Time marches on, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is forgotten by the time SLS launches. But you know what else continues on? PROGRESS. There’s been a lot of that this week, so let’s get cracking…
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Quick look:
Successful launches: 3
Failures: 1
Major events this week: SpaceX Surge, OFT-2 delay, Chinese launch activity
Deep Blue Aerospace lands VTVL test vehicle
The Chinese private launch company Deep Blue Aerospace is pushing for propulsive reuse of its first stage from the very beginning with the first test of a Grasshopper-esque prototype vehicle on Monday. The Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing Nebula-M rocket used DBA’s electric-pump kerlox Leiting-5 (Thunder-5) engine. The engine is similar to Rocket Lab’s Rutherford engine in both its fuel (kerosene and liquid oxygen) and the drive mechanism of the pressurization pumps (battery powered electric motors). Kerlox is a well known and relatively stable fuel that is both cheap and easy to use, while using an electric motor to spin the pumps means the engine can throttle easily, an essential part of landing under rocket power. The Nebula-M test stage measures as 2.25 meters in diameter and 7.3 meters tall. Once the company has sufficient data on the landing procedure, they’ll move on to flight testing of the whole vehicle.
iSpace suffers launch failure
Another private Chinese launch company iSpace confirmed that their latest launch attempt of the Hyperbola-1 solid rocket failed to reach orbit after the fairing didn’t separate, leaving the payload unable to raise its perigee and dropping the upper stage, fairing, and payload into the Pacific Ocean. This is the 6th orbital attempt from four private space companies since the central Chinese government opened up the sector to private enterprises.
Surprise! Long March 6 and 3B/E impromptu launches
China’s 27th and 28th successful launches of the year are in the books! A Long March 6 lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center Wednesday carrying the KL-Beta-A and B. The satellites, built by the Shanghai Institute for Microsatellite Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for the German (but majority Chinese-owned) company KLEO Connect. The two sats are reported to be positioned in LEO to test new radio frequency interference suppression technology for Ka-band communication sats in both LEO and Geostationary orbits. This was China’s 382 launch of the Long March family of rockets. Unlike previous rocket series which use hypergolics, the Long March 6 is part of a next-generation series alongside the Long March 5, 7, and 9 which all run on non-toxic cryogenic propellants.
The other launch was of a Long March 3B/E, an upgraded upgrade to the original Long March 3 rocket series featuring extra-stretched tanks and an extended payload fairing, was designed specifically for launching heavy or large communication satellites to Geostationary Transfer Orbits (an orbit that requires the payload to perform one or more perigee-raising maneuvers to actually get into Geostationary orbit). The Long March 3B/E runs on dinitrogen tetroxide and UDMH in the four side boosters and the first and second stages, with a cryogenic hydrogen/oxygen third stage and an optional hypergolic fourth stage. This particular launch carried the Zhongxing-2E communication satellite to GTO.
Astra announces next Rocket 3 flight
Astra Space has announced their first commercial launch in partnership with the US Space Force with the launch scheduled for no earlier than August 27th from Kodiak Spaceport in Alaska. Astra has such an interesting launch system! They can set up a mobile launch center from a few shipping containers with just five people, which allows them to be extremely mobile. This will be Rocket 3.2 and the third launch attempt- 3.0 failed 30 seconds into the flight and 3.1 had a bad fuel mixture in the second stage which resulted in not gaining enough velocity to achieve orbit. As well as being their first commercial launch, this will be Astra’s first launch since becoming a public company listed on the Nasdaq. Following this launch, Astra will launch Rocket 3.3 (again for the Space Force).
Rocket Lab moves CAPSTONE to Mahia Peninsula
Laws governing launches in the US require vehicles over a certain size to have an Automated Flight Termination System or AFTS. This allows vehicles to self-destruct in the event of veering out of the launch corridor and is one of the few pieces of hardware required by law. The system must be automated so that the rocket can blow even if it is out of visual range or there isn’t an obvious problem. Rocket Lab has had several regulatory and development issues that have kept them from being allowed to fly from their Wallops launch complex (LC-2) and as such they’ve transitioned NASA’s CAPSTONE mission from LC-2 to LC-1A on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. CAPSTONE (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) will be the first official launch of the Artemis program and will launch to a Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit similar to the planned Gateway space station. Several other launches proposed to launch from Wallops will be moved to Mahia in the future, until Rocket Lab can perfect the AFTS.
Perseverance fumbles first Martian sample attempt
The Mars 2020 “Perseverance” rover is the first rover that will be sampling Martian material with the intention of returning those samples to Earth… if it can actually collect the samples, that is. Perseverance made its first attempt at collecting a sample core on Friday, using a hollow coring bit and percussive drill to bore a hole in Mars’ surface and collect the sample. The rover’s arm would then have reached into the underbelly and the 43 titanium sample tubes stored there before moving the core up into one of those tubes and sealing it. This whole process is automated with no override from Earth, with a 14 minute round-trip communication delay. Perseverance took a picture of the tube to verify that the sample was stored, but did not see any material. Teams will have to use several of Perseverance’s cameras to investigate the drill site and the bit before scheduling the next sampling attempt.
Speaking of Mars…
NASA is recruiting volunteers for a simulated year-long Mars mission, the first of several such analog missions that will study how “highly motivated individuals” handle the stresses of close quarters for so long. The four chosen “astronauts” will live in a 1,700 square feet 3D-printed module built by ICON called Mars Dune Alpha. The complex will have limited resources and simulated equipment failures to see how people will react to stressful environments, and volunteers will perform simulated spacewalks, scientific research, use of virtual reality and robotic controls, and using radio communication with “earth”. There are several requirements similar to those expected of astronaut applicants, and if you’d like to look into volunteering you can do so here.
Starliner gets delayed- again.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule has had a long history full of problems and delays. During development parachutes repeatedly failed and manufacturing had to be halted due to supply issues. When the first CST-100 rolled out on the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V N22 rocket to perform its Orbital Flight Test, that mission was an almost complete failure after a series of software glitches (things were not ULA’s fault, it is important to note) caused the capsule to perform odd maneuvers at the wrong times and nearly causing a fiasco during reentry when it tried to enter in the wrong orientation. NASA and Boeing agreed on a second OFT, designated OFT-2, which attempted to launch Tuesday. An abnormal valve response has delayed OFT-2 until the issue can be identified and resolved, with Boeing saying they still plan to launch in August. These plans seem unlikely with ULA having another launch planned soon and the upcoming Cygnus launch to the ISS.
Starbase Surge continues
SpaceX is continuing with their rapid push to get the first full Starship stack operational for an orbital flight attempt, with the first fit check of Ship 20 and Booster 4 this week. The Orbital Launch Table was finally attached to its supports after almost 6 months of construction. Booster 4 saw the most attention as it had all 29 Raptor engines installed in less than 15 hours, all four grid fins mounted, and was moved to the orbital pad. Ship 20 has had most of its Thermal Protection System tiles attached and gained its three RVac engines, although those were removed a few days later. What was most interesting was the fit check where, for the first time, we saw a Starship stacked on top of its Superheavy booster. Although Ship 20 was never disconnected from its lifting crane, this is still an important moment as we push towards the orbital launch and made Starship/Superheavy the tallest rocket ever assembled. The newest Ground Support Equipment tank (I think this one was Number 5? The GSE tanks have been a messy operation) was also rolled out to the pad and a different GSE had its thermal cover installed, meaning it is probably ready to support operations.
Sorry for the delay! Note to self: make sure you have all the info before trying to piece together what happened.