Breaking

Rocket Report: China launches crew mission, SpaceX runs into road troubles - Ars Technica
Jun 18, 2021 3 mins, 17 secs
On Wednesday evening, US time, China launched its first crewed mission to its new space station, which was also the country's first human spaceflight in nearly five years.

And then, less than a day later, the US Space Force joined the ranks of reusable launch customers.

Rocket Lab said Tuesday it has been awarded a subcontract by the University of California, Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory to design two Photon spacecraft for a scientific mission to Mars.

By the end of the year, the Rocket 3 series is planned to launch on a monthly basis, Kemp said.

So far, Astra has reached space, with the launch of Rocket 3.2 last December.

The company has since extended the length of the rocket by 5 feet so that it can carry more fuel.

Increasing production of Rocket 3 series ...

And then that monthly rate will ramp up to weekly with the Rocket 4 series starting next year." Rocket 4.0 will include a new engine—replacing the Delphin and Aether first- and second-stage engines currently used on Rocket 3—with "much higher performance," according to Kemp.

The small launch company said Wednesday it is building a "universal orbital transfer vehicle and satellite platform" to accommodate small satellites.

The transfer vehicle has been designed to be compatible with both the Launcher Light vehicle, under development, as well as SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

The new orbiter is contracted to make its inaugural flight to Sun-synchronous orbit via a Falcon 9 ride-share mission in October 2022?

The company also said it was expanding into a Tucson-based 32,000-square-foot facility that will serve as its rocket factory.

Shenzhou-12 and its crew of three launched on a Long March 2F from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The crewed mission is the third of 11 launches planned for the construction of the three-module Chinese Space Station, which is named "Harmony of the Heavens." China's seventh crewed flight overall, this mission is planned to far surpass the Chinese human spaceflight duration record of 33 days set by Shenzhou-11 in 2016.

Shortly before noon on Thursday, local time, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying a GPS III satellite for the US Space Force.

This rocket previously launched another GPS satellite in November 2020.

NASA said this week it has adjusted target launch and return dates for upcoming crew missions to and from the International Space Station based on visiting vehicle traffic.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-3 mission will now target a launch on a Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than Sunday, October 31, with NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Kayla Barron, and Dr.

Space Force stands up "Space Safari" program.

The US Space Force recently created the Space Safari Program Office to rapidly acquire, integrate, and execute specific launch needs.

"These missions are not typically a part of an enduring program of record, but respond to high priority needs to deploy space systems quickly to respond to emerging threats," the Space and Missile Systems Center said in a news release.

The launch of the Odyssey mission on a Pegasus XL rocket last Sunday offers an example of this kind of capability.

The Space Force's technology demonstration satellite was developed in less than a year, and Pegasus operator Northrop Grumman was given just three weeks to get ready for the flight.

"The Space Safari team intends to push the envelope when it comes to the US Space Force's ability to rapidly plan and conduct all aspects of future space missions," said Col.

The core stage for NASA's first Space Launch System rocket has been installed between two solid-fueled boosters on a mobile launch platform at the Kennedy Space Center, Spaceflight Now reports.

A "soft mate" between the core stage and solid rocket boosters, longer versions of the solid-fueled motors used on the space shuttle, was completed in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building on Saturday evening, followed by a "hard mate" on Sunday.

June 18: Long March 2C | Three Yaogan satellites | Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China | 06:25 UTC

June 29: LauncherOne | Tubular Bells mission | Mojave Air & Space Port | TBD

RECENT NEWS

SUBSCRIBE

Get monthly updates and free resources.

CONNECT WITH US

© Copyright 2024 365NEWSX - All RIGHTS RESERVED