Welcome to Edition 5.36 of the Rocket Report! In a galaxy far, far away, the space media were given a May 4 launch date for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket. Unfortunately, May the 4th, in 2023, wasn’t meant to be. But don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of other exciting news to share with you this week.
Rocket Lab’s Electron is set to serve as a hypersonics test bed, with the Army, Navy, and Air Force all developing hypersonic missiles. Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said the company was able to offer this service because of Electron’s reliability and increasing flight rate. “The key to advancing the field here in the United States is to do lots of flights,” he said.
Latitude, the French launch company, is going on a hiring spree to support the development of its Zephyr smallsat rocket. The rocket will have a payload capacity of 100 kg to low-Earth orbit and may launch from SaxaVord, in the Shetland Islands, and Kourou, in French Guiana.
China’s bustling commercial space industry is also making waves, with approximately 10 commercial rocket startups that could conceivably launch a rocket within the next 12 to 18 months. While there is a reasonable debate to be had about the extent to which these “private” companies are truly operating independently of the Chinese government, there is no question there is an incredible amount of space activity happening.
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As a space exploration pioneer, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been revolutionizing space-based industry in recent years. Now, the latest news in the Rocket Report points to a potentially major disruption in the space industry — the sale of reusable engine cores to China by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). This announcement has been met with many questions regarding the potential impact on SpaceX, as it could seriously disrupt its ability to secure funding.
The reusable engine core is important in reducing launch costs and creating more efficient, cost-effective spacecraft. As this sale would unquestionably provide a major financial boon for China, it could establish them as a major competitor in the global space exploration industry. CASIC’s move could potentially make it difficult for SpaceX to raise capital for further projects, as the market for reusable rocketry and space exploration is highly competitive and the Chinese government has seemingly acquired the upper hand with this sale.
The space industry is heavily reliant on government funding, and this is not just true for SpaceX. Many aerospace companies rely heavily on public funding from governments or other major investors. With the cheaper option of CASIC’s reusable engines available, it could be incredibly difficult for companies like SpaceX to secure enough funding to move forward with their projects.
Overall, while this news is undoubtedly concerning, it hasn’t changed the competitive landscape overnight. SpaceX will still have access to the biggest government contracts, and CASIC won’t be building large-scale rocketry hardware just yet. However, this sale could be the first step towards creating an unassailable position for the Chinese government in the space exploration industry, and it remains to be seen how this shift will affect successful companies like SpaceX in the long-term.
