ars TECHNICA by Eric Berger - 12/9/2022
Welcome to Edition 5.20 of the Rocket Report! I have really enjoyed celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 17 mission this week. While it is bittersweet that humans have not been back to the Moon since, it is comforting to know that we are now following a sure and steady path that will lead us back in the not-too-distant future.
Virgin Orbit launch from UK slips into 2023. Earlier this week Virgin Orbit sent out a news release indicating that the launch window for its LauncherOne mission from Cornwall, England, would open on December 14. But on Thursday, the company said its mission had been delayed for at least several weeks, BBC News reports. In a statement, Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said, "With licenses still outstanding for the launch itself and for the satellites within the payload, additional technical work needed to establish system health and readiness, and a very limited available launch window of only two days, we have determined that it is prudent to retarget launch for the coming weeks to allow ourselves and our stakeholders time to pave the way for full mission success."----
Chinese rocket reaches orbit for the first time. A private Chinese solid-fueled rocket has conducted its first successful launch two years after failing its first test flight, Space.com reports. The Kuaizhou 11 rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Wednesday, local time, sending the VHF Data Exchange System test satellite into orbit. The launcher is operated by Expace, a commercial spinoff from the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation.-----
Dawn Aerospace raises $20 million for rocket plane. Dawn Aerospace has scored another $20 million to help design a commercial version of its reusable spaceplane, Stuff reports. The funding will assist with the design of the Mk-III Aurora, a reusable rocket-powered space plane the size of a small business jet intended to deliver satellites into space. The company is preparing to fly a suborbital prototype, the Aurora Mk-II, with rocket engines in 2023. This is a demonstrator for the full-scale version. -----
Ukraine launch startup perseveres despite war. Ukrainian startup Promin Aerospace remains on track to conduct the first test of its small satellite launch technology early next year, despite the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, Space News reports. Promin’s research and development laboratory is based in Dnipro, a Central Ukrainian city that has been struck by Russian missiles. To keep employees there safe, Promin does not publicize the location of its lab. The company also strives to prevent power outages in the area by maintaining two separate electric circuits.-----
Another Chinese rocket nears its debut. Landspace is preparing for an imminent test launch of its methane-fueled Zhuque-2 rocket, Space News reports. The launch of what would be the world's first methane-fueled orbital rocket is expected in the coming days and will take place at newly built launch facilities at the national Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, in Northwest China. The latest flight restrictions notice indicates the launch will take place no earlier than December 14.-----
Starship orbital launch will slip into 2023. SpaceX has not said anything official, but based on a couple of conversations, I think SpaceX has a reasonable chance of making Starship's orbital launch during the first quarter of 2023. There are no guarantees, and there still is a lot of work to do. But the company is making progress. I can say for certain that an orbital launch attempt this year is off the table.-----
Why won't Artemis II happen for at least two years? In a feature, Ars investigates why a follow-up to the Artemis I mission is unlikely to launch before early 2025. It all goes back to a decision made about eight years ago to plug a $100 million budget hole in the Orion program. As a result of a chain of events that followed this decision, Artemis II is unlikely to fly before 2025 because of eight relatively small flight computers that are flying on Artemis I that need to be recertified for Artemis II.------
Blue Origin experimenting with payload fairings. In another sign that we will eventually be treated to a New Glenn rocket launch, Blue Origin has been spotted working with the rocket's large payload fairings. Michael Baylor, of the Next Spaceflight app, shared a photo that shows Blue Origin having splashed one-half of a fairing into the Turning Basin at Kennedy Space Center.-----
NASA modifies SLS core stage production. The space agency said this week that it plans to move some final integration work on the Space Launch System rocket to Florida, Space News reports. Currently, the five major sections of the core stage—forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, interstage, liquid hydrogen tank, and engine section—are manufactured and joined together into a single unit at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. That is how the core stage for the Artemis II mission is being built.----
Raytheon CEO dunks on Aerojet. Aerojet Rocketdyne is struggling to deliver quality rocket motors and has become “the weak link” in Raytheon Technologies’ supply chain, Defense One reports, based on an interview with Raytheon's CEO. The "supply chain has at least stabilized with the exception of our rocket-motor supplier,” Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes said. "In fact, that is the only supplier that's getting worse… from a performance standpoint, as opposed to better. We need some adult supervision there to actually help these guys." Hayes' claims of distraction at Aerojet come as officials there consider bids to sell the firm.
More:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/12/rocket-report-first-uk-launch-slips-to-2023-ukrainian-rocket-startup-perseveres/
