First test flight of Momentus’s orbital tug has issues
Capitalism in space: According to a short press release from the company, tirst test flight of Momentus’s orbital tug — launched on a Falcon 9 on May 25th, has communications issues.
We have established two-way contact with the Vigoride Orbital Transfer Vehicle, and as is often the case with a new spacecraft, have had some initial anomalies. We are using an unplanned frequency as we work through this and are applying for a Special Temporary Authority (STA) with the FCC to address that in order to help command the vehicle back to nominal configuration. Our engineering and operations team is working to address the anomalies.
No further details have so far been released.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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Capitalism in space: According to a short press release from the company, tirst test flight of Momentus’s orbital tug — launched on a Falcon 9 on May 25th, has communications issues.
We have established two-way contact with the Vigoride Orbital Transfer Vehicle, and as is often the case with a new spacecraft, have had some initial anomalies. We are using an unplanned frequency as we work through this and are applying for a Special Temporary Authority (STA) with the FCC to address that in order to help command the vehicle back to nominal configuration. Our engineering and operations team is working to address the anomalies.
No further details have so far been released.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Man, I need a scorecard to keep the companies and their spacecraft separate!
Col Beausabre noted: “Man, I need a scorecard to keep the companies and their spacecraft separate!”
Amen! I’ve been trying to keep my scorecard up to date for the past half decade, or so. I need to add the category of Space Tugs, and Earth observation.
This is not necessarily complete or up to date, but you could use it to get started. I currently have (and it does not include Joe’s company, sorry Joe):
Other NEWSPACE companies:
Launch:
SpaceX
Orbital Sciences (newspace?) ==> Northrup Grumman
ArmadilloBlue Origin
VectorRocket Lab
StratolaunchFirefly (future)
Astra
Virgin Launch
Generation Orbit http://www.generationorbit.com/blog/generation-orbit-completes-first-flight-test/ Atlanta GA, future launch 100 lbs, suborbital and orbital
Spacecraft mfr or ops:
Sierra Nevada
Sierra Space (Dream Chaser)
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/sierra-nevada-will-build-space-stations-and-a-manned-version-of-dream-chaser/
Bluecube Aerospace: http://www.bluecubesat.com/
Space stations:
Orbital Reef (Blue Origin, Sierra Space, Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University )
Starlab (Nanoracks, Lockheed Martin, Voyager Space)
Cygnus-HALO-MEV (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) (Mission Extension Vehicle) (Northrop Grumman, Dynetics, and other partners to be named later)
Space station proposals:
Gateway Foundation
Space station companies:
Sierra Space (space habitats)
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/sierra-space-signs-up-its-first-customer-for-its-commercial-space-station/
Bigelow (space habitats)
Ixion (space habitats)
Axiom Space (space habitats) (Nanoracks, LLC (“Nanoracks”), Space Systems/Loral, LLC (“SSL”), and United Launch Alliance (“ULA”))
Space exploration:
Moon Express
Space mfr or ops:
Redwire (formerly Made In Space)
Space tourism:
World View (balloon tourism)
Virgin Galactic
Blue Origin
Axiom (Dragon)
Current privately funded rockets:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_private_spaceflight_companies
Space Explorations (SpaceX)
Sierra Nevada Corp (Sierra Space)
StratoLauncher
Boeing CST-100
Blue Origin
Skylon
SARGE (EXOS Aerospace; suborbital)
Radian Aerospace https://spacenews.com/radian-aerospace-raises-seed-round-to-fund-work-on-spaceplane/
Current privately funded Space Stations:
Bigelow (space Habitats)Small Launch Companies:
Cloud IX (Cloud Nine)
CubeCab
Firefly
Interorbital Systems
Rocket Lab
Stratolaunch
Virgin Orbit
Competitors:
Nanoracks (deployment from ISS)
PSLV (India, as secondary payload)
Defunct privately funded rockets:
Roton (Rotary Rocket, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_Rocket )
Kistler ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocketplane_Kistler#Corporate_history )
https://spacenews.com/editorial-who-killed-kistler-aerospace/ (NASA’s inertia)
Lynx (XCOR)
Vector
Edward: Your list is incomplete. You need to do some searching on BtB. To help, go to my global launch report at the start of the year. It lists all the companies that hoped to launch last year. Search for them all to see their status this year.
As for tugs, search for tugs and orbital to get a more complete list. Similarly, for space stations search for station commercial. Should get you the links to all the stations under construction or planned.
“Your list is incomplete.”
Yes. I have been fairly sporadic about keeping my scorecard up to date. One of these days I will have to do the searches you recommend, Robert, and make it a better card, and I should also keep including the various new (and old) industries on the card. As Col Beausabre noted, it is getting pretty complex, now that space is becoming commercialized. It is like trying to keep track of all the new razor companies out there:
Jeremy’s Razors to replace Harry’s Razors when it went woke, which was supposed to replace Gillett when it went woke.
https://rumble.com/vy85lz-jeremys-razors-stop-giving-your-money-to-woke-corporations-that-hate-you..html (4 minutes — caution: one NSFW word)
(If the hateful woke think that boys aren’t boys and girls aren’t girls then which boys do they think aren’t boys and which girls do they think aren’t girls? Where did the tautology fail?)