxr140
- Start date
So there's been an ongoing effort for legacy space entities to find new space partners, most recently and arguably the most significant being Raytheon's acquisition of BCT. In a reversal from years past, the legacy players both acknowledge the value of the new/agile/scrappy players and also understand they're never going to be able to compete on that level.
Other prom dates include:
Boeing and Millenium
Lockheed and Tyvak
Thales and Leo Stella
Honorary mention to Rocket Lab's acquisition of Sinclair, mostly because it has real potential to be mega. (They're both very much on the new school bus.)
Other prom dates include:
Boeing and Millenium
Lockheed and Tyvak
Thales and Leo Stella
Honorary mention to Rocket Lab's acquisition of Sinclair, mostly because it has real potential to be mega. (They're both very much on the new school bus.)
Another Vega failure:
"Vega fails during launch of European Earth observation satellites
Arianespace suffered another issue with its Vega rocket during the launch of two Earth observation satellites named SEOSAT-Ingenio and TARANIS for Spain and France, respectively."
Vega fails during launch of European Earth observation satellites - NASASpaceFlight.com
"...In a call with reporters, Roland Lagier, chief technical officer of Arianespace, said the first three stages of the Vega rocket performed normally after liftoff from Kourou, French Guiana, at 8:52 p.m. Eastern Nov. 16. The Avum upper stage then separated and ignited its engine.
However, “straightaway after ignition” of the upper stage, he said, the vehicle started to tumble out of control. “This loss of control was permanent, inducing significant tumbling behavior, and then the trajectory started to deviate rapidly from the nominal one, leading to the loss of the mission.”
Analysis of the telemetry from the mission, along with data from the production of the vehicle, led them to conclude that cables to two thrust vector control actuators were inverted. Commands intended to go to one actuator went instead to the other, triggering the loss of control.
“This was clearly a production and quality issue, a series of human errors, and not a design one,” Lagier said."
Human error blamed for Vega launch failure - SpaceNews
"Vega fails during launch of European Earth observation satellites
Arianespace suffered another issue with its Vega rocket during the launch of two Earth observation satellites named SEOSAT-Ingenio and TARANIS for Spain and France, respectively."
Vega fails during launch of European Earth observation satellites - NASASpaceFlight.com
"...In a call with reporters, Roland Lagier, chief technical officer of Arianespace, said the first three stages of the Vega rocket performed normally after liftoff from Kourou, French Guiana, at 8:52 p.m. Eastern Nov. 16. The Avum upper stage then separated and ignited its engine.
However, “straightaway after ignition” of the upper stage, he said, the vehicle started to tumble out of control. “This loss of control was permanent, inducing significant tumbling behavior, and then the trajectory started to deviate rapidly from the nominal one, leading to the loss of the mission.”
Analysis of the telemetry from the mission, along with data from the production of the vehicle, led them to conclude that cables to two thrust vector control actuators were inverted. Commands intended to go to one actuator went instead to the other, triggering the loss of control.
“This was clearly a production and quality issue, a series of human errors, and not a design one,” Lagier said."
Human error blamed for Vega launch failure - SpaceNews
This booster was allowed to splash down softly in the ocean. It will be recovered and examined to confirm recovery is worth it and what might be needed to ensure recovery attempts are worth trying to do.
Rocket Lab launches Electron in test of booster recovery - SpaceNews
The upper section looks in great shape. The ocean looks pretty mild for recovery.
Rocket Lab recovers booster after launch with 30 small satellites – Spaceflight Now
Rocket Lab recovers booster after launch with 30 small satellites – Spaceflight Now
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Mostly to try and not contaminate the starlink thread with too much other news, Kuiper has revealed their phased array. I don't think there's anything fundamentally different about this antenna vs Starlink's (just frequency), my guess is they're revealing it now just to make it clear they're not simply copying Starlink, especially after the teardown. (Clearly Amazon has been working on this array for quite some time)
Amazon unveils flat-panel customer terminal for Kuiper constellation - SpaceNews
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/in...rough-in-project-kuiper-development?_amp=true
Amazon unveils flat-panel customer terminal for Kuiper constellation - SpaceNews
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/in...rough-in-project-kuiper-development?_amp=true
Virgin Orbit ... is alive! Nice to see some success here.
Virgin Orbit just earned the orbit part of its name
Virgin Orbit just earned the orbit part of its name
ULA's Tory Bruno talks about the launch market. The comments in the comments section from industry insiders is a fascinating read:
ULA’s Tory Bruno warns of ‘overheated’ space launch market - SpaceNews
ULA’s Tory Bruno warns of ‘overheated’ space launch market - SpaceNews
TAS gets the call (finally) for Telesat. Blue likely to be the primary lift.
Thales Alenia selected to build Telesat’s broadband constellation - SpaceNews
Thales Alenia selected to build Telesat’s broadband constellation - SpaceNews
https://www.rocketlabusa.com/rockets/neutron/
Launch on repeat
"...Neutron features a reusable first stage designed to land on an ocean platform, enabling a high launch cadence and decreased launch costs for customers..."
Have I heard that before, some where, or what?
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