Trevor Mahlman
Welcome to Rocket Report 5.24! I have a blurb on that below, but for me the news of the week is that SpaceX not only launched a Falcon Heavy rocket but also two other Falcon 9 missions to separate coasts in just five days . The operational challenges are immense and, I think, underestimated outside of the people directly involved in this type of work.
As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please sign up using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will contain information on small, medium and heavy rockets as well as a quick overview of the next three launches on the schedule.
ABL updates on RS1 failure. On Wednesday, ABL Space Systems provided an update on the Jan. 10 failure of its RS1 launch vehicle. Long story short, the vehicle’s first stage suffered a “total power loss” at 10.87 seconds into the flight, causing all nine main engines of the vehicle to shut down simultaneously. The rocket touched down about 20 meters from the launch site. “Approximately 95% of the vehicle’s total propellant mass was still on board, creating a forceful explosion and pressure wave that damaged nearby equipment and facilities,” the company said.
A fire aboard the rocket … The company has launched an anomaly investigation. “There is visual evidence of fire or smoke near the vehicle QD and engine compartment after takeoff,” ABL wrote. “Shortly before the power outage, a handful of sensors began to sequentially burn out. This evidence suggests that an unwanted fire spread to our avionics system, causing a system-wide outage. .” The second RS1 rocket is fully assembled and ready for stage testing, but the results of the anomaly investigation will be needed to establish a schedule for that launch. Kudos to ABL for a transparent and detailed update. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Europe’s reusable rocket CEO criticizes reuse. In an interview with a French television channel, the general manager of Maia Space described the challenges of reusing small rockets. Yohann Leroy explained that while the company was considering a two-thirds drop in performance when recovering the launcher, the model would not reduce the cost of the launcher by a similar amount, reports European Spaceflight. “Paradoxically, implementing reuse on a small launcher instead results in higher costs per kilogram launched,” Leroy said.
Damn then! … The company is a 100% subsidiary of ArianeGroup, which manufactures the Ariane rocket fleet. Leroy made his comments as Maia Space opens up to third-party investors. The company currently has around 30 employees and is looking to develop a small reusable rocket before moving on to larger reusable launchers. Leroy may be right about the economics of reusing small launches, but I’m not sure that’s the best pitch – essentially, “Our business is completely unsustainable!” – that could be done to potential investors. (submitted by EllPeaTea)
Stratolaunch performs its second flight in captivity. This week, Stratolaunch announced that its full-size Roc aircraft completed a second test flight with a Talon-A test vehicle. During the six-hour flight, the aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 22,500 feet and the team gathered information on aerodynamic loads prior to the Talon-A reusable hypersonic vehicle drop point.
Big plane, small vehicle … This was a test version of the small shuttle-like vehicle. A review of flight data will determine the next steps in the testing schedule. Stratolaunch said it continues to make progress toward a separation test and its first hypersonic Talon-A 1 flight in the first half of 2023. That will be something to see. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Chinese companies to build an African spaceport. Groups based in Hong Kong and Shanghai have entered into a memorandum of understanding with the government of Djibouti to build a billion-dollar commercial spaceport on the Horn of Africa, reports Parabolic Arc. The Djibouti spaceport, which will be built in the northern Obock region near the entrance to the Red Sea, would be the first orbital spaceport in Africa. It is believed to comprise an area of 10 square kilometers.
Not without geopolitical implications … According to the report, construction of the spaceport is expected to begin after a formal agreement is signed between the parties in March. The project is expected to last five years. This will be an evolution to follow, because it is easy to understand the interest of Chinese companies in launching from a latitude of about 10 degrees north of the equator. However, China’s rivals also have interests in Djibouti. The US Navy operates nearby Camp Lemonnier, which is the only permanent US military base in Africa. France also has a large military base in the country.
