Tag: quick space links

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• UK rocket startup Skyrora begins engine tests

Skyrora has been around since 2018, but has yet to reach orbit. We shall see if this development leads to that first orbital launch.

 

• AST SpaceMobile successfully completes tests using an ordinary cellphone working with its BlueWalker-3 satellite

The tests achieved 10MB download speeds.

 

• ESA briefing this week on status of Ariane-6 provided no update on launch date

The lack of any schedule is not good, suggesting the final work required is going to take a longer than expected. This might also be why France and Arianespace have suddenly begun signing launch contracts with independent rocket startups. They realize they need to do whatever they can to generate some alternatives.

 

• Chinese pseudo-rocket company CAS-Space signs deal with French startup

It appears the French company acts as broker, finding rockets for payloads wanting to fly. China is now allowing it to sell space on CAS-Space’s rockets as well.

 

• NASA tweet: “Together with BoeingSpace, we are taking the necessary time to finalize the path forward for #Starliner’s Crew Flight Test.”

From Jay: “You can drop this story if you want. I included it since the people on Twitter are ragging on it.” I agree, the tweet is a joke, and thus deserves ragging. If by including it here we encourage more such ragging of NASA and Boeing then my job here is done.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• An analysis of the landing failure of Hakuto-R1

This is thirty minute presentation, which concludes that though there was a failure of the software, in the end the failure was due to management errors, including changing the landing site without doing sufficient simulations.

 

• Boeing CEO says company still committed to Starliner

Sounds good, eh? Don’t bet on it. The company is almost a billion dollars in the hole due to the extra costs incurred because the project’s failure, with no sign yet of any income in the near future.

 

• Delta-4 Heavy launch scheduled for tonight, at 3:29 am Eastern

This will be the first Delta-4 Heavy launch in almost three years. More significant, it will be ULA’s first launch in 2023, a number that is even lower that its low launch numbers of recent years. At this pace it will be a challenge for ULA to match its lowest launch counts of five, from ’19 and ’21. UPDATE: Scrubbed, reschedule 24 hours later.

 

• Anonymous source says Blue Origin will now require in-office work, five days per week

The source’s whining about this is amusing, but it also suggests once again the culture and management at Blue Origin is not the best.

 

• China claims it has a large alliance of space-faring nations who have agreed to partner on its lunar base

Except for Russia and the UAE, all are small time third world nations with no space infrastructure. Many have also not made a commitment, simply opened discussions. Russia will contribute little, and the UAE has a conflict as it also wants to participate in Artemis. U.S. law makes participating in both very very difficult, if not impossible.

 

• China’s state-run press deletes comments from professor claiming NASA had agreed to use China’s Queqiao lunar relay communications satellite

Either the professor was misinformed, or he revealed illegal negotiations by Biden’s NASA that NASA didn’t want revealed. If the latter, there was probably a frantic call made to China by the White House, begging them to censor this information, and China gladly obliged.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Sierra Space awarded a Space Act Agreement by NASA commercial space development program

It was one of seven companies receiving similar unfunded support grants, including SpaceX, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, Vast, and others.

 

• China announces it will allow NASA and others to use its Queqiao lunar relay communications satellites

That’s nice, but U.S. law forbids NASA or any countries it works with to work with China. This announcement is simply a PR effort by China to make believe it works with others selflessly.

 

• Graphic showing all of China’s different pseudo-commercial rockets and engines, as of this date

Many of these have not yet launched, though most I expect will with time.

 

• Russia celebrates the 60th anniversary of the first female flight in space by Valentina Tereshkova by honoring her

According to Jay, she is still a member of Russia’s Duma (its congress), and voted for the Ukraine invasion. No wonder Putin gave her this award.

May everyone have a great weekend!

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Vast selects Impulse Space to provide the propulsion system for its first space station, dubbed Haven-1

This station is the one that Vast has hired SpaceX to launch as a single module.

 

• Bankers: ULA, Ball Aerospace, and Boeing’s space portfolio are being shopped around for sale

Unless you could get a really good price for their assets, right now I wonder why anyone would want ULA or Boeing, as neither seems well positioned to compete in the present space market, now or even in the near future.

 

• Video of today’s launch of China’s Long March 2D rocket

The panels falling from the rocket are not a mistake but intended. Used for insulation while on the launchpad, they are abandoned when no longer needed to save weight.

 

• Malaysian professor at Chinese university claims NASA agreed to use China’S Queqiao lunar communications satellites on its Artemis moon missions

Since there is a law on the books forbidding NASA or any government agency from working with China, this claim is almost certainly bogus. It is more likely China’s attempt to lobby an end to that law.

 

• Kuiper official urges governments to regulate the methods used by satellite makers to maneuver their satellites

I like Jay’s comment: “How many satellites does Kuiper have again? Zero. Damn arm-chair satellite companies!” The timing of this statement, a day after the WEF issued its proposed government guidelines for de-orbiting satellites, suggests Amazon supports that effort, but has a different approach as to how those rules should be implemented.

In other words, Amazon wants to dictate how others build their satellites. Or make it illegal for them to do so as they wish. Seems a great plan for eliminating one’s competition.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Virgin Orbit’s 747 is stripped of the company logo

To be replaced by Stratolaunch’s colors.

 

• Diagram from ULA outlining the pattern of decay for orbital debris, depending on orbit

This diagram was posted in connection with a proposal from ULA’s CEO, Tori Bruno, suggesting a system similar to carbon credits to eliminate space junk. Bruno also suggests the U.S. should “kickstart” this program. The timing, the same day the WEF released its own space junk guidelines, suggests he is all-in on strong international regulation, along with the kind of scams (such as carbon credits) that this regulation always goes hand-in-hand with. It also suggests he wants to use that regulation to beat down his competitors, since on the open market ULA is failing miserably at this task.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Some cumulative statistics for SpaceX’s various smallsat Transporter and rideshare launches

The total launches is 17, which have put up 676 satellites in total. To get a sense of the increasing pace of SpaceX launches, see this animation.

 

• ULA CEO Tori Bruno claims the root cause of the Centaur test explosion has finally been identified

He says in a followup tweet that “the super thin, high performance steel skin needs to be a little thicker near the top of the dome.” They plan to retest, which I suspect is going to impact the first Vulcan launch date.

 

• China breaks ground on third launchpad at its Wenchang coastal spaceport for its pseudo-companies

This pad is aimed at servicing “small solid rockets”, essentially former missiles that China has allowed its pseudo-companies to adapt for satellite launches.

After a week break BtB’s stringer Jay returns!

• Astra shareholders agree to reverse stock split in order to prevent its stock from being delisted

In other words, if you owned one share that share could end up being equal to somewhere between 1/5th or 1/15th of one share. The goal of such a reverse split is to raise the value of one share to higher than a dollar, the minimum the stock market was insisting on or it would delist Astra.

 

• On June 7th astronauts on Tiangong-3 installed a new xenon tank for the propulsion system on the Tianhe module

The tank was apparently brought up on the most recent Tianzhou freighter, and transported to its proper place through the airlock on the Mengtian module.

 

• The upper stage from 2016 North Korea rocket launch burned up over the Southern Ocean on June 9, 2023

According to the link, there are now only three North Korean objects remaining in orbit, all from launches years ago.

 

• Stoke Space successfully completes another static fire test of its revolutionary engine design

Rather than building large engines releasing their energy through a single large nozzle, Stoke releases the energy through a ring of small nozzles. This test demonstrated the ability to adjust the thrust in different places on the ring, thus simulating the gymballing of a normal nozzle to steer the rocket.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• SpaceX’s Starlink wins Pentagon contract for satellite services to Ukraine

Terms were not released, but this contract is essentially the military’s recognition that if it wants Starlink available for use in the Ukraine it will have to pay for it. As Musk said several months ago, the freebie deal with SpaceX has to end.

 

• First Dream Chaser launch delayed to no early than the end of this year

This new delay appears mostly related to ULA’s problems in getting the launch rocket, Vulcan, operational.

 

• Tweet outlining activity launchpad construction activity at Cape Canaveral

I include this link because Jay thinks it is worth seeing, but it is written in the kind of typical Twitter shorthand that I find incredibly uninformative and confusing. All it does is hint at stuff without providing any real information.

 

• Analysis of Relativity’s Terran-R rocket says its launch price should be $55 million, though the early contracts are paying $45 million

The lower initial contract prices are nothing unusual. Satellite companies routinely get better prices on new rockets. Once established and proven the price then goes up. And at $55 million that price will still be competitive, and likely will soon drop once Relativity begins reusing parts, as it aims to do.

 

• Pakistan official says it plans to partner with China on its Lunar Base

The specifics still have to be worked out.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Roscosmos proposes extending its astronaut barter deal with NASA

The current deal ends after four astronauts from each nation fly to ISS on the other nation’s rockets/capsules.

 

• ESA press release calls for private European companies to provide freighter service to ISS and future stations

This announcement is a followup on ESA’s new policy to emulate NASA by adopting my recommendations from my 2017 policy paper, Capitalism in Space by becoming a mere customer hiring its aerospace private sector rather than being the designer and builder of spacecraft and rockets.

 

• South Korea replaces Russia with Arianespace to launch an Earth observation satellite

The Arianespace press release is here. This switch is a direct result of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, and results in the loss of approximately $100 million in revenue.

 

• Spanish rocket startup PLD scrubs first suborbital test launch of its Miura-1 rocket due to high winds

No word on a new launch date.

 

• UAE touts its new planned asteroid mission

The details revealed in this week’s announcement are essentially the same as revealed on May 10th.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Dawn Aerospace: now producing 2 B20 satellite thrusters per week, having shipped 100 to customers

More information about the thruster here.

 

• PLD’s suborbital Miura-1 set to launch later today on first test flight from Spain

The live stream is available here, beginning at 8:30 pm (Pacific).

 

• New crew welcomed on China’s Tiangong-3 space station

The two crews will remain together on the station for the next five days, when the old crew will return to Earth. Video of the docking can be seen here.

 

• China announces plan to land humans on Moon before 2030

The officials claim they are working full speed on their manned lunar lander, the rocket, lunar spacesuits, etc. I have no idea if they will meet the date, but I agree with Jay, who wrote, “I bet they beat Blue Moon.”

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• The flight path taken by Hakuto-R1 as it entered Atlas Crater to attempt its lunar landing

According to the investigation, the software problem occurred as it flew over the north rim of the crater, causing later altitude data to be measured inaccurately.

 

• Ispace says Hakuto-R1 mission was insured

The link refers to “liability insurance”, which usually covers injury to yourself and others. It is unclear if Ispace’s insurance covered property loss.

 

• Blue Origin expanding its Alabama rocket facility for the third time

The local city council approved the sale of almost fifteen acres to the company. No word however if this means rockets and engines will actually finally appear from the factory.

 

• China touts the upgrades on its next six manned Shenzhou capsules

The upgrades apparently include more parts made domestically plus an upgraded control panel.

 

• Juice team completes full deployment of spacecraft, declaring it in “full flight configuration”

This last deployment involved the opening and positioning of several sensors on the spacecraft’s boom

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Next-to-last Delta-4-Heavy launch scheduled for June 21, 2023

The payload is a National Reconnaissance Office surveillance satellite.

 

• Progress freighter today docked with ISS, a little more than four hours after launch

It will remain at ISS until November.

 

• China releases new designs for its proposed Long March 8 rocket

The tweet implies China has abandoned developing reusability on this rocket but none of this means much, as at this point it is merely engineering by powerpoint.

Courtesy of BtB’s string Jay.

• Virgin Orbit’s chief operating office gets lump-sum cash severance payment in bankruptcy auction

Other sources tell me that the company’s assets are going to sold off piecemeal, as no single buyer was found to buy it whole. Expect more news by tomorrow.

 

• Virgin Orbit’s 747 meanwhile completed another flight

This flight was probably done to satisfy the potential buyer, thought to be Stratolaunch.

 

• ESA looking for commercial companies to provide cargo services to ISS, followed by commercial space stations

It seems the European Space Agency (ESA) has finally decided to stop trying to build things and become customers of European companies. This is excellent news. It will be great to get some space competition from Europe.

 

• China wants its own pseudo-companies to provide a cargo ferrying service for China’s space station

It seems everyone is getting into the act, encouraging competition. China however will be hindered by the reality that the government there really controls everything. Its pseudo-private companies are only make-believe independent. In the end the government dictates everything.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• China’s Xichang spaceport brags that it had in 2022 zero injuries or casualties from rocket debris falling

This is one of China’s interior spaceports, so they apparently recognize that their rocket stages can fall on someone’s head, and are proud that in 2022 they avoided any such tragedies. Well, bully for them.

 

• Data from China’s Mars rover Zhurong suggests there was an ancient ocean once at its landing zone

The fundamental question remains: How could liquid water have been there in a climate that is too cold and an atmosphere too thin?

 

• India confirms it will launch Chandrayaan-3 to the Moon on July 12, 2023

The landing date near the south pole will be August 23, 2023.

 

• India targets May 29, 2023 for the next launch of its large GSLV rocket

It will place a GPS-type satellite into oribt.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Australian company gets deal to develop technique with American company for using space junk for fuel

The press release [pdf] provides more details.

 

• Australian company gets approval to develop site for producing solid fuel and launching rockets

The company, Black Sky, appears a long way from actual launches.

 

• Video showing how equipment is moved from inside China’s Tiangong-3 station to outside without an astronaut EVA

Essentially they put the gear in the airlock, and then the robot arm, operated by an astronaut, pulls it out. From there however a spacewalk is usually required to install the gear, depending on what it is.

 

• Video taken by nearby bystanders of Long March 3B launch

“Nearby” is an understatement, especially considering this is a rocket using toxic hypergolic fuel. The videographer couldn’t have been more than a half mile away, and maybe as close as a quarter of a mile.

 

• FCC rules against Dish Network’s 5G plan, claiming it would interfere with Starlink

This decision illustrates the critical importance of acting fast in a competitive market. SpaceX moves fast, gets launched first, and thus automatically gets priority when conflicts occur with other systems that are only proposed.

 

• Space Perspective will offer high altitude balloon weddings in late 2024

Ticket prices will start at $125K per person.

 

• Russia and Uganda sign deal not to deploy weapons in space

This agreement, like the Biden administration’s call for a similar ban, is worthless. When it comes time that someone wants to use force in space, force will be used, whether morally right or not. And the victim will have no choice but to respond in kind. That simply is the way of all things.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Spanish startup company PLD completes 5 second static fire test of suborbital rocket Miura-1

The company has still not announced a launch date.

 

• Chinese pseudo-company Galactic Energy unveils its Pallas-1 rocket

This version, not yet launched, is not reusable in any way, but the pseudo-company also shows video of a future version landing exactly like the Falcon 9.

 

• Sierra Space touts the trash compactor it has developed for future space stations

Of all the companies in Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef space station partnership, Sierra Space appears to be getting the most done, with the partnership’s “leader” Blue Origin far in the rear, apparently accomplishing nothing.

 

• UK government says it has no interest in buying bankrupt Virgin Orbit

We should know Virgin Orbit’s fate on May 24th.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Tori Bruno outlines his thinking about the problems of future Mars exploration

A lot of blather, but his discussion of the radiation problem was interesting. I also found it most amusing that his NASA slide showing how NASA intends to return to the Moon very specifically did not include Starship as the manned lunar lander.

 

• Virgin Orbit is in negotiations to sell off its aircraft assets, including its 747 carrier

If true, this indicates that the company is dead, since no one has stepped forward to buy it whole and take it out of bankruptcy.

 

• An outline describing Ariane-6’s future from ArianeGroup suggests the company is moving fast to replace it with Prometheus, a proposed reusable first stage

The PowerPoint slide at the link however provides no timeline at all.

 

• Gamers in Japan bow down in fun to worship Starlink dishes, thanking it for making their gaming possible

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Ursa Major touts video of a recent static fire test of its Ripley rocket engine

This is the engine they are selling for use on larger rockets.

 

• NASA: Cabin temperatures in uncrewed Soyuz with the coolant leak were in high 70s F

If so, this means the crew would have had no problem coming home in that spacecraft.

 

• Humans to Mars Summit this week

 

• Astra gets Defense Department launch contract for its as yet unflown Rocket-4

These military contracts are designed to help new rocket companies, but are always only a tiny amount of the money the companies need to survive. On that note, there is this next link:

 

• Astra and Momentus face cash crunch

Both have serious financial issues, but Momentus probably a better chance of surviving since it is actually flying its Vigoride tugs. Astra has nothing flying at the moment.

 

• Australian government eliminates budget for spaceports

Whether the two planned spaceports can find private investment capital to replace this money remains unclear.

 

• Op-ed offers some possible explanations as to why China’s spaceport deal with Djibouti got canceled

 

• SpaceX tests Raptor-3 engine with 17% more thrust

A video of the test can be seen here. If used in Superheavy/Starship, the total rocket would have three times the power of a Saturn-5.

 

• SpaceX files for permit for 2nd test flight of Starship/Superheavy with the FCC

This is not the launch license, only the communications permit.

 

• Meteorite that crashed through roof of NJ home is estimated to be 4.6 billion years old

As Jay notes, it looks like a stony carbonaceous chondrite.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Arianespace sets June 16, 2023 for last launch of Ariane-5 rocket

Meanwhile, the launch date of the first Ariane-6 remains uncertain.

 

• Short video of Juice’s radar antenna deploying

Though the video has no sound, I could swear I heard a giant sigh of relief from the entire European Space Agency.

 

• Several Mars images, here and here, from China’s Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter

All are features at or near the Martian north pole.

 

• China will build many more launchpads along the coast to the west of the new commercial launchpad at its Wenchang spaceport

Jay asks sarcastically, ” I wonder if the eco-nuts will be protesting and suing?” We all know that ain’t happening in China.

 

• SpaceX hires Kathy Lueders, recently retired as the head of NASA’s human spaceflight division
  She will be a general manager based at Boca Chica.

 

• Fifty years ago today Skylab was launched on the final Saturn-5 rocket

During the launch a side insulation panel was ripped off, destroying one of the station’s two main solar panels and also allowing the station’s temperature to rise to unmanageable levels. The other main solar panel meanwhile failed to deploy in orbit because of a strap. Astronauts led by moonwalker Pete Conrad did a series of spacewalks to free the stuck panel as well as install a new umbrella-like cover to bring the station’s temperature down to the correct levels. These successes made it possible for three crews total to occupy Skylab over the next two years.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• A computer CAD rendering of China’s proposed Raptor engine copy

It looks interesting, but we are still at the level of engineering by powerpoint.

 

• The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology ( CALT) proposes a whole family of reusable rockets

It appears 1) they intend to start small, and 2) they are skipping any effort to copy the Falcon Heavy and going straight to a Starship/Superheavy copy instead.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Last Delta Heavy delivered to Cape Canaveral for launch

 

• Vulcan rocket prepped for wet dress countdown and static fire test

In truth the Vulcan is only the first stage of ULA’s rocket, as the upper stage is the Centaur, which is not stacked for this test, probably because of the static fire test failure last month. Note too that ULA’s CEO, Tory Bruno says the Vulcan’s BE-4 engines have now passed qualification firing.

 

• ISRO begins testing new engines for future rockets

The test also initiated operations on a new engine test stand

 

• Tianzhou cargo freighter docks with China’s Tiangong-3 space station

The docking took place eight hours after launch.

 

• Roscosmos and Russian Academy of Sciences propose Venus sample return concept

The release claims this will launch sometime after 2030. My guess is it will be closer to 2040, if at all.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Rocket Lab is selling the helicopter it had planned to use to catch Electron 1st stages

Their decision to reuse the stages after quickly pulling them from the water made the helicopter extraneous.

 

• China claims completion of an in-orbit experiment on liquid metal thermal management on its space station

I honestly don’t know what this means. Have they used some form of liquid metal to manage the station’s temperature? Or have they figured out a way to control and manage liquid metals in weightlessness?

 

• Several solar storms are expected to hit Earth in the next few days

I make two predictions: 1) Nothing of significance will happen, though we will have great auroras. 2) Some news outlets will write a story with some variation of this headline: “Were we lucky to dodge a solar disaster this time?”

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• An review of Blue Origin activities at its launch site at Cape Canaveral

The article claims the company is picking up the pace of its operations, but neither Jay or I noticed that much of great significance. More is happening, but not to the extent that should make anyone hold their breath.

 

• Virgin Orbit receives more than thirty indications of interest under bankruptcy procedures

What is important is that several of these offers want to keep the company intact and operating as is. If they win, then Virgin Orbit as a launch company survives.

 

• Water park built behind Wenchang launch pads:

It is unclear what this “park” is exactly. It appears to be some sort of water control system surrounded by landscaping.

 

• Short video showing the present global satellite coverage of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation

There are now about 4,000 satellites in orbit.

 

• Graph showing 1st quarter orbital launches vs payload mass

Not surprisingly, SpaceX has put 10x more mass into orbit than its nearest two competitors, China and Russia.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. I meanwhile am at a space symposium in Tucson today, so posting has been light. I should be home in time to do some work later this afternoon.

• Virgin Galaxtic to resume flights in May

The company is calling the May flight, carrying two Italian astronauts and delayed more than two years, its final checkout prior to beginning commercial flights in June..

 

• Buzz Aldrin promoted to Brigadier General

He is also now officially ranked as a Guardian in the Space Force.

 

• China’s next Tianzhou cargo freighter to station has 20% more cargo space

The extra space was created by moving some components from the cargo module to the service module. The freighter, which launches this week, has other enhancements as well.

 

• SpaceX’s entire fleet of Florida recovery ships at dock

As noted at the tweet, it is rare for all the ships to be together considering SpaceX’s busy launch schedule.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who has also noticed, as I have, that the news in commercial space has been slow this week.

• Tianzhou-5 has undocked from Tiangong-5 but will fly in formation and then redock to different port, after the present Shenzhou crew departs

The Chinese are clearly practicing the formation flying that will be required almost continually when they launch their Hubble-class orbiting optical telescope next year.

 

• Orbex breaks ground on first launchpad at Sutherland spaceport in Scotland

Orbex is another smallsat rocket startup that hopes to launch its orbital Prime rocket from Sutherland before the end of the year.

 

• Delayed Rocket Lab launch now hopes the weather will allow a lift-off on May 8, 2023 (New Zealand time), or 9 pm (Eastern) on May 7th

A launch attempt last week was canceled due to weather.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Chinese pseudo-company touts its next launch in June of it recoverable orbital unmanned capsule

According to the tweet thread, the company has done other suborbital flights. The concept is essentially a steal of Russia’s own unmanned orbital capsule that it has been flying both materials and biological experiments for decades.

 

• Short movie of Zhurong images as it approached its back cover and parachute in July 2021.

Nothing new here. Zhurong remains in hibernation, or dead, depending on what happens next.

 

• Images and video showing Europe’s robot arm on ISS moving Russia’s airlock to Nauka in yesterday’s spacewalk

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• SpaceX releases video taken from one fairing on its descent after release from Falcon Heavy

Quite cool. As the tweet notes, this “was the hottest and fastest [fairing return] we’ve ever attempted.”

 

• NASA whines it might not have enough plutonium for future deep space missions

Most of this is simply lobbying for more money. The shortage of plutonium will only matter if NASA’s planetary program gets a gigantic budget boost.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Axiom once again touts images of its first space station under construction by Thales Alenia

These are the same two images the company posted on April 10th, so either nothing is happening, or they are simply not telling us anything.

 

• Some Chinese operation dubbed HIT has built a vacuum chamber to test the impact of lunar dust on equipment

The idea is to simulate the lunar environment and find out ways to eliminate dust issues.

 

• China touts the construction progress for its first commercial launchpad at its coastal Wenchang spaceport

It appears the launch tower will be completed one month early, in May, with the foundation hole for the second pad 96% dug.

 

• Court approves Virgin Orbits proposed bankruptcy plan

The company hopes with this plan it will be bought whole by a single buyer and thus saved. There remains no guarantee that will happen. The auction will now occur on May 18th.

 

• A diagram detailing the status of the number Starship and Superheavy prototypes already built or under construction

All told, completed or parts of 11 Starships exist, as well as completed or parts of 8 Superheavies.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Blue Origin has over 10K employees, as claimed by someone who appears to work there

This is a Reddit discussion, so nothing is confirmed. Someone else notes the company has over 7500 employees according to Linkedin, while another notes again Bezos’ billion dollar per year commitment to the company. None of that has yet produced an orbital rocket, or a robust production line of BE-4 rocket engines.

 

• New Glenn “2nd stage simulator” vertical at Cape Canaveral

To be used to test the upper stage? Its engines? A dummy stage? And when? New Glenn development started almost a decade ago. One wonders.

 

• The fairings used on Falcon Heavy launch yesterday marked the 100th reuse of used fairings

 

• Chinese pseudo-company Galactic Energy touts is copycat Merlin engine

No word on when it goes into operation