October 24, 2022 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. To my readers, I am having an off day, so please forgive the low output from me.
- China schedules December 3rd orbital launch of rocket fueled by oxygen-methane
The other methane-fueled rocket engines come from SpaceX (on Starship/Superheavy) and Blue Origin. ULA was supposed to have launched with Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine two years ago. The launch won’t happen before 2023. SpaceX’s first Starship orbital attempt could happen any time before the end of the year.
This Chinese rocket could thus be the first methane-fueled rocket to reach orbit.
- Australia agrees to let the sample return capsule from Japan’s Mars Moon Exploration mission (MMX) to Phobos land there
The tentative return date is 2029. The launch itself is set for next year.
- ULA Atlas-5 launch of NOAA satellite on November 1st will include inflatable heat shield test
From the link:
Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry.
- Firefly adds former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine to its own advisory board
This is merely the company bringing Bridenstine in to grease the wheels of Washington’s increasingly oppressive bureaucracy. He won’t add any engineering or management skills to Firefly, in the slightest.
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