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Rockets, Space transport roundup

Space transport roundup – July.15.2020

A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images dealing with space transport (find previous roundups here):

** Northrup Grumman Minotaur IV launches 4 NRO classified satellites from Virginia spaceport Wednesday morning. The modified Peacekeeper missile used four solid-fueled stages to put the satellites into low earth orbit.

More at:

** Launch of the UAE  Hope Mars mission on a Japanese H-2A rocket was scrubbed on Tuesday due to bad weather at the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. The new target liftoff  time is Thursday, July 16, 2020 at 8:43 pm GMT (4:43 pm EDT).

** China launched a broadband Internet satellite on Long March 3B on July 9th: Long March 3B launches APStar-6D – NASASpaceFlight.com

The satellite is part of a multi-beam high-throughput broadband satellite communication system based on the Ku and Ka frequency bands that will form a space-wide Internet communication network covering the whole world, build an integrated, autonomous, controllable, efficient and safe satellite broadband communication network and service platform that provide the ability to match global communications needs to provide high-quality, efficient, and low-cost satellite broadband communications services for mobile communications, including maritime communications, aviation airborne communications, land vehicle communications and fixed satellite broadband Internet access.

** Chinese Kuaizhou-11 rocket launch failed on July 10th. Two commercial satellites were lost. First launch of Chinese Kuaizhou-11 rocket ends in failure – SpaceNews

The three-stage rocket uses solid fueled motors and has been derived from Chinese military missile technology by ExPace Technology Corp., a subsidiary of the government-run China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).

SpaceNews:

The mission was China’s 19th launch of 2020, following the successful launch of the APSTAR-6D communications satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit Thursday.

China has suffered three failures this year. These were the debut launch of the Long March 7A in March, a new launcher which may replace the aging, hypergolic Long March 3B. The latter launcher failed in April resulting in the loss of the Indonesian Palapa-N1 communications satellite.

** More about the recent Israeli Shavit rocket launch from Scott Manley:

The Shavit first launched in 1988 carrying Israeli designed and built surveillance satellites, since then it’s launched more than 10 time, with the latest being the first weekend of July 2020 carrying the Ofeq 16 satellite. Shavit is unique among launch vehicles in that it’s designed to launch retrograde to avoid dropping spend stages on Israels neighbours.

** Skyrora opens new engine test facility in Scotland: Skyrora opens rocket engine test complex expected to create over 170 jobs – Skyrora

Skyrora has established an engine test complex in Scotland, where it already has successfully tested its 3.5kN engine and three-tonne engine for its sub-orbital and orbital rockets. Skyrora expects the newly established Engine Test Complex to help the company create over 170 new jobs in the area by 2030. 

Skyrora’s engine test complex layout is fairly minimal, mainly consisting of a fuel and oxidiser loading system to put fuel into both tanks and a pressure supply system to feed the fuel to the engine in the test stand.  Skyrora also built the actual test stand, the road to access the test site and the concrete slab for the test site to sit on. It took the team only a few weeks to build it, at a fraction of the estimated time and cost while making sure all measures followed health and safety guidelines.

Skyrora’s vision is to test all three engines used on its rocket suite in the one location: the seven-tonne engine for the first and second stage of the orbital Skyrora XL launch vehicle, the 3.5Kn engine for the third stage, and the three-tonne engine for the sub-orbital Skylark L launch vehicle. 

The test site is estimated to help Skyrora create over 170 mainly technical jobs in manufacturing and operations ranging from mechanical engineering to electronics for avionics systems. 

** Taiwanese TiSpace develops mobile launch system for Hapath V rocket:

** Startup iRocket signs contract with USAF: Fully Reusable, Autonomous, Small Rockets, Flight-Ready in Under 24 Hours – iRocket

On July 7, 2020 iRocket announced that the company signed a Phase II RAPID Other Transaction Agreement contract with the U.S. Air Force. The award was created just three months after the phase I contract when iRocket partnered with Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) in Albuquerque, N.M., and Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

iRocket is a privately funded New York startup building autonomous small reusable rockets to cargo micro, nano, cube, and constellations to LEO on its Shockwave launch vehicle. The company develops cost-effective small launch vehicles that can support 300kg and 1500 kg payloads for space research and exploration. After the recent successful launch of two American astronauts into orbit by the SpaceX/NASA partnership, there has been tremendous media interest in private companies innovating, reducing costs, and increasing access to space exploration – all of which are iRocket’s specialties. iRocket plans to disrupt the small satellite market and will offer on-orbit satellite servicing capabilities by 2025.

…

iRocket’s Shockwave will be a fully autonomous launch vehicle and the only fully reusable small launcher in the market. It will consist of two stages to orbit, the first and second stage landing back on the launch site. iRocket will prove inland launch capabilities to the Department of Defense and be mission capable of launching within 24 hrs. iRocket plans to launch its rockets from Launch Complex 48 at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fl.

Rendering of an iRocket Shockwave rocket lifting off.

** Vert Aerospace aims to develop a smallsat launch system with a low carbon footprint. The fully reusable vehicle will accomplish this by

using additive manufacturing, Vert Aerospace will drastically REDUCE part count and material needs.

and

The Gaia Launch Vehicle (GLV) will be fueled using recycled RP-1. Vert Aerospace will use a proprietary CO2 conversion process powered by solar. 

** Germany’s DLR sponsoring microlauncher competition (Google Translation):

The microlauncher competition of the DLR Space Administration started on May 15, 2020. The competition supports German start-ups with a total amount of 25 million euros, which Mikrolauncher wants to develop and operate commercially. A maximum of five companies can participate, of which two winners will be selected by an expert jury during the two-year term….

… The Mikrolauncher competition is divided into three phases: In the preliminary round (2020), the maximum of five participating start-ups are selected, each receiving 500,000 euros in funding. In the course of the main round (2021) the winner of the competition will be determined, who will receive funding of eleven million euros. In the third phase (2022), the second place is awarded, which is also endowed with eleven million euros.

Funding is provided through the European Space Agency’s C-STS program . Technical, economic and operational evaluation criteria are decisive for the selection of the teams in all three competition phases.

Three teams –  HyImpulse, Isar Aerospace Technologies and Rocket Factory Augsburg  – have now been selected from the preliminary round to continue to the next phase of the competition: DLR microlauncher competition: These three teams are one round further – DLR Portal (Google Translate)

The core task of the competition was a proposal for transport services from earth to orbit (“Earth to Orbit”) based on a micro launcher developed by the company itself. A prerequisite was also the willingness to allow free flight of selected non-commercial payloads from universities or research institutions with a maximum total mass of 150 kilograms each on the qualification flights. In the last two rounds of the competition, the winners receive funding for the final qualification phase of their carrier system, including the implementation of two demonstration flights in the period 2022-2023. After the preliminary round has now ended, the first winner of the competition will be determined in the course of the main round (2021), who will receive funding of eleven million euros. In the third phase (2022), the second prize is awarded, which is also endowed with eleven million euros.

The microlaunchers are loosely defined as those launchers that can take a payload of a few hundred kilograms to low earth orbit.

** Spaceflight to fly new Sherpa-FX space tug on a SpaceX Rideshare mission later this year to take multiple smallsats to desired orbits: Spaceflight Inc. Unveils Next-Gen Orbital Transfer Vehicle To Fly Aboard Next SpaceX Rideshare Mission – Spaceflight

“Spaceflight’s Sherpa-FX is the first innovative orbital transfer vehicle to debut in the company’s Sherpa-NG (next generation) program. The vehicle is capable of executing multiple deployments, providing independent and detailed deployment telemetry, and flexible interface, all at a low cost. Graphic represents the SXRS-3 mission, carrying customer spacecraft and hosted payloads.” Credits: Spaceflight

Some hosted payloads will remain attached to the transfer vehicle:

In addition to the customer spacecraft, Sherpa-FX will transport multiple hosted payloads including one for Celestis Inc., as well as several that will demonstrate technologies designed to identify and track spacecraft once deployed. By demonstrating these tracking systems on orbit, Spaceflight customers will have access to flight-proven technologies that can mitigate space congestion and provide the foundation of effective and responsible space traffic management. Technologies onboard Sherpa-FX include payloads by NearSpace Launch, Keplerian Technologies and their hardware partner Tiger Innovations, and Space Domain Awareness Inc. These innovative payloads will provide spacecraft developers an independent capability to identify and track their spacecraft without drawing on the host spacecraft resources. 

** First Launch of Europe’s next-gen Ariane 6 rocket slips till late 2021. The all expendable vehicle is intended to replace the Ariane 5 and to offer launch prices competitive with SpaceX Falcon 9. ESA confirms Ariane 6 delay to 2021 – SpaceNews

Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket won’t launch until the second half of 2021 at the earliest, a delay of at least six months, the European Space Agency confirmed July 9.

“While we know that the maiden flight will not take place before the second semester of 2021, we cannot at this moment precisely quantify the delay, and we cannot provide an exact launch date,” Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA’s director of space transportation, said according to an ESA translation of remarks at a July 9 press event provided to SpaceNews. The French Association of Professional Journalists in Aeronautics, organized the event at ArianeGroup’s headquarters in Paris.

** Status of development of seven heavy lift launch systems: Sadly, none of the big rockets we hoped to see fly in 2020 actually will | Ars Technica

  • H3 – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries – Likely first launch 2Q 2021
  • Omega – Northrop-Grumman – 3Q-4Q 2021
  • Ariane 6 – Airbus/Safran/ESA – 4Q 2021
  • Vulcan-Centaur – United Launch Alliance – 4Q 2021
  • Super Heavy reusable 1st stage – SpaceX – 4Q 2021
  • SLS – Boeing/NASA – 1Q-2Q 2022
  • New Glenn – Blue Origin – 3Q-4Q 2022

** Briefs:

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Check out the
The Lurio Report
for news and analysis of key developments in NewSpace

The latest issue:
Riding a Dragon, Rockets Rising, Space Resource Policy
Vol. 15, No. 4, June 14, 2020

Space Frontier Foundation Award for NewSpace Journalism

==================

** SpaceX:

** Two SpaceX Falcons struggling to fly. The third go at launching the Starlink 9 payload with 57 Starlink satellites and 2 BlackSky satellites on Saturday July 11th was scrubbed due to unspecified technical problems. This followed two previous attempts to lift off since late June. A launch of another Falcon 9 set for Tuesday July 14th of the South Korean Anasis 2 military communications satellite was postponed due to an issue with the upper stage. The first stage booster had been successfully test fired last Saturday. The Anasis launch is now set for Sunday, July 19th at 5 pm EDT (2100 GMT).

** SpaceX – Lift, Load and Go – GPS III – www.USLaunchReport.com

From the sea to the highway. Incredible how SpaceX has shortened the Port processing time. With the new Octagrabber, they are able to load directly from JRTI to the transporter. Pushing for that 24hr turnaround. All in 4K.

**** Starship

It appears that the Raptor engine on the Starship prototype SN5 will be test fired in the next few days. If that goes well, a brief hop flight up to 150 meters could take place soon after: Starship SN5 set for a static fire followed shortly by a 150-meter hop attempt – NASASpaceFlight.com

Starship SN5 is finally set to begin Raptor engine testing this weekend after a successful cryogenic proof test on July 1. If the static fire test is successful, it will clear the way for a 150-meter hop test as early as next week. The 150-meter hop will be the first test flight of a full-scale Starship tank section.

A successful cryogenic proof test on July 1 verified that Starship SN5 can withstand the forces associated with engine testing. These forces include the pressure created by the cryogenic propellants and the thrust from the Raptor engine.

Ahead of the static fire test, the hydraulic thrust simulator – used for the proof testing – was removed to make way for a Raptor engine. Raptor SN27 is the engine chosen for use on SN5.

….

Whatever the case, SpaceX teams are understood to be eager to get Starship SN8 completed. The vehicle will feature major upgrades over previous Starship prototypes. SN8 will be built out of 304L stainless steel versus 301, receive a fairing, aerosurfaces, and three Raptor engines to allow for a higher altitude test flight.

****** Boca Chica Beach facilities have developed and expanded rapidly has seen in the before and after imagery provided in this article from RGVAerialPhotography and other sources: New images show SpaceX’s Starship factory, launch site grow over time – Business Insider

A new fly over video from RGV:

******More videos of Boca Chica:

****** July 11: SpaceX Boca Chica – Additional facility expansion – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

SpaceX Boca Chica continues to grow as a spaceport with the impressive High Bay continuing assembly while extra land is cleared for further expansion. Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Brady Kenniston (@TheFavoritist)

****** July 12:  SpaceX Boca Chica – Gearing up for Starship SN5’s Static Fire testing – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

While there is activity all across SpaceX Boca Chica, the focus of attention will be on Starship SN5 this coming week ahead of her Static Fire test campaign. Footage includes Production Facility section preps and the drive past of the facilities that have new additions each week. Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer).

****** July 14: SpaceX Boca Chica – Nosecone Ready To Stack – Work On New Lot – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

In today’s Boca Chica update, Nosecone stacking appears imminent (but doesn’t happen), another new nosecone (yes another one) is spotted in the fabrication tents, Earth work begins at a new lot that SpaceX has apparently purchased, future starship parts line up and SN5 test campaign preparations continue. Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@TheJackBeyer)

****** July 15: SpaceX Boca Chica – A New Nosecone Is Born – New Lots Readied For Expansion – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

In this Starship update; a new Nosecone is born in Boca Chica, a scrap ring stack is moved out of the fabrication area, earth work on both sides of the build site continued, and work at the launch site and on SN5 continued ahead of engine testing. Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@TheJackBeyer)

****** Webcast Starship reports:

**** SpaceX Starship news as SN5 heads towards 150m flight, OneWeb, RocketLab & Starliner updates – Marcus House

****** What’s Missing In SpaceX’s Boca Chica? – What about it!?

****** Will the Starship Facility Survive Hurricanes? – What about it!?

****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Weekly Update – First Week of July, 2020 – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

NSF’s first weekly update video showing the highlights of work ongoing at SpaceX Boca Chica. Featuring videos and photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF. Edited and hosted by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer).

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=== The Art of C. Sergent Lindsey ===

“SpaceX Delivers the Goods” by C. Sergent Lindsey printed on phone cover. Available at Fine Art America.
Activism, Space Settlement, The Moon

2020 Lunar Development Conference – July 19-20, 2020 – online

2020 Lunar Development Conference is a two day all-virtual event sponsored by The Moon Society on July 19 – 20, 2020. It will feature prominent speakers, panels, and networking between attendees using a new virtual platform.

Registration for non-members is just $10.

Confirmed speakers include:

There will be a proceedings publication released by Luna City Press – publishing imprint for The Moon Society.

== Amazon Ad ==

Moon Rush: The New Space Race

Activism, Space Policy, SpaceCasts

The Space Show this week – July.13.2020

The guests and topics of discussion on The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, July 13, 2020; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT: No special programming.

2. Tuesday, July 14, 2020; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT): We welcome back Dr. James Schwartz to discuss his new book, The Value of Science in Space Exploration [Amazon commission link], plus his ongoing essay series on space development.

3. Wednesday, July 15, 2020: Hotel Mars TBA pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details.

4. Thursday, July 16, 2020; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): No special program today.

5. Friday, July 17, 2020; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome back John Strickland on multiple topics and plans for space settlement and more.

6. Sunday, July 19, 2020; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): OPEN LINES. Come one com all. We want to hear from you.

Some recent shows:

** Sun. July.12.2020 – Dr. Alan Stern talked about “Pluto, New Horizons, Kuiper Belt and more”.

** Fri. July 10, 2020 – Dr. James A. Vedda and Dr. George Pollock talked about their paper, Cislunar Stewardship: Planning For Sustainability And International Cooperation , and there  was “a wide ranging cislunar related discussion including multiple additional topics”.

]** Hotel Mars/John Batchelor Show – Wed. July.8.2020 – John Batchelor and David Livingston spoke with Anatoly Zak about “the Russian R&D program to develop heavy lift booster return, the Russian flyback booster concept that was panned, just where a booster might land upon returning, problems with the close proximity of China and more“.

** Tues. July.7.2020 – Robert Zimmerman talked about various space news items and policy developments.

** See also:

* The Space Show Archives
* The Space Show Newsletter
* The Space Show Shop

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

The Space Show - David Livingston
The Space Show – David Livingston

=== Amazon Ad ===

See You In Orbit?
Our Dream Of Spaceflight

Activism, Roundup

Space policy roundup – July.13.2020

A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):

International space

Webcasts:

** E23 – Defending the Space Enterprise in the Cyber Domain (w Lori Gordon, Ryan Speelman, and John Felker) – Aerospace Corporation: Center for Space Policy and Strategy

** Space Policy Edition: A Trillion-Dollar Space Economy? | The Planetary Society

Dr. Bhavya Lal joins the show to discuss the size of the space economy, where it’s going, and how the term itself can mean many different things to many different people. In a world filled with breathless claims about trillion-dollar economies, we dive down into the fundamental assumptions about space commerce, its potential for growth, and the pitfalls of motivated thinking in the hyper-optimistic space community.

** Keeping Space Green and Clean With Luc Riesbeck – Via Satellite

Luc Riesbeck is a space policy research analyst at Astroscale U.S., and wants to make our orbits a safer place.

Riesbeck started their career with an undergraduate degree in international relations, then interned at NASA, and quickly realized their interest in space policy. Now with a masters degree and a space policy internship under their belt, Riesbeck is eager to work alongside other industries to put space on the map for the “green” environmental movement.

In this episode, Riesbeck talks about the importance of space sustainability, keeping our orbits clean, and what space policy could look like in the years to come.

** Commercial spaceflight advocate outlines revolution in the field – SpaceFlight Insider

Night Sky Network members enjoyed a webinar on June 16, 2020 hosted by Bruce Pittman from NASA’s Space Portal Office, who shared the present, and future of commercial ventures in space. A quiet revolution has been taking place in the development of space over the last 20 years. Sparked by the space ambitions of men such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, these efforts will come into full display over the next 42 months starting with the launch of the NASA Commercial Crew Demo 2 mission by SpaceX now scheduled for May 27th and hopefully ending with Americans returning to the lunar surface for the first time in 50 years by December 2024. But this story is about more than just getting to space. We will also talk about the start of a space manufacturing revolution that is now beginning on the International Space Station. It has been said that the first trillionaire will be made in space, it may be one of the people that we will talk about.

About Bruce Pittman Bruce Pittman is the Director of Commercial Space Development at OffWorld Inc. and is currently working as a contractor in the Space Portal Office at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley where he works as the Chief System Engineer. Bruce is a co-founder and Chief Space Officer for the not for profit Future Frontiers Institute. He is also the Senior Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of another non profit, the National Space Society.

** IN-SPACe & Space Reforms in India – Pragati Podcast

Space law expert Ranjana Kaul and space entrepreneur Narayan Prasad discuss space reforms and the recent Indian IN-SPACe announcement with host Pavan Srinath on Episode 144 of The Pragati Podcast.

** The Space Show – Sun. July.12.2020 – Dr. Alan Stern talked about “Pluto, New Horizons, Kuiper Belt and more”.

[ Update: ** The Space Show – Fri. July 10, 2020 – Dr. James A. Vedda and Dr. George Pollock talked about their paper, Cislunar Stewardship: Planning For Sustainability And International Cooperation , and there  was “a wide ranging cislunar related discussion including multiple additional topics”.

]

** Hotel Mars/John Batchelor Show – Wed. July.8.2020 – John Batchelor and David Livingston spoke with Anatoly Zak about “the Russian R&D program to develop heavy lift booster return, the Russian flyback booster concept that was panned, just where a booster might land upon returning, problems with the close proximity of China and more“.

** The Space Show – Tues. July.7.2020 – Robert Zimmerman talked about various space news items and policy developments.

** July 10, 2020 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast | Behind The Black

** July 8, 2020 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast | Behind The Black

==

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=== The Art of C. Sergent Lindsey ===

“Tomato with Stem” by C. Sergent Lindsey on throw pillow. Available at Fine Art America.
Education, In Space Infrastructure, Living in Space

IGLUNA 2020: Student teams present “space habitat with remote ops” design studies

The Swiss Space Center is sponsoring the IGLUNA program in which student teams compete to create technologies for extreme environments:

IGLUNA is aimed at supporting and accelerating the ESA_Lab@ initiative. The Swiss Space Center coordinates IGLUNA project and leads the main systems engineering activities, coaches the students teams, organises the events, and communicates to the general public.

IGLUNA is emulating European students and foster exchange through an international, interdisciplinary, and collaborative platform for demonstration of space technologies.

During the project, university students apply their knowledge to solve a technical challenge, to sustain life in an extreme environment, increasing in parallel the maturity of technologies relevant to the space domain.

During July 10-19, 15 international student teams are presenting their projects that dealt with the goal of developing “A space habitat with remote operations”. The presentations are in a online format called the Virtual Field Campaign:

The objectives of the campaign are to bring together the student projects, test them in an extreme environment, and present them to the other student teams, external experts and the general public.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the initially planned Field Campaign with an exhibition and control room at Verkehrshaus – Swiss Museum of Transport and a test bed on the top of Mount Pilatus in Lucerne will not be able to take place physically this summer. In spite of the current restrictions and as real space missions that have limited resources, we aim to do the best we can to ensure a proper project closure together with all involved partners.

Keeping the same dates 10-19 July, the Field Campaign will take place virtually, where all the student teams will connect from their countries to present their projects and hard work to the rest of the world. The project shows and additional space experts presentations will be live-streamed and publicly available.

The presentations can be viewed at Swiss Space Center – YouTube.

The team projects are  described in this brochure: 15 international student teams will present their projects on the topic “A space habitat with remote operations” (pdf)

For example, the team P02 GrowBotHub

aims to do a fully automated system of growth and harvest of vegetables. To do so, a machine learning algorithm determines when the vegetables are ready to be collected, then a carousel brings the vegetables in front of a robot that picks-up the vegetables and replace them with a new seed so they can start growing again. All these actions and messages are controlled by a top-level controller. The vegetables are grown using an aeroponic system which allows to reduce water and energy consumption compared to other techniques.

IGLUNA team PO2-GrowBotHub designed a fully automated system of growth and harvest of vegetables

The GrowBotHub presentation is the second in this group of three given on July 10th:

P01 MELiSSA 11:56 Complete recycling system for space missions through the biological conversion of human urine for food and bio-based oxygen production thanks to a hydroponic growing unit and a photobioreactor. Melissa Foundation, Belgium

P02 GrowBotHub 1:27:03 Automated and autonomous structure to grow and harvest vegetables in a closed loop fashion in space. EPFL, Switzerland

P06 HYDRATION II 2:41:57 Heated drill system able to extract water from different surfaces such as ice, clay, sand and concrete in order to be used on Lunar ground. Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT), USA

The presentations during the coming week can be viewed live at Swiss Space Center – YouTube.

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=== The Art of C. Sergent Lindsey ===

“SpaceX Delivers the Goods” by C. Sergent Lindsey printed on phone cover. Available at Fine Art America.