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

** Starship prototype SN4 heads for low altitude test flight after passing propellant tank pressure testing. According to Elon Musk, a single Raptor engine will be attached to SN4 this week. After a static firing test on the pad, they will attempt a 150 meter hop:

Snowing in Texas pic.twitter.com/0LKwIpnoPB

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 27, 2020

For details, see:

• SN4 becomes first full-scale Starship prototype to pass cryogenic proof test – NASASpaceFlight.com
• Starship chilled. Starship pressurized. And for the first time, it didn’t explode | Ars Technica
• Elon Musk says SpaceX’s newest Starship just passed its first test – Teslarati
• Starship passes key pressurization test – SpaceNews.com

Find more SpaceX items below

** Major wing components for Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser delivered:

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), the global aerospace and national security leader owned by Eren and Fatih Ozmen, uncrated both wings for its Dream Chaser spaceplane this month at the company’s Louisville, Colorado production facility. The wings’ arrival kicks off the much-anticipated integration phase of a beautiful and critical differentiator for Dream Chaser, the world’s only spaceplane owned by a private company and under contract with NASA.

“The wings are here and now we truly have butterflies in anticipation of this integration phase for Dream Chaser,” said SNC President Eren Ozmen. “Our spaceplane looks and functions unlike anything else in space – more technologically advanced but with all the heritage of the space shuttle program in its design. Dream Chaser’s first flight will be a soaring moment for all of us.”

The arrival kicks off the integration of the complex Wing Deployment System (WDS) as part of the continued assembly and integration of the vehicle. With their innovative folding design, the wings are stowed in the fairing ahead of launch. After the launch vehicle separates, the WDS deploys the wings and locks them into place. Dream Chaser’s steeply angled wings function as stabilizers for the lift generated by the body of the vehicle.

“The wings for Dream Chaser presented an interesting design challenge,” said Dream Chaser program director John Curry. “Not only must they survive in low-Earth orbit like a satellite, but they need to be operational in Earth’s atmosphere, like an aircraft.” Just like the structural body for Dream Chaser, the wings were manufactured by Lockheed Martin in Texas, a subcontractor to SNC, and are single bonded composite structures. This state-of-the-art technology saves weight without compromising strength and stiffness.

Dream Chaser is under contract with NASA for at least six cargo resupply and return service missions to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract. The Dream Chaser and attached Shooting Star transport vehicle can carry up to 12,000 pounds of supplies and other cargo, and returns delicate science to Earth with a gentle runway landing.

See also: Dream Chaser receives her wings ahead of flying to the ISS – NASASpaceFlight.com

** Russian Soyuz rocket sends Progress cargo vehicle to the ISS on April 24th from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Rendezvous and docking happened just four hours after liftoff:

The unpiloted Russian ISS Progress 75 cargo ship launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 24 (April 25, Kazakhstan time) atop a Soyuz 2.1a booster, bound on a fast-track, two-orbit trip to deliver some three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the residents of the International Space Station. Less than four hours after launch, the Progress executed an automated docking to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module where it will remain until December.

** Virgin Galactic continues a series of STEM tutorials with an episode on “Testing a spaceship” – Virgin Galactic – YouTube

Join this #ScienceWithVirginGalactic Spacechat as we explain how we test a spaceship to get it ready for commercial service.

** Interview with Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck:

Welcome to IN DEPTH Episode 8 of What about it!? I’ve had a conversation with Peter Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab. We talked about Electrons mid-air recovery, Photon and why it will change the Small-Sat business and about his plans for the future, including a personal goal to explore Venus to find out, if life could exist in our neighbours atmosphere!

** “An Overview of Firefly Aerospace, Vehicles and Capabilities” – Eric Salwan, Firefly Aerospace – FISO presentation: Slides (pdf)

And another update here: This Rocket Company Is Staying Calm, Carrying On With Fresh Contract And A New Launch Date – Forbes

As of this week, there are roughly 300 employees in Firefly, and more hires are coming quickly on the production side, to prepare for the first flight. “The secret to success in this business is staying focused,” Markusic said of Firefly’s efforts to send its first rocket aloft, which has experienced a few delays along the way. (But as any space company will point out, hardware development is difficult and costly, especially when novel technology is involved.)

There have been challenges in developing the Alpha rocket, whose novel features include propellant tanks and structures are built with carbon fiber composites, to reduce cracks and leaks while storing supercooled liquid oxygen. Estimates for the first launch date have been pushed back a few times, and a fire broke out during testing of a rocket stage in January.

But the payoff should be worth it in the long run, chief revenue officer Brad Schneider said during the same interview. Firefly projects that once the rocket starts flying, the company should see a “ramp” in revenues as money flows in from paying customers. Providing the test launch in 2020 goes to plan, revenues should start flowing faster in 2021 and accelerate in 2022, getting to a break even point relatively quickly after the upfront $165 million cost in development, preparing for the first flight and building the first two vehicles.

** Scott Manley reports on the latest Iranian launch of a satellite, achieving orbit successfully for the first time:

Earlier this week Iran made their first successful satellite launch in a long time using a new rocket design named ‘Qased’. What’s most striking is that this is a miliatry launch vehicle using new solid propellent motor which is more advanced than any they’ve flow before, and it might just be the first of many developments of the technology.

** The details of the BPM100 bi-propellant engine designed by the Copenhagen Suborbitals team are illustrated in this snazzy animation:

Follow developments of the engine and the Spica rocket, for which it is intended, on the Copenhagen Suborbitals blog.

** Briefs:

• EXOS Aerospace Systems & Technologies, Inc. received a USAF SBIR Award for Hypersonic Vehicle Development | EXOS Aerospace
• Exos launches second National Charter Enterprise – EXOS AEROSPACE AU PTY LTD. | EXOS Aerospace
• Can High-Power Microwaves Reduce the Launch Cost of Space-Bound Rockets ? – University of Tsukuba
• Cost versus control in the small launch market – The Space Review
• Rocket Report: A new Starship moves to the pad, Iran’s surprise launch | Ars Technica

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

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

The latest issue:
Starship Factory, Axiom’s Modules, Starliner Revelations
Vol. 15, No. 2, March 28, 2020

Space Frontier Foundation Award for NewSpace Journalism

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

** SpaceX:

** Falcon 9 launched another batch of 60 Starlink satellites last week. First stage and both halves of the fairing nosecone were recovered. The number of Starlink satellites in operation now exceeds 400.

Over the weekend, the booster returned to Port Canaveral following its fourth flight:

B1051.4 Looks good. We are a US disabled veteran run, non-profit video production company whose mission is to bring other disabled US Veterans to witness a launch, experience US Space History and become part of our report. Our nonprofit 501(c)(3) is 100% tax deductible, just go to our webpage www.USLaunchReport.com which is merged with www.VeteransSpaceReport.com and find our Donate button. You can help change the life of a US Veteran.

And here is a video report on the return of the two ships with the fairings, which were scooped from the ocean. No attempt was made this time to catch the fairing shells in nets.

Join NSF’s Julia Bergeron (@Julia_bergeron) for an overview of the SpaceX Fleet recovery operations in Port Canaveral, including the return of the fairings from the seventh Starlink launch and JRTI update.

See also:

• SpaceX Falcon 9 returns to port after flawless Starlink mission [photos] – Teslarati
• SpaceX just surpassed ULA to snag an American launch record (and landed a rocket) – Teslarati

** Beautiful video imagery of the latest Falcon launch – Cosmic Perspective – YouTube:

Watch as we place cameras and microphones at SpaceX launchpad 39A during coverage of Starlink 6. This behind-the-scenes episode mixes liftoff footage, audio recordings and music to share some of the beauty and excitement of what it was like to be there, on the ground, documenting. We also get an incredible opportunity to share unique views of Falcon 9 from remote autonomous camera position and close-in telescopic zooms. I can’t believe one of our high-speed cameras caught those birds in flight!! Learn and see more from SpaceX Starlink 6: https://www.cosmicperspective.com/sta…

** The culprit behind the premature engine shutdown during the previous Starlink mission appears to have been a maintenance mistake rather than a breakdown in the engine’s hardware: This was the first time a F9 booster had flown a fifth time.

Small amount of isopropyl alcohol (cleaning fluid) was trapped in a sensor dead leg & ignited in flight

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 22, 2020

** Preparations intensifying for first crewed Dragon mission to the ISS, currently set for May 27th.

• NASA to Host Preview Briefings for First Crew Launch with SpaceX | NASA
• Expedition 63 Starts Science, Readies for Cargo and Commercial Crew – Space Station/NASA
• NASA Safety Panel Agrees Demo-2 Launch Date Feasible, NASA Wants Public to Stay Away – SpacePolicyOnline.com
• Safety panel concludes May launch of commercial crew test flight is feasible – SpaceNews.com

And preparations are underway for the first operational  Crew mission after this final test:

The team at SpaceX’s rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas completed a static fire test today of the Falcon 9 first stage that will launch Crew Dragon’s first operational mission (Crew-1) with 3 @NASA astronauts and 1 @jaxa_en astronaut on board later this year pic.twitter.com/iagTmZUXDu

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 24, 2020

• SpaceX already prepping for next crew mission to ISS ahead of May test run – Orlando Sentinel
• SpaceX is already preparing for operational astronaut missions – Teslarati

** Falcon Heavy will serve as a multi-satellite launcher for military payloads: SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launch on track to carry multiple military satellites – Teslararti

According to one of the US Space Force 44 (USSF-44) mission’s satellite providers, SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launch remains on track for late 2020 and will apparently be carrying more than one military satellite to orbit.

** Starship

**** Elon Musk sees orbital Starship/Super Heavy becoming operational in a couple of years. The system will enable new and enhanced capabilities such as multiple large in-space telescopes.

Musk adds that Starship “allows for space telescopes to be at least transported to orbit at … probably an order of magnitude lower cost than in the past.”

— Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) April 27, 2020

**** Here is a series of videos showing activities that led up to last night’s successful tanking tests for SN4 plus scenes of assembly of SN5:

****** April 23: Starship prototype SN4 rolled to the launch pad – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

Starship SN4 tank on test stand pic.twitter.com/zN2OmMp1OS

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 23, 2020

****** April 25: SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship Nosecone Stacking – SN4 Preps – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

While Starship SN4 continues preps for its test campaign at the launch site, a nosecone stacking operation was conducted at the launch site. See Elon’s tweet for SN allocation context: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1… Video and Photos via Mary (@BocaChicaGal).

****** April 25: SpaceX Boca Chica – SN5 Bulkhead Flipped – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

While Starship SN4 pre-test work continues at the Boca Chica launch site, preparations for SN5 stacking continues with the customary flipping of a bulkhead. Video and Photos via Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer).

***** April.27: 4K SpaceX SN4 Cryogenic Test Time Lapse – LabPadre – YouTube

** Webcast rocket reports:

**** Marcus House: SpaceX Starship SN4 Pressure Test, Crew Dragon Demo-2 and Starlink News – April.25.2020

**** What about it? SpaceX Starship Updates – Starship SN4 Passes Cryo Test – April.27.2020

=== Amazon Ad ===

Xtronaut: The Game of Solar System Exploration

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

[Update 23:00 EST: The OneWeb satellites were successfully deployed into the target orbits: OneWeb successfully launches 34 more satellites into orbit | OneWeb

OneWeb, the global communications company with a mission to bring connectivity to everyone everywhere, today announced the successful launch of 34 satellites, aboard a Soyuz launch vehicle from the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Lift-off occurred on February 06th at 21:42 pm UTC. The OneWeb satellites separated from the rocket and were dispensed in nine batches over a period of several hours.

This launch is the second successful launch in one of the largest civilian satellite launch campaigns in history. It will help build OneWeb’s phase one constellation of 648 satellites that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity, while addressing the world’s most pressing connectivity problems.

The communications company is on schedule to provide global coverage to customers in 2021, starting with the first commercial services in the Arctic this year. This follows OneWeb both securing global priority spectrum rights and successfully launching its first batch of satellites in 2019.

OneWeb’s network will provide a unique combination of high data throughput, low latency, true global coverage and a range of user terminals for multiple markets including maritime, aviation, government and enterprise.

Update 19:06 EST: The Soyuz launch of the OneWeb satellites reached orbit successfully this afternoon (US Eastern time). The Fregat-M upper stage is currently carrying out a series of burns that will culminate in the release of the satellites starting at around 20:30 this evening.:

Although the launch is on a Russian rocket from the famous Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the launch is considered an Arianespace operation due to the collaboration with the Euro-Russian Starsem company. Starsem also launches Soyuz rockets from the Arianespace facility in Kourou, French Guiana.

More about the launch and OneWeb:

• Flight ST27: Soyuz lifts off from Baikonur Cosmodrome – Arianespace
• Soyuz Flight ST27 – Feb.2020 – Arianespace
• Soyuz ST27 OneWeb (pdf)
• The 50th Arianespace, Starsem mission ready for OneWeb launch – NASASpaceFlight.com
• Watch live: First satellites off OneWeb’s new Florida assembly line set for launch – Spaceflight Now

*** Transport from space to East Russia took place today as well with the return of a Soyuz capsule from the ISS with NASA astronaut Christina Koch, European astronaut Luca Parmitano, and Aleksandr Skvortsov. Koch set “a record for the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman”.

• Record-Setting NASA Astronaut, Crewmates Return from Space Station | NASA
• Soyuz MS-13 crew return to Earth – NASASpaceFlight.com

]

** Three rocket launches coming up soon:

• Thursday, Feb.6, 4:42 pm EST (2142 GMT), Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan:  Soyuz launch of 34 OneWeb satellites into low earth orbit
  
  • OneWeb joins the satellite Internet gold rush this week | Ars Technica
  • Launch#2 Mediakit | OneWeb – webcast
• Sunday, Feb.9, 5:39 p.m. EST ( 2239 GMT), Wallops Island, Virginia: Northrop Grumman Antares launch of Cygnus cargo resupply spacecraft to the ISS.
  • NASA TV Coverage Set for Cygnus Launch to International Space Station | NASA
  • NASA TV webcast
• Sunday, Feb 9, 11:03 p.m.-1:03 a.m. EST (0403-0603 GMT on 10th), Cape Canaveral, Florida: United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the Solar Orbiter spacecraft for NASA and ESA.
  
  • Atlas V Solar Orbiter – United Launch Alliance (ULA) Rocket Launch
  • Call for Media: Solar Orbiter launch to face the Sun – ESA
  • Solar Orbiter Press Kit – ESA (pdf)
  • Webcasts at NASA TV  and ULA

** The previously launched Cygnus cargo vehicle left the ISS last week:  

• U.S. Cygnus Space Freighter Departs Station After 88 Days – Space Station/NASA
• Cygnus departs space station, deploys CubeSats – Spaceflight Now

**  Astra rocket company comes out of stealth mode as first orbital launch attempt approaches: A Small-Rocket Maker Is Running a Different Kind of Space Race – Bloomberg

Alongside its rocket test building, Astra has been assembling a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that Kemp says will be able to churn out hundreds of rockets a year. “Our strategy is to always focus on the bottom line,” he says. “Nothing is sacred. We’re able to profitably deliver payloads at $2.5 million per launch, and our intent is to continue to lower that price and increase the performance of our system.”

A look inside Astra, which until now has operated as “Stealth Space Company.”

Astra is aiming to reach orbit with its next launch from Alaska’s Kodiak spaceport on Feb. 21 – key toward its progress in DARPA’s Launch Challenge.https://t.co/57OOUhJcco pic.twitter.com/kjW2r2eJAJ

— Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) February 3, 2020

See the timeline of the company’s milestones here.

** Rocket Lab successfully launches first Electron mission of 2020:

• Rocket Lab Successfully Deploys NRO Satellite On 11th Electron Mission – Rocket Lab
• Rocket Lab kicks off busy year with NRO launch – SpaceNews.com

In addition to the successful placement of the NRO satellite into orbit, additional progress was made towards the goal of recovering and reusing the Electron first stage:

The re-entry test for ‘Birds of a Feather’ is the second time Rocket Lab has guided an Electron first stage booster down to sea-level, following on from the first successful re-entry test conducted on the ‘Running Out of Fingers’ mission in December 2019. Once again, initial analysis shows the stage made it back to sea-level intact following a guided descent, proving that Electron can withstand the immense heat and forces generated on re-entry.

To guide the stage to a planned splashdown, Electron’s first stage was equipped with on-board guidance and navigation hardware, including S-band telemetry and onboard flight computer systems. The stage was also equipped with a reaction control system to orient the booster 180-degrees for its descent and keep it dynamically stable for the re-entry.

Webcast:

** Virgin Orbit nears first flight of the LauncherOne rocket:

• #SpaceWatchGL Interviews: Dr. Michaelyn Thomas Of Virgin Orbit – SpaceWatch.Global
• Virgin Orbit rocket launch imminent – avpress.com

** Virgin Galactic‘s WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft returns to Mojave. The WK2 will to take  SpaceShipTwo Unity to Spaceport America in New Mexico where the SS2 will do some test flights before starting operational flights with paying customers

Here’s a video of the WK2 activities at Mojave via NASASpaceflight.com:

Virgin Galactic’s White Knight 2 mothership does 3 low approaches, 2 touch and go landings and then lands at Mojave Spaceport. Complete with tower audio so you can hear the pilots! With the return of White Knight 2, there will be for a brief time a total of 4 rocket launching planes at MHV, Northrop’s Stargazer, Stratolaunch’s Roc, Virgin Galactic’s White Knight 2, and Virgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl. If you like this video consider supporting me on Patreon for behind the scenes content, downloads, and more. https://www.patreon.com/jackbeyer

** Progress on construction of the Ariane 6 launch complex:   Ariane 6 launch complex at Europe’s Spaceport – ESA

Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana is gearing up for the arrival of Ariane 6, Europe’s next-generation launch vehicle. This aerial view taken in January 2020 shows the main elements of the new launch complex.

The 8200 tonne 90 metre-high mobile gantry will house Ariane 6 before launch. First in July then again in December 2019, the gantry was rolled along its rails to its prelaunch position over the launch pad. Platforms inside the gantry will allow engineers access to the rocket for integration and maintenance. The mobile gantry is retracted before launch.

** Update on Firefly Aerospace from CEO Tom Markusic: A Conversation with Dr. Tom Markusic, CEO, Firefly Aerospace – SatMagazine

Firefly is currently completing qualification of the Alpha first stage, our final milestone before the flight vehicle will be prepared for launch. We are looking forward to sharing progress updates as we continue the qualification process, including video of the full mission duty of the Alpha first stage, which starts 2020 on the test stand undergoing final checkouts before hotfire testing begins. Our Vandenberg team is making excellent progress on the launch site and we will be sharing updates as they move into wet dress rehearsals at the launch facility. The first Alpha launch will take place in 2020 from SLC-2W at VAFB.

This video shows actual startup operation of Lightning using a TEA-TEB canister. The brief green flash at ignition signals properly sequenced ignition – the arrival of TEA-TEB to the combustion chamber prior to RP-1 fuel. Check out previous tweets for how canister was tested. pic.twitter.com/X00tiEMoPn

— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) January 31, 2020

** Skyrora demos a rocket engine that burns a high-grade fuel made from waste plastics

• Skyrora tested innovative environmentally friendly fuel Ecosene – Skyrora
• Launch startup Skyrora successfully tests 3D-printed rocket engines powered by plastic waste | TechCrunch

The fuel called “Ecosene” provides a greener alternative to kerosene. Ecosene produces up to 45% less greenhouse emissions than normal kerosene. The fuel goes through a two step process which transforms the previously landfill waste in to useable fuel to help place earth observation satellites in to orbit to monitor the United Nations sustainability development goals.

** Update on PLD Space of Spain: PLD Space books first suborbital flight, nears resolution of engine setback – SpaceNews.com

Spanish launch startup PLD Space says [it has] secured a second customer for the maiden flight of its Miura 1 reusable suborbital rocket while tackling development issues that prevented the mission from occurring last year.

Pablo Gallego Sanmiguel, PLD Space’s senior vice president of sales and customers, said Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida will fly four student- and faculty-built experiments on Muira 1. Those payloads take the remaining commercial space on the mission, which will also fly two microgravity experiments for the Bremen, Germany-based Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, also known as ZARM. Half the rocket’s payload space will carry sensors to study its first flight. 

PLD Space planned to launch Miura 1 in 2019, but delayed the rocket’s debut after a “series of test firing anomalies” during engine development, Gallego Sanmiguel said by email. 

** Mid-flight refueling of a spaceplane via another spaceplane to get the first one to orbit: Suborbital refueling: a path not taken – The Space Review

** An overview of options for getting your smallsat into orbit: Rocket Launch Trends Roaring into the 2020s – Planet.com

It’s never been easier to launch satellites into space, and things are only getting better for satellite operators. A multitude of launch vehicles and orbits are available to satellite missions ranging from Kickstarter-funded garage efforts to serious commercial endeavours. Today, we’re recapping some of the most important launch trends of the last decade and reflecting on how they’ll evolve in the 2020s.

A discussion of higher priced direct versus the lower priced indirect route to orbit : Rocket Lab points out that not all rideshare rocket launches are created equal | TechCrunch

** The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) posts the latest developments and news on space elevators: February 2020 Edition of the ISEC Newsletter

See also this report presented at the IAC 2019 last fall about using space elevators as the key nodes in an interplanetary transportation network: Today’s Space Elevator: Space Elevator Matures into the Galactic Harbour, Peter Swan, Michael Fitzgerald – ISEC (pdf)

The purposes of Earth’s Space Elevators are to 1) deliver cargo to the Enterprises assembling along the geosynchronous belt near the Space Elevator’s GEO Regions; and 2) support interplanetary flights from the APEX Regions; to the Moon, to Mars, and elsewhere.

Since the interplanetary flights from the Apex will use the latent ΔV, (derived from Earth’s rotation – transformed into radial speed at departure from the Apex); Space Elevators are established around the Solar System as part of the Galactic Harbour transportation network. Elevators operate near the Moon, on Mars, on key asteroids within the asteroids belt and elsewhere. We see immense cargo craft moving from Elevator to Elevator bringing supplies and equipment; and returning with raw materials for processing in one of the several GEO regions and later to Earth. This is the third dimension of trade, commerce, transportation, and humankind.

** SpaceX:

** NASA awards contract to SpaceX for launch of the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission in December 2022: NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Earth Science Mission | NASA

NASA has selected SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for the agency’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission.

The total cost for NASA to launch PACE is approximately $80.4 million, which includes the launch service and other mission related costs. The PACE mission currently is targeted to launch in December 2022 on a Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The PACE mission represents the nation’s next great investment in understanding and protecting our home planet. The mission will provide global ocean color, cloud, and aerosol data that will provide unprecedented insights into oceanographic and atmospheric responses to Earth’s changing climate. PACE will help scientists investigate the diversity of organisms fueling marine food webs and the U.S. economy, and deliver advanced data products to reduce uncertainties in global climate models and improve our interdisciplinary understanding of the Earth system.

**** SpaceX releases Rideshare Payload Users Guide (pdf). The Smallsat Rideshare Program provides payload space for small satellites on Falcon 9 launches. The a primary payload, typically a batch of the company’s Starlink satellites.

SpaceX is expanding its launch services to directly address the needs of small satellite operators through regularly scheduled, dedicated Falcon 9 rideshare missions → https://t.co/jqQxEdt4xp pic.twitter.com/3gzOPxdVkW

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 5, 2019

The prices are exceptionally low for smallsats, e.g. $1M for a 200kg satellite to sun synchronous polar orbit. The Rideshare website provides an interactive guide to estimating the cost for a smallsat mission. Reservations can also be made online.

The goal is to provide routine access to space.The launch opportunities will take place at regular intervals:

SSO missions approximately every 4 months.

So if a payload is delayed, it can ride on a subsequent launch.

If your payload is delayed, apply 100% of monies paid toward cost of rebooking on a future mission, subject to a 10% rebooking fee.

**** Total number of Falcon 9 launches will surpass 100 by end of this year if there are no major failures: SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket expected to reach major launch milestone in 2020 – Teslarati

Hours after SpaceX launched its 240th new Starlink satellite into orbit, Elon Musk took to Twitter to cryptically reveal that the company’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket could “reach triple digits this year” if everything goes according to plan.

Designed and built by SpaceX in the late 2000s, the Falcon 9 rocket launched for the first time in June 2010. Developed for the unfathomably low price of $300 million from clean-sheet design to first orbital launch, the original single-core Falcon 9 rocket – known as V1.0 – was about 48m (160 ft) tall, weighed 333 metric tons (735,000 lb) fully fueled, and was capable of launching almost 10.5 metric tons (23,000 lb) into low Earth orbit (LEO). Famously, when provided with Falcon 9’s basic specifications and characteristics, an independent NASA study estimated that the rocket’s development would have cost the agency anywhere from $1.7 billion to $4 billion to design and build.

**** Falcon 9 booster for the latest Starlink mission returns from the sea. The booster landed harder than usual but the legs absorbed the impact just fine.

3 landing legs retracted rather well by sunset this evening Feb 3 by crane crews @PortCanaveral – on landed #SpaceX #Falcon9 on #OCISLY from #Starlink launch Jan 29 pic.twitter.com/1gapBFeMAF

— Ken Kremer (@ken_kremer) February 4, 2020

Here is a view of the booster’s return from USLaunchReport:

B1051 is still in excellent shape. The landing legs did their job. Appears to be approx. 5ft lower than normal. Incredible when you think of the force the landing legs must absorb.

**** Starship

****** An overview of the Starship/Super Heavy Booster project presented by Gerald Black at the Mars Society conference held last October:

****** First SN-1 Starship test flight could happen in a couple of months: SpaceX requests permission to fly new Starship rocket on 12-mile-high test flight – The Verge

SpaceX is already planning the next big test flight of its future Starship rocket out of southern Texas. As early as mid-March, the company is hoping to fly a test version of the vehicle to a super high altitude and then land it upright on solid ground, proving the rocket can be reused and potentially touch down on other worlds.

The upcoming test is detailed in new paperwork SpaceX filed with the Federal Communications Commission, which provides licensing to aerospace companies that are hoping to fly their vehicles to space. Specifically, the FCC allocates which radio frequencies companies can use to communicate with their vehicles during flight.

SpaceX notes in its filing that it wants special authority to communicate with its Starship rocket while the vehicle flies to an altitude of 12.4 miles or 20 kilometers — nearly halfway to the edge of space. Starship would take off from SpaceX’s test facility at Boca Chica, Texas, and the company would attempt to land the vehicle near the launch site using the rocket’s Raptor engines. SpaceX also plans to send data of the vehicle’s trajectory to both the Air Force and NASA.

****** To achieve a SN-1 flight so soon, activities are ramping up at Boca Chica Beach. New tanks are being assembled, the stainless steel bands for the main fuselage of the SN-1 Starship are being produced and stacked, several new structures have gone up to protect manufacturing from the elements, the last of the private residents near the site are being bought out to make it less hazardous to carry out tests and launch activities, and new workers are being hired.

Going max hardcore on design/production Starship here in Boca. It’s awesome! Feels a bit like a Mars simulator.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2020

Starship career day at the Stargate building (Boca Chica Blvd, TX) this Thursday from 3pm to 9pm!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2020

This is mainly for staffing up 4 production shifts for 24/7 operations, but engineers, supervisors & support personnel are certainly needed too. A super hardcore work ethic, talent for building things, common sense & trustworthiness are required, the rest we can train.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2020

See also: SpaceX ramps Starship hiring as Elon Musk talks Texas rocket factory’s “awesome” progress – Teslarati

Here are a series of videos via NASASpaceflight YouTube showing the feverish activities of the past week:

****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Test Tank 2 Aftermath – Jan.29.2020

Following what is understood to be a successful test of Starship Test Tank 2, the remains of the tank await removal from the Boca Chica launch site. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF.

****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Removing the remains of Starship Test Tank 2 – Jan.29.2020

SpaceX engineers entered the launch pad area to begin removing the remains of the Starship Test Tank (2). Meanwhile, new SN1 rings and new construction continues to be on show in Boca Chica. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF.

****** SpaceX Boca Chica – New Starship Header Tank – Launch Site Repairs – Jan.29.2020

While the dismantling of the Test Tank takes place, along with launch mount repairs, a new Starship SN1 Header Tank was spotted in the assembly building. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF.

****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Launch Site cleared for SN1 – Starship Fins Appearance – Jan.31.2020

ork on clearing the Boca Chica Starship launch pad is continuing with Test Tank 2 dismantling – including a surprise appearance from two Starship Fins (likely Mk1) – clearing the way for SN1. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF. Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer).

****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship SN1 Ring Stacking – Huge Windbreak Construction – Feb.1.2020

Signs Starship SN1 is undergoing ring stacking observed at Boca Chica as SpaceX build a very tall assembly/windbreak facility and clear the launch pad of test hardware. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF, with additional photos from NSF’s Nomadd.

****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship SN1 Rings Mass Production – Feb.3.2020

A large number of monolithic steel rings are being produced at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility, ready to become part of the stack for the SN1 Starship. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF.

****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship SN1 Welding – Launch Site Preps – Feb.4.2020

With Starship SN1 literally months away from a potential launch, SpaceX workers have been busy welding steel rings together and preparing the launch site for her arrival. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF.

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

** SpaceX successfully launched a fourth batch of 60 Starlink satellites today from Cape Canaveral. The first stage booster landed safely and one of the two nosecone fairings was caught in a net on a ship as well. The other fairing had a soft landing near a second ship and will probably be recovered for possible reuse.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/rFRtJuTXFL

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 29, 2020

Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship – our 49th successful landing of an orbital class booster pic.twitter.com/QyR3zyPcIp

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 29, 2020

Ms. Tree caught a fairing half – our third successful catch! pic.twitter.com/VJU8asg4gS

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 29, 2020

Successful deployment of 60 Starlink satellites confirmed! pic.twitter.com/AHkQYB3uNV

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 29, 2020

See also

• SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites, catches a fairing – Ars Technica
• SpaceX launches fourth batch of Starlink satellites, tweaks satellite design – SpaceNews.com
• SpaceX just caught its first rocket nosecone in 5 months (and the booster landed, too) – Teslarati
• SpaceX’s Third Operational Starlink Mission preparing for launch – NASASpaceFlight.com

More SpaceX items below.

** Spinlaunch and its centrifugal catapult launch system are described in the most detailed public article released so far for the secretive company: Inside SpinLaunch, the Space Industry’s Best Kept Secret | WIRED

In SpinLaunch’s design, once a rocket is spinning at launch speeds, an exit port in the centrifuge will open for a fraction of a second, sending the rocket shooting out. According to patents filed by the company, a counterbalance spinning opposite the rocket gets released at the same time, preventing the tether from becoming unbalanced and vibrating into oblivion. The rocket coasts for about a minute and ignites its engines at roughly 200,000 feet. At that altitude, there’s hardly any atmosphere pushing against the rocket, so a minute-long engine burn is about all it takes to boost the vehicle to orbital speeds of around 17,500 miles an hour. Another burn, this one lasting just ten seconds, helps the rocket slide into orbit around Earth.

Or so [Spinlaunch founder and chief Jonathan] Yaney assures me. When I visited the company, the prototype centrifuge was still in pieces and Yaney wouldn’t show me any videos of it in action. Instead, he insisted the math of SpinLaunch engineers was solid. Major investors—including Airbus Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, and GV (part of Alphabet)—have given their blessing too, pumping $80 million into the company. And last year, the US Department of Defense awarded SpinLaunch a contract to help develop its centrifuge. Still, the scant public evidence that any of it works leaves much to the imagination.

** Blue Origin to use Air Force facility to test BE-7 lunar lander engine. Blue will fund major improvements to the site located on Edwards Air Force Base in California.

• Air Force, Blue Origin team up on California test site for BE-7 engine – GeekWire
• AFRL and Blue Origin partner on test site for BE-7 lunar lander engine development – Wright-Patterson AFB

The Air Force Research Laboratory and Blue Origin are developing a new test facility for the Blue Origin BE-7 lunar lander engine at the AFRL rocket lab here.

Capital improvements, funded by Blue Origin, will allow BE-7 testing in a simulated space-like environment. Planned work includes adding liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant capabilities, along with other facility upgrades.

AFRL and Blue Origin signed a 15-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement Dec. 11, 2019 to develop a test facility for the Blue Origin BE-7 Lunar Lander Engine here. The CRADA was signed by Dr. Shawn Phillips, chief of the Rocket Propulsion Division, and Bob Smith, CEO of Blue Origin.

The BE-7 engine is a new, high performance 10,000 pound-thrust dual-expander cycle engine for in-space applications, including Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lunar lander. The new AFRL test capabilities will support various development, qualification, and production acceptance tests of the BE-7 engine under future Commercial Test Agreements, also to be funded by Blue Origin.

** Rocket Lab set to launch Birds of a Feather mission with NRO smallsat during window that opens Friday, Jan.31st:

Rocket Lab’s 11th Electron flight – Birds of a Feather – will launch a dedicated mission for the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The launch window is scheduled to open on 31 January NZDT and the mission will lift off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1.

The NRO competitively awarded the contract under the Rapid Acquisition of a Small Rocket (RASR) contract vehicle. RASR allows the NRO to explore new launch opportunities that can provide a streamlined, commercial approach for getting small satellites into space.

Looking for the best way to watch our upcoming #NROL151 mission w/ @RocketLab? Make sure to check out the livestream at https://t.co/ViASbw1JTl & Rocket Lab’s YouTube channel on launch day. Launch window opens 7 p.m. Jan. 30 EST/1 p.m. Jan. 31 NZDT. #BirdsOfAFeather pic.twitter.com/iuQdjdIcEg

— NRO (@NatReconOfc) January 28, 2020

See also

• Birds of a Feather Press Kit (pdf)
• Rocket Lab To Launch National Reconnaissance Office Mission | Rocket Lab

** An update on Exodus Space Corp and the Astroclipper orbital spaceplane:

• Fancy a ride on a space plane? Maybe AstroClipper will be what you’re looking for. – Space.com
• Exodus Space 2019 in Review

Space.com:

Startup Exodus Space Corp. plans to build a space plane to ferry cargo around Earth. Eventually, that cargo could include people, if the spacecraft is deemed safe enough.

The spaceship — called AstroClipper — will take off from a runaway, make a flight into space and then land again, plane-style. A heft booster at the space plane’s back end will help it get into orbit by giving AstroClipper the speed it requires to break out of Earth’s atmosphere.

Exodus is new and still raising money, but its team includes deep experience across the space industry. Principals at the company have worked at SpaceX, Lockheed Martin and NASA, among others. 

** A NASA KSC video highlights the Commercial Crew program:

NASA and Commercial Crew Program partners Boeing and SpaceX are preparing to launch astronauts from Florida’s Space Coast.

** Misc. rocket items:

• CNES’ future launcher roadmap analyzed – SatelliteObservation.net
• Launchers Get Ready for the Small Satellite Gold Rush | Via Satellite
• Rocket Report: It takes three years to build an SLS? Long March 5B coming | Ars Technica

** SpaceX:

**** Crew Dragon abort test flight accomplished all the primary mission goals according to results released so far: SpaceX releases preliminary results from Crew Dragon abort test – Spaceflight Now

Data from the Jan. 19 in-flight launch escape demonstration of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft indicate the performance of the capsule’s SuperDraco abort engines was “flawless” as the thrusters boosted the ship away from the top of a Falcon 9 rocket with a peak acceleration of about 3.3Gs, officials said Thursday.

The Jan. 19 test demonstrated the Crew Dragon’s ability to safely carry astronauts away from a launch emergency, such as a rocket failure, and return the crew to a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.

**** Starship

****** SpaceX conducted multiple pressure tests on propellant tanks in the past several days at the Boca Chica Beach facility. These included tests on a prototype nosecone tank and on a second large main propulsion tank. (The nosecone header tank is used to keep the center of mass of the Starship positioned correctly as propellants are fed into the engines.) The tanks were each tested to the point of destruction so as to determine the margin of safety above their planned operating pressures. The latest large tank test used liquid nitrogen, whose cryogenic temperature strengthens the stainless steel structure. The tank did not burst until the pressure reached 8.5 bar, which Elon Musk said was the target level. The highest operating pressure will be 6 bar.

• SpaceX Starship just aced another explosive tank test and Elon Musk has the results – Teslarati
• SpaceX is ready to build the first Starship destined for space after latest tests – Teslarati

****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship Test Tank 2 Destructive Cryo Test – Jan.29.2020 – NASASpaceflight.com

The second Starship test tank is tested to overpressure (8.5 Bar) at SpaceX’s Boca Chica launch site. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF. Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer)

****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship Nosecone Heads to Launch Site – Bulkhead Flip – Jan.23.2020 – NASASpaceflight.com

Ops are ramping up at SpaceX Boca Chica as the Test Tank bulkhead was flipped and the Starship Nosecone/Header Tank was transported to the launch site for its own proofing test. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF.

****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship Header Tank Pressurization Test – Jan.25.2020 – NASASpaceflight.com

SpaceX conducted a pressurization test of a Starship header tank on Jan. 24 at their Boca Chica launch facility. NSF’s BocaChicaGal (Mary) filmed the test for several hours. The footage has been compiled into a timelapse of the test.

****** A Starship lands on the Moon in this nicely made animation at Hazegrayart – YouTube:

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