Cantrell then outlined their launch schedule beyond this. If all goes well, they hope to make their first launch to orbit in June, followed by launches in August, October (two), and December. When I told him I would not be surprised if this schedule did not happen, he readily agreed. Like Rocket Lab, these first launches are tests, and when you do tests, you must not be surprised if things to go wrong. Like Rocket Lab however Cantrell is confident they will quickly figure out any issues and move forward.
Los Angeles-based Relativity Space, which is working to develop 3D-printed rockets, announced Thursday that it won a competitive bidding process with the United States Air Force to build and operate Launch Complex 16 (LC-16) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The company says it will launch its first rocket from the site in 2020.
This agreement makes Relativity only the fourth commercial space station to operate at the iconic launch site, after United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and SpaceX. Assuming that certain contractual milestones are set, Relativity could potentially maintain exclusive use of the site for 20 years.
“LC-16 is a historic site,” Relativity cofounder and Under 30 alumnus Tim Ellis told Forbes. “A lot of programs went through here. It was initially developed for Titan missile launches, then it was used during the Gemini program for NASA and was also used to test components for the Apollo program. And so there’s a really amazing historical significance.”
Firefly Aerospace Inc, a resurgent rocket company founded by a former SpaceX engineer, plans to build a factory and launch site at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Spaceport in a $52 million deal, people familiar with the project said on Wednesday.
** RocketStarsuborbital rocket test will launch from a floating platform off Cape Canaveral on Feb. 7th:
** A new New Glenn animation preview video was released this week by Blue and it shows some changes to the design such as a wider fairing:
Debuting from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, Florida in 2021, New Glenn will serve commercial, civil and national security customers from around the world. Featuring a 7 meter fairing with more than 2X the available volume of any rocket flying today and twin BE-3U engines powering the most capable upper stage in the market, New Glenn can launch the full range of satellite payloads. Seven reusable BE-4 engines generating 3.85 million pounds of thrust power the first stage designed to launch 25 times and land safely down range on a moving ship. New Glenn is beginning to take shape at our state-of-the-art rocket factory. Visit us at www.blueorigin.com to learn more.
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:
Today Blue Origin posted this video compilation of highlights of the test flights of the New Shepard:
From the caption:
The more we fly the better we get. Safety and reliability are paramount. Our rigorous test program with New Shepard is putting the vehicle through the paces. We have successfully completed several crew capsule escape tests showing that our astronauts will be safe in any phase of flight. In addition to our test program, our payloads program is driving more flights of the system as we iterate on operations and technology in preparation for human spaceflight. All the learnings from the New Shepard program are being flowed into New Glenn development as we scale up our capabilities to serve the orbital market. Visit us at www.blueorigin.com to learn more.
Another flight is expected to happen very soon.
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Moon, the Eighth Continent – A documentary about government and private efforts around the world to revitalize exploration of the Moon and to establish human bases and settlements there. (In French with English subtitles):
Major space agencies, and a few billionaires, are now launching a new space race to the moon. It’s the first step before heading to Mars.
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An entertaining story of one guy’s lifelong pursuit of a ride to the Moon: Coin Operated on Vimeo
Written & Directed by Nicholas Arioli
Coin Operated is an award winning 5 minute short animation that spans 70 years in the life of one naive explorer. This film was proudly made by independent artists.
Stratolaunch is moving closer to getting the company’s giant rocket-carrier aircraft off the ground:
The vehicle will eventually become an air launch platform for a
The Stratolaunch aircraft will provide a high altitude launch platform for a family of rocket vehicles taking payloads and people to orbit.
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After several weeks of delays due to technical problems, United Launch Alliance has now set Saturday, Jan. 19th at 11:05 a.m. PST for the launch of a Delta 4 Heavy with the NRO NROL-71 spy satellite:
Scott Manley gives an update on recent SpaceX activities:
The SpaceX news just keeps coming. Friday saw the Launch of Iridium 8 followed by the Layoff of 10% of its workforce. CRS-16 returned home, Crew dragon prep is stalled because of government shutdown. And of course Elon’s silver starship finally gets put together.
