Chinese rocket firm Space Pioneer set for first launch

Commercial launch firm Space Pioneer announced new funding this week and will soon take a shot at becoming China’s first such company to reach orbit with a liquid propellant rocket. Space Pioneer, full name Beijing Tianbing Technology Co., Ltd., announced Feb. 15 that it recently secured “B+ and “Pre-C” strategic funding rounds. The company says it has now raised nearly 3 billion yuan ($438 million) in funding since its founding in 2018. The company is also preparing for the upcoming launch of the Tianlong-2 kerosene-liquid oxygen medium-lift launcher from Jiuquan. A recent Chinese news report stated the launch would take place from Jiuquan spaceport, northwest China, in the first quarter of this year. Space Pioneer conducted a wet dress rehearsal with the rocket at a site near Tianjin last month before transporting it to Jiuquan. The Tianlong-2 is capable of carrying 2,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit (LEO) or 1,500 kg to a 500-kilometer-altitude sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). It features a 3.35-meter-diameter core, as with many Long March series rockets. If successful, the launch would make Space Pioneer China’s first privately-funded company to reach orbit with a liquid propellant rocket, following a failed launch attempt of Landspace’s methane-liquid oxygen Zhuque-2 in December. The company reaching the pad also reflects the progress and growth of a Chinese commercial space sector over the past decade, with a range of companies planning more than 20 launches in 2023.

Space Pioneer's Tianlong-2 rocket. Credit: Space Pioneer

A post on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo suggests the engines powering the Tianlong-2 are YF-102 open cycle kerolox engines developed by China’s state-owned main space contractor CASC. The engines are manufactured utilizing 3D printing techniques. Tianlong-2 uses three engines in a triangular configuration.

Space Pioneer is already looking ahead to its next launch vehicle however. Funds raised in the two recent rounds are to be used for the development of the larger Tianlong-3 launcher and its rocket engines, construction of requisite launch facilities, and attracting talent.

Tianlong-3 will be a two-stage kerolox rocket with a reusable first stage. A Space Pioneer press release says the rocket will be capable of lifting 15 tons of payload to LEO and is targeting launching batches of up to 60 satellites per launch for China’s Guowang LEO communications megaconstellation. The company is targeting a first launch in early 2024, ramping up to a planned cadence of more than 12 launches per year from 2025.

The firm also plans a TL-3H version, which uses three cores in a similar fashion to the SpaceX Falcon Heavy. It would be capable of carrying 68 tons to LEO. The TL-3M features a reusable spaceplane.

Space Pioneer and another recently emerging company, Orienspace, are moving directly towards medium-lift and heavier classes of launchers, whereas numerous earlier-established Chinese commercial firms looked to first develop lighter solid and liquid propellant rockets.

These trends appear to reflect early entrants initially looking to launch small satellites for private customers, being the apparent market, whereas China has more recently indicated that private firms can participate in launching both the national “satellite internet” project and sending cargo to the Tiangong space station.

Space Pioneer initially started out developing engines burning green propellant before changing direction. The firm also apparently scrapped development of the Tianlong-1 rocket.

Weather threatens U.S. astronauts' SpaceX launch from Florida

Weather has become a major concern for the planned launch of two American astronauts Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the first crewed mission from U.S. soil in nine years. The projected liftoff has a 60 percent of violating weather constraints because of a thick cloud cover and the likelihood that their SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket would fly through rain, Air Force meteorologists at nearly Patrick Air Force Base said Sunday. "On launch day, remnant moisture" from a tropical wave will remain in the area, according to the Launch Mission Execution Forecast. "The primary launch weather concerns remain flight through precipitation, the thick cloud layer rule and the cumulus cloud rule associated with the remnant tropical moisture and proximity of [a] developing low." A launch cannot occur if precipitation is occurring at the launch pad or within the flight path. Similarly a launch generally cannot occur if any part of the planned flight path is through a layer of clouds within 5 nautical miles and is 4,500 feet thick or thicker. Other parameters have to be met, as well. If the launch is scrubbed, NASA has said, the next attempt to send the Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station would come Saturday. Both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have announced they would attend the launch Wednesday, and it was not clear whether a postponement would change those plans to attend. Despite the dire weather forecast, astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken -- and the mission team -- participated in a "dry dress' rehearsal Saturday in which they donned their black and white spacesuits and made a 20-minute drive in a Tesla Model X to Launch Complex 39A.

Elon Musk, who operates SpaceX, also is the chief executive officer of Tesla.

Hurley and Behnken then took a service tower elevator to the spacecraft access arm gantry and climbed into the capsule. They checked out communication systems, and the hatch was closed. They then went through a run-through with all launch personnel.

According to the space agency, "the rehearsal concluded with the go/no-go poll for Falcon 9 propellant loading, which normally occurs 45 minutes before launch."

A day before the rehearsal, engineers successfully fired the rocket's nine Merlin first-stage engines for seven seconds in what NASA describes as a "critical but routine test."

The liftoff, should it occur Wednesday, is planned for 4:33 p.m. EDT. The Dragon capsule would dock with the International Space Station on Thursday at 11:29 a.m. EDT.

SpaceX rocket prepared for Demo-2 Mission

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen as it is raised into a vertical position on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-2 mission, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 mission is the first launch with astronauts of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program. The flight test will serve as an end-to-end demonstration of SpaceX's crew transportation system. Behnken and Hurley are scheduled to launch at 4:33 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 27, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. A new era of human spaceflight is set to begin as American astronauts once again launch on an American rocket from American soil to low-Earth orbit for the first time since the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011.

To Catch a Wave, Rocket Launches From Top of World

On Jan. 4, 2019, at 4:37 a.m. EST the CAPER-2 mission launched from the Andoya Space Center in Andenes, Norway, on a 4-stage Black Brant XII sounding rocket. Reaching an apogee of 480 miles high before splashing down in the Arctic Sea, the rocket flew through active aurora borealis, or northern lights, to study the waves that accelerate electrons into our atmosphere. CAPER-2, short for Cusp Alfven and Plasma Electrodynamics Rocket-2, is a sounding rocket mission - a type of spacecraft that carries scientific instruments on short, targeted trips to space before falling back to Earth. In addition to their relatively low price tags and quick development time, sounding rockets are ideally suited for launching into transient events - like the sudden formation of the aurora borealis, or northern lights. For CAPER-2 scientists, flying through an aurora provides a peek into a process as fundamental as it is complex: How do particles get accelerated throughout space? NASA studies this phenomenon in an effort to better understand not only the space environment surrounding Earth - and thus protect our technology in space from radiation - but also to help understand the very nature of stars and atmospheres throughout the solar system and beyond. "Throughout the universe you have charged particles getting accelerated - in the Sun's atmosphere, in the solar wind, in the atmospheres of other planets, and in astrophysical objects," said Jim LaBelle, space physicist at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and principal investigator for the CAPER-2 mission. "An aurora presents us with a local laboratory where we can observe these acceleration processes close at hand."

Technically, the CAPER-2 team is interested in what happens just before an aurora starts glowing. Electrons, pouring into our atmosphere from space, collide with atmospheric gases and trigger the aurora's glow. Somehow, they pick up speed along the way.

"By the time they crash into our atmosphere, these electrons are traveling over 10 times faster than they were before," said Doug Rowland, space physicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who also studies particle acceleration. "We still don't understand the fundamental physics of how that happens."

The CAPER-2 team focused on a special kind of aurora that forms during the day. Unlike the nighttime aurora, the daytime aurora is triggered by electrons that stream in directly from the Sun - and we know far less about them.

"There's been a huge amount of research done on the regular nighttime aurora, but the daytime aurora is much less studied," said Craig Kletzing, space physicist at the University of Iowa in Iowa City and coinvestigator for the mission. "There are good indications that there are some similarities and there are also some differences."

The team is focusing on how the electrons that create daytime auroras are jostled around by waves, in ways that may or may not differ from nighttime auroras. Two kinds of waves are of special interest, and have opposite effects. Alfven waves, named after Swedish Nobel laureate Hannes Alfven who first predicted their existence in 1942, are thought to accelerate the electrons. These huge waves - measuring tens to hundreds of miles long from peak to peak - propagate along Earth's magnetic field lines, whipping electrons to and fro.

On the other side are Langmuir waves, which are generated by the electrons themselves - a process that steals some of the electrons' energy and slows them down. CAPER-2 will carry a high-resolution wave-particle correlator to measure them, the first sounding rocket mission to do so for the daytime aurora.

"This is very data-intensive," said LaBelle. "It's unique to sounding rockets to be able to look at this mechanism in this level of detail."

For the launch, the CAPER-2 team traveled to northern Norway, one of the few places that can put a rocket within range of the daytime aurora. Every day, northern Norway rotates under an opening in Earth's magnetic field known as the northern polar cusp, where particles from the Sun can funnel into our upper atmosphere.

Meeting the aurora right where they form is the best way to understand physical processes that are far too large to replicate in a lab.

"It's a kind of natural laboratory," LaBelle added. "We take our experiment to two different environments, where the variables are different, and then test the theory and answer the questions."

CAPER-2 was the third of nine sounding rocket missions taking part in the Grand Challenge Initiative - Cusp, an international campaign to explore the northern polar cusp. The VISIONS-2 and TRICE-2 missions launched in early December, and the fourth mission, G-CHASER, launched on Jan. 13. The window for AZURE, the next mission in the Grand Challenge Initiative - Cusp, opens on March 23, 2019.

United Launch Alliance building rocket of the future with industry-leading strategic partnerships

United Launch Alliance's (ULA) next-generation rocket - the Vulcan Centaur - is making strong progress in development and is on track for its initial flight in mid-2020. The Vulcan Centaur rocket design leverages the proven success of the Delta IV and Atlas V launch vehicles while introducing advanced technologies and innovative features. "Vulcan Centaur will revolutionize spaceflight and provide affordable, reliable access to space for our current and future customers," said Tory Bruno, ULA's president and CEO. "We are well on our way to the introduction of Vulcan Centaur - the future of U.S. rocket manufacturing. With state-of-the-art engineering and manufacturing techniques, this rocket is designed specifically for low recurring cost." The new rocket design is nearing completion, and the booster preliminary design and critical design reviews have been completed. Vulcan Centaur will have a maximum liftoff thrust of 3.8 million pounds and carry 56,000 pounds to low Earth orbit, 33,000 pounds to a geo-transfer orbit and 16,000 pounds to geostationary orbit with greater capability than any currently available single-core launch vehicle. "Our new rocket will be superior in reliability, cost and capability - one system for all missions," said Bruno. "We have been working closely with the U.S. Air Force, and our certification plan is in place."

Following completion of a competitive procurement, ULA has selected Blue Origin's BE-4 engine for Vulcan Centaur's booster stage. The liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueled booster will be powered by a pair of BE-4 engines, each producing 550,000 pounds of sea level thrust. As previously announced, ULA has selected Aerojet Rocketdyne's RL10 engine for the Centaur upper stage, Northrop Grumman solid rocket boosters, L-3 Avionics Systems avionics, and RUAG's payload fairings and composite structures for the new Vulcan Centaur rocket system.

"We are pleased to enter into this partnership with Blue Origin and look forward to a successful first flight of our next-generation launch vehicle," said Bruno.

"We are very glad to have our BE-4 engine selected by United Launch Alliance. United Launch Alliance is the premier launch service provider for national security missions, and we're thrilled to be part of their team and that mission," said Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith. "We can't thank Tory Bruno and the entire United Launch Alliance team enough for entrusting our engine to powering the Vulcan rocket's first stage."

Vulcan Centaur will bolster U.S. manufacturing by adding to the more than 22,000 direct and indirect American jobs in 46 states supported by ULA programs.

"ULA has chosen the best systems available to create the Vulcan Centaur," said Bruno. "These engines and components will ensure ULA continues to lead the way in space exploration, maintain our record of success and remain America's launch vehicle for our nation's most vital missions."

Vulcan Centaur is ULA's next-generation, American rocket system. As a result of these agreements, the Vulcan Centaur will surpass current rocket capabilities and launch services at significantly lower costs, while still meeting the requirements of ULA's cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Air Force to certify the Vulcan Centaur for national security space missions.

"Strong partners are critical to the cutting-edge innovation that is leading us into the next generation in space and ensuring mission success," said Bruno. "Partnerships with Blue Origin, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Northrop Grumman, L-3 Avionics Systems and RUAG will allow the Vulcan Centaur to transform the future of space launch for the government and commercial markets, making launch more affordable, accessible and commercially available."

Ariane 5 Rocket Lofts 2 Satellites on Milestone 100th Launch

An undisclosed issue brought the countdown clock to a halt 94 seconds before the targeted launch time of 5:53 p.m. EDT (2153 GMT; 6:53 p.m. local time at the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana). The webcast of the French company Arianespace, which boasted more than 3,000 viewers at that point, suddenly went silent as a scrolling banner relayed that the launch was on hold. Few updates followed for the next 45 minutes. But at the end of tonight's launch window — 6:38 p.m. EDT (2238 pm GMT; 7:38 p.m. local time) — the Ariane 5 rose into the dark sky, lighting up banks of clouds shrouding the humid launch pad. The rocket sped into space, first deploying one satellite and then the other. Arianespace mission control at the Guiana Space Center erupted in applause as the second spacecraft successfully deployed around 7:20 p.m. EDT (2320 GMT; 8:20 p.m. local time). "The heavyweight launcher has once more performed flawlessly. Congratulations to all," Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël said in a speech broadcast on the Arianespace YouTube channel minutes after the second satellite deployment. Israel gave a special thanks to the longstanding customers of Arianespace; the company has launched more than 200 satellites using the Ariane 5 alone. "Ariane 5 is known for delivering, and we are very appreciative of another flawless launch," Ken Lee, senior vice president of space systems for the satellite communications company Intelsat, said after Israël's speech. He joked that the launch did not go exactly as planned, but it was "flawless nonetheless."

Intelsat is a joint venture partner in both of the spacecraft that launched toward geostationary orbit this evening. These satellites are called Horizons 3e and Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38.

Both spacecraft are expected to improve communications for consumer, corporate and government customers. Horizons 3e (in partnership with Japan's SKY Perfect JSAT Group) is intended to improve broadband coverage in the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 (in partnership with Azerbaijan's Azercosmos) will host direct-to-home television programs in the Asia-Pacific area, as well as parts of Africa and central and eastern Europe.

Though the first Ariane 5 test flight in 1996 failed spectacularly, the rocket line quickly became known for its reliability (98.1 percent success rate heading into tonight's launch) and payload capacity (the ability to carry 20 tons to low Earth orbit). The rocket is therefore an attractive option for customers with heavy telecommunications satellites.

The Ariane 5 has five operational versions; the variant that launched tonight, called Ariane 5 ECA, has now flown 67 times.

The Ariane 5 has notable competitors, such as SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and United Launch Alliance's Atlas V vehicle.

Arianespace is expecting to debut a successor rocket called Ariane 6 around 2020. One of the major goals of the new rocket will be to significantly reduce the cost of launch services, according to the European Space Agency. In 2014, a typical Ariane 5 launch cost roughly $137 million.

Exploring the Solar System? you may need to pack an umbrella

Gearing up for its first flight test, NASA's Adaptable Deployable Entry Placement Technology, or ADEPT, is no ordinary umbrella. ADEPT is a foldable device that opens to make a round, rigid heat shield, called an aeroshell. This game-changing technology could squeeze a heat shield into a rocket with a diameter larger than the rocket itself. The design may someday deliver much larger payloads to planetary surfaces than is currently possible. Spacecraft typically approach planets at speeds tens of thousands of miles per hour -screaming fast. Entering a planet's atmosphere at those speeds compresses atmospheric gas, creating pressure shock and generating intense heat right in front of the spacecraft. Aeroshells slow spacecraft during entry and shield them from heat. ADEPT could be key to future NASA missions that require extra-large aeroshells to protect spacecraft destined to land on the surface of other planets, all without requiring larger rockets. ADEPT's first flight test is scheduled for Sept. 12 from Spaceport America in New Mexico aboard an UP Aerospace suborbital SpaceLoft rocket. ADEPT will launch in a stowed configuration, resembling a folded umbrella, and then separate from the rocket in space and unfold 60 miles above Earth. The test will last about 15 minutes from launch to Earth return. The peak speed during the test is expected to be three times the speed of sound, about 2,300 miles per hour.

That is not fast enough to generate significant heat during descent, but the purpose of the test is to observe the initial sequence of ADEPT's deployment and assess aerodynamic stability while the heat shield enters Earth's atmosphere and falls to the recovery site.

"For a deployable like ADEPT, you can do ground-based testing, but ultimately, a flight test demonstrates end-to-end functionality - surviving launch environments, deploying in zero gravity and the vacuum of space, holding that rigid shape and then entering, in our case, Earth's atmosphere," said Paul Wercinski, ADEPT project manager at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley.

This umbrella-like mechanical aeroshell design uses flexible 3D woven carbon fabric skin stretched over deployable ribs and struts, which become rigid when fully flexed. The carbon fabric skin covers its structural surface, and serves as the primary component of the entry, descent and landing thermal protection system.

"Carbon fabric has been the major recent breakthrough enabling this technology, as it utilizes pure carbon yarns that are woven three-dimensionally to give you a very durable surface," said Wercinski. "Carbon is a wonderful material for high temperature applications."

The next steps for ADEPT are to develop and conduct a test for an Earth entry at higher "orbital" speeds, roughly 17,000 miles per hour, to support maturing the technology with an eye towards Venus, Mars or Titan, and also returning lunar samples back to Earth.

The ADEPT aeroshell heat shield technology was developed at Ames. The center leads the agency in the development and innovation of thermal protection system technologies.

ADEPT was funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate's (STMD) Game Changing Development program. The flight test was funded by STMD's Flight Opportunities program, managed at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Through both programs, NASA supports promising technologies from government, industry and academia for development and/or testing. UP Aerospace, based in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, is the flight provider.

Chinese private space company to launch first carrier rocket

China will launch its first solid-propellant carrier rocket developed by a Chinese private company late this year. The ZQ-1 rocket was developed by Landspace, a Beijing-based rocket-maker. Its technicians are former state-owned aerospace industry workers. Carrying a small satellite, the rocket will be launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the company said Thursday. "If the launch mission can go well, the ZQ-1 will become China's first private carrier rocket that can send satellites into space," said Zhang Changwu, CEO of Landspace. The 19-meter-long rocket has a 1.35-meter diameter, a takeoff weight of 27 tonnes and thrust of 45 tonnes. It is flexible, cost-efficient and has been designed with mature technology and fast response ability. "After nine months of development, the rocket completed the final assembly Monday and entered the launching phase, showing that the company is capable of making rockets," Zhang said. The satellite, Future, carried by the rocket is for space science and remote sensing for a TV show on China Central Television. It will orbit for two years. ZQ is short for Zhuque (Vermilion bird). It is one of the four spirits of ancient Chinese mythology, representing fire and controlling the southerly direction.

The company also plans to launch ZQ-2, a liquid-fueled rocket, in 2020.

China has more than 60 private companies entering the commercial space industry. They are growing fast and competing in market for launches of small satellites and rockets.

Heat shield install brings Orion spacecraft closer to space

During Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), an uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket and begin a three-week voyage in space, taking it about 40,000 miles beyond the Moon and back to Earth. On its return, the spacecraft's heat shield will need to withstand temperatures of nearing 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit during its fiery re-entry through the Earth's atmosphere before it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean. Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida recently secured the heat shield to the bottom of the crew module, using 68 bolts. Designed and manufactured by Orion prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, the heat shield is like an intricate puzzle with pieces that all have to fit together perfectly. Before the final installation, a fit check was performed to ensure all of the bolt fittings lined up. "Installation of the EM-1 crew module heat shield is a significant milestone representing the beginning of closing out the crew module assembly," said Jules Schneider, Lockheed Martin Orion senior manager for KSC Operations. "When the heat shield is installed, access to components becomes more difficult, and in some cases there is no more access. So by installing the heat shield you are declaring that a certain percentage of the spacecraft is finished."

Measuring 16.5 feet in diameter, Orion's new heat shield is the largest of its kind developed for missions that will carry astronauts. The heat shield base structure has a titanium truss covered with a composite substrate, or a skin composed of layers of carbon fiber material.

In a new process, several large blocks of an ablative material called Avcoat, licensed from Boston-based Textron Systems, were produced at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans by Lockheed Martin. They were shipped to Kennedy, where Lockheed Martin technicians machined them into more than 180 unique blocks and bonded them to the heat shield's surface.

To fill tiny gaps between the blocks, the seams were filled with a mixture that over time will become solid. Technicians applied a coat of white epoxy paint to the heat shield's surface and then applied aluminized tape after the painted surface dried. The tape provides surface resistivity, and absorbs solar heat and infrared emissions.

"Witnessing assembly, test and installation of the EM-1 crew module heat shield brought an appreciation for its innovative design and assembly techniques," said Amy Marasia, the Crew Module Assembly operations lead in NASA's Orion Production Operations.

While Avcoat isn't new to spacecraft - it was used on the heat shields of Apollo and the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 - the technique of using blocks instead of injecting the ablative material is proving to be a real production time-saver.

"A benefit of switching from the honeycomb system to the blocks is we now can make the Avcoat blocks at the same time that the Orion structure is being made, and when the module is ready we can secure the blocks, which saves time," said John Kowal, NASA Orion Thermal Protection System manager at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"Before, with EFT-1, we had to wait for the carrier portion to be done, and then apply the Avcoat directly to the crew module."

During its first mission around the Moon, engineers will monitor how Orion's systems perform in the environment of deep space and its return to Earth. During re-entry the ablative material of the Avcoat blocks will burn away, essentially carrying the heat away from Orion because of the gases created during the ablative process.

Orion is the exploration spacecraft that will carry astronauts to deep-space destinations, including the Moon and on to Mars. Orion will be equipped with power, communications and life support systems to sustain space travelers during their long-duration missions and return them safely to Earth.

SpaceX launches, lands rocket in challenging conditions

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket carried 10 Iridium satellites into orbit on Wednesday. The Iridium-7 mission marked SpaceX's 14th launch of the year and the seventh mission for Iridium Communications, which aims to launch 75 satellites into orbit. After Wednesday's mission, Iridium now has 65 satellites in operation. The rocket blasted-off early Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. "All 10 satellites have deployed into an on-target orbit," Spaceflight Now's Stephen Clark reported at 8:53 a.m. ET. As usual, SpaceX safely landed the rocket's reusable first stage. The rocket stage landed on the spaceport drone ship "Just Read the Instructions." Though SpaceX's rocket reusability has become routine, Wednesday's weather conditions made the feat more difficult. "Despite challenging weather conditions, Falcon 9 first stage booster landed on Just Read the Instructions," SpaceX wrote on Twitter. Foggy conditions made visibility a problem. At the outset of the live streaming broadcast, the Falcon 9 rocket was nearly invisible, only coming into clear view after liftoff. Choppy seas added to the challenge of landing the first stage back on Earth.

The 10 Iridium satellites will join the dozens of Iridium satellites already in space. The constellation of communication satellites -- now featuring 75 satellites and scheduled to get 10 more later this summer -- is designed to support the Internet of Things, the technology behind smart devices.

ESA Council commits to Ariane 6 and transition from Ariane 5

The ESA Council met in Paris this past weeek to discuss the path towards the future exploitation of Ariane 6. In view of the progress made in the Ariane 6 programme, Participating States have decided on the completion of the development up to full operational capability and agreed to fund industrial incentives associated with the development of Ariane 6 and P120C solid rocket motor. Participating States also committed to start with the first step of the Ariane 6 and P120C Transition Programme. This programme supports the evolution from Europe's Ariane 5 to full operational capability of Ariane 6. Ariane 6 is Europe's new-generation launcher, designed to secure guaranteed access to space for Europe at an affordable price for European institutional users. It will operate in two configurations: Ariane 62 is fitted with two P120C strap-on boosters while Ariane 64 has four. Ariane 6's maiden flight is planned for mid-2020.

P120C is the largest carbon-fibre solid propellant booster ever built in one segment at almost 13.5 m long and about 3.4 m in diameter. Two boosters will be used on Ariane 6's maiden flight in 2020.

Launch Reservation with Open Cosmos

Vector, a nanosatellite launch company comprised of new-space and enterprise software industry veterans from SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, McDonnell Douglas, Boeing, Sea Launch and VMware and Open Cosmos, a space mission provider, has announced an agreement to reserve five orbital launches between 2019 and 2023 on the Vector-R launch vehicle. The announcement comes in advance of Vector's first orbital launch in July. "This agreement with Open Cosmos continues our ongoing efforts to partner with a broad network of customers, and signals the start of a new frontier for Vector as we prepare for our first orbital mission this summer," said Jim Cantrell, CEO and co-founder of Vector. "Open Cosmos' mission to provide simple and affordable access to space is one that very closely aligns with Vector's, and we look forward to having them along our journey as we continue breaking down the barriers to access space faced by many."

Based in the United Kingdom, Open Cosmos provides end-to-end mission services enabling its clients to focus on in-orbit data. This one-stop-shop to orbit allows companies to have dedicated nanosatellite missions for remote sensing payloads, IoT/telecommunication services, scientific research, or space technology in-orbit demonstrations.

Open Cosmos manufactures its satellites in-house, procures launch services from partners like Vector, and operates qbee fleets using its own satellite operations system while leveraging existing ground segment infrastructure.

"This agreement secures our ability to provide dedicated, affordable launch options to our customers," said Rafel Jorda-Siquier, CEO and founder of Open Cosmos.

"Following the qbee nanosatellite deployment in LEO early April 2017, we've been building a strong commercial pipeline of customers looking to get their payload to orbit and start generating revenues fast and under budget. Vector's launch cadence and aggressive prices allows us to provide increased affordable schedule certainty to our time-to-market sensitive customers."

Vector will begin construction on its state-of-the-art rocket factory in Pima County, Ariz. later this year, designed to produce up to 100 launch vehicles per year to start. Throughout 2018, Vector will be testing major elements of its Vector-R launch vehicle leading up to the July orbital launch.

Long March 2D launches Zhangheng-1 Earthquake investigator

A Long March 2D has conducted the sixth Chinese launch of 2018, with the lofting of the Zhangheng-1 spacecraft, a new research satellite for the observation of ionospheric precursors of earthquakes. The launch took place at 07:51 UTC on Friday from the 94 Launch Platform at the LC43 Launch Complex from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC). An additional six small satellites rode along with the primary payload. The Zhangheng-1 (ZH-1) – also known as China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) – was developed by the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and is based on the CAST2000 bus. The satellite will be operated by China National Space Administration (CNSA) together with the China Earthquake Administration and the China National Space Administration in cooperation with the Italian Space Agency (ASI). ZH-1 carries six instruments to measure the electromagnetic effects of earthquakes above 6 magnitude in China and quakes above magnitude seven all over the world. On board the satellite is the High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) to detects protons and electrons, measuring the flow of protons and electrons in short-term disturbances in the radiation belt whether caused by terrestrial, solar or anthropic phenomena; the Search-coil magnetometer (SCM) that will measure fluctuations in the magnetic field of the ionosphere and the Electric Field Detector (EFD) to measure the variation of the ionosphere electric field due to disturbances from solar, seismic and anthropic phenomena.

Also included is the High-Energy Particle Package (HEPP), composed of three instruments designed to measure high energy particles (a solar x-ray detector, a high-energy detector and a low-energy detector); a Langmuir Probe to examine the parameters of the ionosphere in real time and on site together to the coupling of the ionosphere and the lithosphere before, during and after an earthquake occurs; the High-Precision Magnetometer (HPM) to take measures based on the spectroscopy of two photons of free alkaline atoms; and a plasma analyser to measure the density, composition, temperature and drift velocity of the ions of which the plasma is composed to check the coupling between ionosphere and seismic.

Also onboard is a GNSS Occultation Receiver to measure the total electron content and obtain the vertical density of electrons, and a beacon that will operate in three bands that will allow transmission in VHF / UHF / L-band, also measuring ionospheric irregularities in the three bands for transmission from space to the ground.

The lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere coupling is a complex subject involving many physical effects and interactions that occur from the Earth surface up to the magnetosphere. The investigation of such coupling mechanisms – and in particular of the, partially unknown, behavior of the iono-magnetosphere transition region – is of fundamental importance for Earth remote sensing, monitoring of the near-Earth electromagnetic environment and studying of natural hazards.

A great part of these effects is caused by natural non-seismic and anthropogenic electromagnetic emissions, but of particular relevance are the electromagnetic disturbances associated with the seismic activity that can produce ionospheric perturbations as well as the precipitation of particles from the Van Allen belts, observed before, during and after earthquakes of medium and strong magnitude.

All of these phenomena must be distinguished from those induced by sources external to the geomagnetic cavity and by atmospheric events. In fact, an important role in controlling the dynamic of the topside ionosphere is played by the Sun – that generates (regular and irregular) variations of the lithosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere parameters by impulsive events as solar Coronal Mass Ejections and Solar Flares – as well as by tropospheric activity (lightning, TLE, etc.)

The CAST 2000 is a compact satellite platform characterized by its high performance, expandability and flexibility.

It is fitted with an S-band TT&C sub-system, X-band data transmission sub-system and 3-axis attitude stabilization, and is able to offer highly precise control, large-range sway and flexible orbit control, highly integrated housekeeping and a highly efficient power supply.

This platform has already been successfully applied in several Chinese small satellites, including the Huanjing-A, B satellites, and its performance and reliability have proven to be excellent.

This platform is also capable of operating in low, medium and high orbits, and has a life span of more than three years. The CAST 2000 bus mass is between 200 – 400 kg and the payload capability is between 300 – 600 kg. The satellite has a 3-axis stabilization and a sway attitude control capability.

In general, the platform can be used for Earth observation, technology demonstration, scientific exploration, Earth environmental exploration, meteorological research and application, communications and navigation.

Riding along Zhangheng-1 were six small satellites: GomX-4A (Ulloriaq) and GomX-4B, Fengmaniu-1, Shaonian Xing, and the ÑuSat-4 ‘Ada’ (Aleph-1 4) and ÑuSat-5 ‘Maryam’ (Aleph-1 5).

GomX-4A (Ulloriaq) and GomX-4B will test intersatellite communication links and propulsion while orbiting up to 4500 km apart. The two satellites are based on the CubeSat models that are nanosatellites based on standardized 10×10 cm units. GomX-4B is a ‘6-unit’ CubeSat, double the size of its predecessor GomX-3, which was released from the International Space Station in 2015.

The two small satellites will test intersatellite link technology, routing data from one satellite to the other, then down to the ground station. Part of the ground testing ensured they could indeed talk to each other and the actual ground station on an end-to-end basis.

After separation from the second stage of the Long March-2D rocket, the two satellites will first orient themselves to align their antennas. Then GomX-4B will gradually fly away from its counterpart, pausing at around 100 km intervals with their intersatellite links activated to see how well they work. Their separation will be controlled by new cold-gas propulsion on GomX-4B contributed by Sweden’s NanoSpace company, using highly miniaturized thrusters.

The satellites will maintain their links through flat, patch antennas and software-controlled radios at a maximum distance of some 4500 km – a limit being set by the operating concept of a minimum of 10 satellites equally spaced around the same orbital plane to form a future constellation.

Apart from operating together, the two satellites have separate payloads. GomX-4B is the first CubeSat to fly the new HyperScout hyperspectral imager, developed by cosine Research in the Netherlands through ESA’s General Support Technology Programme. Hyperscout images Earth in 45 different spectral bands, gathering a wealth of environmental data. The amount of data will be immense, that the camera must perform its own processing to drastically reduce the amount needing to be sent back to the ground.

GomX-4B also carries a new small startracker for precise attitude determination developed by Innovative Solutions in Space in the Netherlands, an ESA test payload checking components’ susceptibility to space radiation, and a dedicated radio receiver to detect signals from worldwide air traffic.

GOMX-4A was built by GOMSpace for the Danish Ministry of Defence and also build GOMX-4B for ESA, but under another contract.

Fengmaniu-1 (FMN-1) is a three-unit CubeSat developed by Link Space Aerospace Technology for scientific education and technology demonstration. FMN-1 main mission will be to test new components like two cameras in space serving also as a repeater for amateurs worldwide via the onboard transponder system with a FM repeater uplink 145.945 MHz and a FM repeater downlink and telemetry 435.350 MHz, 9k6 BPSK AX25. Launch mass is 3 kg.

Shaonian Xing (also known as Youth Star) is a three-unit CubeSat developed by Chinese students as part of the Sat-China outreach project to engage youth in thinking about space, STEAM education, and even satellite development. Launch mass is 2 kg.

The Shaonian Xing resulted from an initiative organized by China Soong Ching-ling Foundation, by the China Association for Science and Technology, and by the Chinese Education Society.

The Argentinian ÑuSat-4 ‘Ada’ (Aleph-1 4) and ÑuSat-5 ‘Maryam’ (Aleph-1 5) satellites are part of the Aleph-1 constellation that is being developed and operated by Satellogic S.A..

The Aleph-1 constellation will consist of up to 25 satellites.

The two satellites are almost identical to each other and have a mass of 37 kg, with dimensions 450mm x 450mm x 800mm. The primary objective of the mission is to commercially provide earth observation images to the general public in the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum.

Both satellites are equipped with cameras operating in visible light and infrared and will operate in 500 km SSO orbit with inclination at 97.5 degrees.

ÑuSat-4 is designated ‘Ada’ in honor of Ada Lovelace, an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer. ÑuSat-5 is designated ‘Maryam’ in honor of Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Stanford University. Her research topics included Teichmüller theory, hyperbolic geometry, ergodic theory, and symplectic geometry.

The Long March-2D (LM-2D) launch vehicle is a two-stage rocket developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology. With storable propellants is mainly used to launch a variety of low earth orbit satellites.

The development of LM-2D was started in February 1990. From 2002, to meet the demand of SSO satellites, the payload fairing of 3350mm in diameter and attitude control engine for the second stage have been successfully developed; and the discharge of remaining propellant and de-orbit of the second stage have been realized. This launcher is mainly used for launching LEO and SSO satellites.

It is characterized by high reliability, wide application and mature technology.

The LM-2D can launch a 1,300 kg cargo in a 645 km SSO. The rocket is 41.056 meters long and the first, second stages and payload fairing are all 3.35 meters in diameter.

The first stage is the same of the Long March-4.

The second stage is based on LM-4 second stage with an improved equipment bay. Lift-off mass is 232,250 kg, total length 41,056 meters, diameter 3.35 meters and fairing length 6.983 meters. At launch, it develops 2961.6 kN engine thrust.

The first stage has a 27.910 meter length with a 3.35 meter diameter, consuming 183,200 kg of N2O4 / UDMH (launch mass of the first stage is 192,700 kg). Equipped with a YF-21C engine capable of a ground thrust of 2,961.6 kN and a ground specific impulse of 2,550 m/s. Burn time is 170 seconds.

The second stage has a 10.9 meter length with a 3.35 meter diameter, launch mass of 39,550 kg and consuming 45,550 kg of N2O4 / UDMH. Equipped with a YF-24C cluster engine with a main engine vacuum thrust of 742.04 kN and a vernier engine with a vacuum thrust of 47.1 kN (specific impulses of 2,942 m/s and 2,834 m/s, respectively).

The LM-2D can use two types of fairings depending on the cargo. Type A fairing has a 2.90 meters diameter (total launch vehicle length is 37.728 meters) and Type B fairing with a diameter of 3.35 meters – total launch vehicle length is 41.056 meters.
Launch profile of the Long March-2D starts with engine ignition at 1.2 seconds before lift-off. Pitch over maneuver happens at 12 seconds into the flight and the end of the first stage ignition occurs at two minutes 33 seconds. Stage separation and second stage ignition occur one second latter. At 3 minutes 34 seconds the two parts of the fairing separate from the second stage.

Second stage main engine cut-off takes place at 4 minutes 21 seconds and second stage Vernier engines cut-off takes place at 9 minutes and 10 seconds. Nominally payload separation takes place three seconds later.

The first launch of the LM-2D was on August 9th, 1992 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center orbiting the Fanhui Shei Weixing FSW-2-1 (22072 1992-051A) recoverable satellite.

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in Ejin-Banner – a county in Alashan League of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region – was the first Chinese satellite launch center and is also known as the Shuang Cheng Tze launch center.

The site includes a Technical Centre, two Launch Complexes, Mission Command and Control Centre, Launch Control Centre, propellant fuelling systems, tracking and communication systems, gas supply systems, weather forecast systems, and logistic support systems.

Jiuquan was originally used to launch scientific and recoverable satellites into medium or low earth orbits at high inclinations. It is also the place from where all the Chinese manned missions are launched.

The LC-43 launch complex, also known as South Launch Site (SLS) is equipped with two launch pads: 91 and 94. Launch pad 91 is used for the manned program for the launch of the Long March-2F launch vehicle (Shenzhou and Tiangong). Launch pad 94 is used for unmanned orbital launches by the Long March-2C, Long March-2D and Long March-4C launch vehicles.

Other launch zones at the launch site are used for launching the Kuaizhou, Kaituo and the Long March-11 solid propellant launch vehicles.

The first orbital launch took place on April 24, 1970 when the Long March-1 rocket launched the first Chinese satellite, the Dongfanghong-1 (04382 1970-034A).

ISRO will launch 31 satellites on January 10

India will launch 31 satellites, including the earth observation spacecraft Cartosat on January 10, from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, an official said on Saturday. "We have tentatively scheduled the rocket launch at 9.30 a.m. to carry Cartosat and other satellites, including 28 from the US and five other countries in a single mission," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Director Devi Prasad Karnik told IANS here. The first space mission in 2018 onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40) comes four months after a similar rocket failed to deliver the country's eighth navigation satellite in the earth's lower orbit on August 31. "The sixth Cartosat in the second series and other satellites are integrated with the rocket at the spaceport. The mission launch board will decide the rocket's lift-off time for the reverse countdown two days ahead," said Karnik. The mission's payload will also include one each nano and micro satellite from India, besides Cartosat-2.

As an observational satellite, Cartosat will beam high-quality images for cartographic, urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation and utility management like road network monitoring.

The previous two satellites in the Cartosat-2 series were launched on June 23 and February 15, from the spaceport on the east coast, about 90km up Chennai.

As a follow-on mission, Cartosat will also relay high resolution scene specific spot imageries with data from its panchromatic and multi-spectral cameras operating in time delay integration mode.

The space scientists are taking special measures to ensure the 44.4 metre rocket will sling the 720kg Cartosat and other satellites one-after-one into their intended orbits.

"The August 31 mission suffered a setback when the 320-tonne workhorse launcher (PSLV-C39) did not separate the heat shield to deliver the spare satellite in the Indian Remote Navigation Satellite Series (IRNSS-H) from its cone-shaped top-end," recalled another official.

To make up for the lost time when launches were held up for four months pending inquiry into the August 31 mission failure, the space agency plans to have at least one launch a month in 2018.

"We have lined up five-six launches in the first half of next year, including two for deploying GSAT-6A and GSAT-29 advanced communication satellites in the geo-synchronous orbit (36,000km above earth)," asserted the official.

The space agency will also launch its second lunar mission (Chandrayaan-2) to the moon, with an orbiter, lander and rover for the first time.

The 3,290 kg Chandrayaan-2 will orbit around the moon and study its lunar conditions to collect data on its topography, mineralogy, exosphere and the "presence" of water ice and hydroxyl. On reaching the 100 km lunar orbit, the lander with the six-wheeled rover will separate from the spacecraft and descend slowly to soft land on the lunar surface at a designated spot.

"The rover will move around the landing site in semi-autonomous mode as per the ground commands while its instruments will observe the lunar surface and transmit the data for analysis of its soil," added the official.

Aerojet Rocketdyne Supports ULA Delta II Launch of Joint Polar Satellite System-1

Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc., a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), helped propel the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, carrying the Ball Aerospace-built JPSS-1 satellite, the first of the new JPSS (Joint Polar Satellite System) constellation, into orbit for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. The mission will provide sophisticated meteorological data and observations of atmosphere, ocean and land to help NOAA's National Weather Service improve the 3 to 7 day weather forecasts aiding emergency personnel in pre-storm preparation. JPSS-1 launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion included an RS-27A engine system and an AJ10-118K upper-stage engine. "The RS-27A and AJ10-118K engines continue Aerojet Rocketdyne's strong legacy of placing critical satellites into orbit with 100 percent mission success," said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. "It's an honor to know we are helping to support climate research, weather and storm prediction for civil, military and international partners. Congratulations to everyone involved."

The RS-27A and AJ10-118K engines have helped place payloads into space aboard the Delta II launch vehicle for the U.S. Air Force, NASA and commercial spacecraft missions, including the Phoenix Mars Lander, Deep Impact, Kepler, NEAR Shoemaker and the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, as well as the U.S. Air Force Global Positioning Block IIR fleet.

Aerojet Rocketdyne's role in the launch began during liftoff when the RS-27A engine ignited to provide 237,000 pounds of vacuum-level thrust to launch the Delta II rocket. The RS-27 family of engines has compiled one of the most consistent and successful launch records in the history of rocketry, with 240 launches since 1974.

After separation of the first stage, the AJ10-118K upper-stage engine ignited to place the payload into orbit, providing approximately 10,000 pounds of vacuum thrust for orbital insertion. The AJ10 family of engines has provided second-stage propulsion for more than 270 Delta flights, with 100 percent mission success.

The RS-27A and AJ10-118K engines have helped place payloads into space aboard the Delta II launch vehicle for the U.S. Air Force, NASA and commercial spacecraft missions, including the Phoenix Mars Lander, Deep Impact, Kepler, NEAR Shoemaker and the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, as well as the U.S. Air Force Global Positioning Block IIR fleet.

The JPSS next-generation polar-orbiting, non-geosynchronous satellites will circle the Earth from pole-to pole and cross the equator about 14 times per day, providing full global coverage twice a day, according to NOAA. It is a collaborative program between NOAA and NASA.

The JPSS constellation will carry a suite of sensors designed to collect measurements of atmospheric, terrestrial and ocean conditions, including clouds, rainfall, snow and ice cover, vegetation, fire location, water vapor and ozone, as well as sea and land surface temperatures.

SpaceX to Launch Korean Communications Satellite Today: Watch It Live

SpaceX aims to pull off another launch-and-landing double play today (Oct. 30), and you can watch all the spaceflight action live. A SpaceX two-stage Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch the KoreaSat 5A communications satellite at 3:34 p.m. EDT (1934 GMT) today from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. You can courtesy of SpaceX, or directly via the company at http://www.spacex.com/webcast. If all goes according to plan, the booster's first stage will return to Earth for a soft landing less than 10 minutes after liftoff, settling vertically onto a SpaceX "drone ship" stationed off the Florida coast. Such landings are part of SpaceX's plan to develop fully and rapidly reusable rockets and space vehicles, a key priority for the company and its billionaire founder and CEO, Elon Musk. To date, SpaceX has aced 18 Falcon 9 touchdowns and re-launched landed boosters on three different occasions.

SpaceX has also re-flown a Dragon cargo capsule once and aims to do so again on its next resupply run to the International Space Station for NASA, which will launch no earlier than December.

KoreaSat 5A is owned by the South Korean company KTSat. The satellite will provide TV and other communications services to people in South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia, according to the company's website. The satellite will also aid maritime communications from East Africa to East Asia.

KoreaSat 5A will replace KoreaSat 5, which launched in 2006.