Welcome to Edition 5.40 of the Rocket Report! Let’s start by congratulating Virgin Galactic on their successful return to space on Thursday morning above the state of New Mexico. It’s been almost two years since their last human spaceflight, so we’re excited to see them back in action. We hope they can reach a regular flight rate soon!
As always, we welcome reader submissions. Don’t want to miss an issue? Subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report includes information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets, as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.
Virgin Galactic takes to the skies again
On Thursday morning, Virgin Galactic successfully returned to human spaceflight after a nearly two-year hiatus. In a news release, the company said its VSS Unity spacecraft reached an apogee of 87.2 km before landing at Spaceport America in New Mexico. Virgin Galactic says it is now readying the vehicle for the start of long-awaited commercial operations, with the “Galactic 01” mission planned for late June.
The flight was commanded by Mike Masucci, with CJ Sturckow serving as pilot. “Witnessing our inspiring crew’s pure joy upon landing, I have complete confidence in the unique astronaut experience we have built for our customers,” said Michael Colglazier, CEO of the company.
Virgin Orbit’s assets are sold off
It’s official—the launch company Virgin Orbit is being sold for parts. In a new filing this week as part of the bankruptcy process, Rocket Lab purchased the company’s main production facility in Long Beach, California, to support its Neutron rocket. Stratolaunch bought Virgin Orbit’s Boeing 747 aircraft and related equipment. And Launcher acquired the company’s lease on a test site in Mojave. After six years, Virgin Orbit is done, and its LauncherOne will fly no more.
In an analysis, Ars Technica explains how the company’s business plan did not make much sense from the beginning. Assuming a profit of $10 million per launch—an exceedingly generous figure—Virgin Orbit would have to launch something like 30 times a year to break even. There clearly was no satellite market to support this, and even reaching such a cadence would have required several years.
South Korean rocket flies again
The country’s Nuri rocket, also called KSLV-II, completed its third launch on Thursday, Payload reports. This marks the first time a Korean launch vehicle has carried commercial payloads to space. The Nuri launcher deployed eight satellites into orbit, including three from domestic companies: Lumir, Justek, and Kairo Space. One of the CubeSats was unaccounted for, however.
After winning a technology transfer contract from the Korean space agency last year to jointly advance the rocket’s capabilities for its cadence of launches through 2027, Hanwha Aerospace, a leading Korean aircraft engine producer, oversaw the supply and integration aspects of the rocket.
Rockets may soon fly from the Gulf of Mexico
The Spaceport Company announced Tuesday that it hosted four sounding rocket launches with the support of Evolution Space on Monday from a platform in the Gulf of Mexico, Space News reports. The launches were part of a proof-of-concept test of the ability to conduct launches from an offshore platform. The Spaceport Company said the low-altitude launches were intended to exercise the procedures needed to conduct an orbital launch from such a platform.
This includes getting approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration and US Coast Guard, clearing airspace and waters to allow for a safe launch and remotely launching the rocket. The launches used propulsion systems supplied by Evolution Space, a Mojave, California-based company working on solid-propellant launch vehicles for defense and space applications.
A spaceport map of the world
There are more spaceports in the world than you probably think. The team of analysts at BryceTech has characterized more than 80 operational, planned, and announced spaceports and major ballistic missile testing sites globally. You can download a copy of the map here. There are so many proposed spaceports in the United Kingdom—seven—that the map includes a breakout section showing just England, Scotland, and Ireland. No wonder it’s hard to keep track of all the British spaceport proposals.
Today, Europe is struggling to meet regulations on their launch of commercial space vehicles and the FAA is testing for methane safety. This news is unsettling for aerospace industry stakeholders as their plans for space launches progress at a slowed rate.
The European Union’s first space agency, the European Space Agency, is currently dealing with the issue of non-compliance with safety agreements for commercial launches. According to their internal reports, the European Space Agency is failing to adhere to certain safety regulations and appears to be unable to resolve the issues without further assistance from outside sources.
As these issues arise, the FAA has taken it upon itself to conduct tests for methane safety. The FAA’s tests use state of the art equipment to make sure that methane levels in the launch site do not put people in danger. The data from the FAA’s tests is then compared to the data from the European Space Agency to get an accurate reading of the safety levels of the blast offs.
The uncertain safety levels of the European Space Agency’s launches have become a source of worry among aerospace industry stakeholders. The investors, suppliers, engineers, and everyone involved in the aerospace industry are feeling the pressure of months of delays due to the safety issues. Efforts to adapt to regulations and adhere to safety agreements have created a slight sense of optimism, but the doubts about the European Space Agency’s ability to get the job done remain.
The methane safety tests that the FAA is conducting give more security to the industry that the launch sites will meet standards, but stakeholders still have to rely on the European Space Agency to take the necessary steps to prepare and launch safely. Time will tell what will become of the efforts of the European Space Agency, but stakeholders will be waiting to reap rewards at the earliest possible convenience. In the meantime, the aerospace industry is holding their breath as they wait for more updates from Europe.
