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SpaceX's Rising Tide - Discussion of non-SpaceX launch companies
- Thread starter bxr140
- Start date
adiggs
Well-Known Member
Lots of multi-billion valuations in there. I know RocketLab has a real product and doing something. Are any of these others? Last I checked Virgin Galactic was still testing and didn't seem to be ready any day now. I don't recognize the others.
Scott Manley made a good point. If you want to compete against Starlink with your own mega constellation, you won't want to use SpaceX as your launch provider...
But first, you have to outcompete Starlink! Which isn't going to be easy.
Arianne and ULA have fairing issues happening.
www.spaceintelreport.com
Fairing-separation issue has grounded Ariane 5 since August 2020, also affected ULA's Atlas 5 - Space Intel Report
PARIS — Excess vibration during fairing separation on two European Ariane 5 missions in 2020 forced…
www.spaceintelreport.com
“With the help of a recent emergency cash infusion by the Swiss government, Ariane 5 and Atlas 5 fairing manufacturer Ruag Space, based in Switzerland, apparently has identified the root cause of the issue and begun implementing corrective measures.”Arianne and ULA have fairing issues happening.
Fairing-separation issue has grounded Ariane 5 since August 2020, also affected ULA's Atlas 5 - Space Intel Report
PARIS — Excess vibration during fairing separation on two European Ariane 5 missions in 2020 forced…
Old space: We screwed up? That’ll be $100M please.
Lots of money news in space lately.
--First, AST space mobile (ASTS) goes live and drops. They're working a direct-to-mobile space solution.
--Second, BlackRock dumps $B/4 on Astranis, who's banking on small GEOs for fixed internet service.
--Third, Telesat is issuing $B/2 in bonds as part of their debt package to finance Lightspeed.
--Fourth, Hawkeye360 gets another $55M from VC called NightDragon. H360 one of the leaders in the emerging EO space and a cool bunch, so good for them.
--Fifth, Orbital Sidekick gets $16M from the Air Force. They're also in the EO space and a pretty cool bunch, so good for them too.
--Sixth, new rocket companies are running out of names.
--And probably not last, but last for now, seventh, The Artist Formerly Known As Tom Choi That Hates LEO Wants To Get Into LEO. 240 sats for $500M launched.
--First, AST space mobile (ASTS) goes live and drops. They're working a direct-to-mobile space solution.
--Second, BlackRock dumps $B/4 on Astranis, who's banking on small GEOs for fixed internet service.
--Third, Telesat is issuing $B/2 in bonds as part of their debt package to finance Lightspeed.
--Fourth, Hawkeye360 gets another $55M from VC called NightDragon. H360 one of the leaders in the emerging EO space and a cool bunch, so good for them.
--Fifth, Orbital Sidekick gets $16M from the Air Force. They're also in the EO space and a pretty cool bunch, so good for them too.
--Sixth, new rocket companies are running out of names.
--And probably not last, but last for now, seventh, The Artist Formerly Known As Tom Choi That Hates LEO Wants To Get Into LEO. 240 sats for $500M launched.
Doing my quarterly LinkedIn cleanup today...looks like Salwan dropped this a few days ago:
Edit: bxr = too dumb to embed
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/im...t=Gn5jnDGMGhSYLre17KTeeFUCrAmziivkug3hjr0ycYQ
Edit: bxr = too dumb to embed
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/im...t=Gn5jnDGMGhSYLre17KTeeFUCrAmziivkug3hjr0ycYQ
Wow. Amazon taps Atlas for Kuiper
This strongly suggests Kuiper is going to be going in the next few years, before NG really becomes commercially operational. Atlas is the most expensive of the big commercial launchers, but also the most undersubscribed, and it stands to reason that there's some production efficiencies that could mutually benefit both Atlas (funded volume ramp up would largely be transferrable to Vulcan) and Kuiper (less per launch cost). One could imagine there could be a contract transition to Vulcan at some point too.
This strongly suggests Kuiper is going to be going in the next few years, before NG really becomes commercially operational. Atlas is the most expensive of the big commercial launchers, but also the most undersubscribed, and it stands to reason that there's some production efficiencies that could mutually benefit both Atlas (funded volume ramp up would largely be transferrable to Vulcan) and Kuiper (less per launch cost). One could imagine there could be a contract transition to Vulcan at some point too.
"Auckland, New Zealand. May 16, 2021: Following a successful lift-off, first stage burn, and stage separation, Rocket Lab experienced an anomaly during its 20th Electron mission ‘Running Out Of Toes.’
The issue occurred following second stage ignition during the flight on May 15, 2021 UTC, resulting in the loss of the mission. The launch vehicle’s second stage remained within the predicted launch corridor and caused no harm to the public, Rocket Lab’s launch or recovery crews, or the launch site. Electron’s first stage safely completed a successful splashdown under parachute and Rocket Lab’s recovery team is working to retrieve the stage from the ocean as planned.
Rocket Lab is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to investigate the anomaly and identify the root cause to correct the issue for future missions.
“We are deeply sorry to our customer BlackSky for the loss of their payloads. We understand the monumental effort that goes into every spacecraft and we feel their loss and disappointment. Our team is working hard to identify the issue, rectify it, and be safely back on the pad as soon as possible,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and chief executive. “On one of our toughest days, our team operated with professionalism and worked swiftly to ensure the anomaly was managed safely. Our team is resilient, and our top priority remains to safely and reliably return to flight for our customers. We will learn from this, and we’ll be back on the pad again.”
Today's anomaly occurred after 17 successful orbital launches of the Electron launch vehicle. With multiple launch vehicles currently in production, Rocket Lab is prepared for a rapid return to flight as soon as investigations are complete and any required corrective actions are in place."
www.rocketlabusa.com
The issue occurred following second stage ignition during the flight on May 15, 2021 UTC, resulting in the loss of the mission. The launch vehicle’s second stage remained within the predicted launch corridor and caused no harm to the public, Rocket Lab’s launch or recovery crews, or the launch site. Electron’s first stage safely completed a successful splashdown under parachute and Rocket Lab’s recovery team is working to retrieve the stage from the ocean as planned.
Rocket Lab is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to investigate the anomaly and identify the root cause to correct the issue for future missions.
“We are deeply sorry to our customer BlackSky for the loss of their payloads. We understand the monumental effort that goes into every spacecraft and we feel their loss and disappointment. Our team is working hard to identify the issue, rectify it, and be safely back on the pad as soon as possible,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and chief executive. “On one of our toughest days, our team operated with professionalism and worked swiftly to ensure the anomaly was managed safely. Our team is resilient, and our top priority remains to safely and reliably return to flight for our customers. We will learn from this, and we’ll be back on the pad again.”
Today's anomaly occurred after 17 successful orbital launches of the Electron launch vehicle. With multiple launch vehicles currently in production, Rocket Lab is prepared for a rapid return to flight as soon as investigations are complete and any required corrective actions are in place."
Rocket Lab Experiences Anomaly During Launch | Rocket Lab
*Auckland, New Zealand. May 16, 2021*: Following a successful lift-off, first stage burn, and stage separation, Rocket Lab experienced an anomaly during its 20th Electron mission ‘Running Out Of Toes.’
Rocket Lab continues to study “complex” Electron failure
Rocket Lab says it is continuing to study the “complex failure” on its most recent Electron launch, even after receiving approval to resume launches.
spacenews.com
