Live to launch —

Rocket Report: NASA dishes on small rockets, Jeff buys a ride on a Falcon 9

"AR1 is the ideal engine for many possible solutions."

Rocket engine under construction inside a mammoth, white-walled hangar.
Enlarge / Image of the first AR1 engine built by Aerojet Rocketdyne.

Welcome to Edition 3.29 of the Rocket Report! What a wild weekend we're heading toward in the world of rockets and launch, with seemingly too much news to cover:

• Electron, Saturday, 07:38 UTC

• SLS Hot Fire, Saturday, 22:00 UTC

• SN9, Possibly Saturday, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

• LauncherOne, Sunday, 18:00 UTC

• Falcon 9, Monday, 13:45 UTC

As always, we'll do our best, and we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

New Shepard launches new crew capsule. After a delay due to medium-level winds, Blue Origin successfully launched the New Shepard-14 (aka NS-14) mission from West Texas on Thursday morning. The test flight (see webcast) appeared to go well. This was the first flight of a new capsule, which is being readied for human flights, and Mannequin Skywalker flew along to collect data.

Human flights when? ... During the hour-long webcast, Blue Origin unfortunately did not provide any specifics about its test plan before humans get aboard the suborbital vehicle. We have heard rumors that the NS-16 flight may carry passengers, but the company has not provided definite information. If this is true, that means there would be one final uncrewed flight of this capsule.

NASA provides insight into small launch companies. Recently, NASA awarded Venture Class Launch Services contracts to Astra Space, Firefly Aerospace, and Relativity Space. After the awards were announced, SpaceNews dug into the "source selection" document that talks about why those companies were selected, but seven other bidders were not.

Worth checking out ... The document provides insight into the status of some familiar names that have long made claims about developing rockets but have yet to deliver. For example, Interorbital Systems demonstrated "a lack of understanding of the complexity of a space launch service" with its Neptune rocket, according to the NASA document. The entire report, which links to the source selection document, is worth reading. (submitted by DanNeely)

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Rocket Lab looks to refly some components. Rocket Lab recovered its Electron rocket's first stage for the first time after a launch in November. And while the company never intended to refly the whole stage, the company now believes some electronic components are salvageable, Stuff reports.

Flight a big success ... "Electron returned in such good condition that we will attempt to re-qualify and re-fly some components on future missions," company spokeswoman Morgan Bailey said. She said, overall, the flight was a huge success and Rocket Lab will attempt to recover more first stages later in 2021 as it pushes forward with its Electron reuse plan. (submitted by platykurtic)

Battle over Georgia launch site continues. Environmental groups are continuing to fight the construction of a spaceport in Camden County, Georgia. Most recently, the Southern Environmental Law Center said a decision by the Federal Aviation Administration to limit its review of the spaceport plan was "unlawful." The issue is whether the FAA can rely on a draft environmental impact statement, completed in 2018, for the spaceport's revised plans, Parabolic Arc reports.

Small equals medium? ... Initially, Spaceport Camden planned to launch "medium" and "large" rockets, but now the site will launch "small" and "medium" rockets, according to its revised plans. Environmentalists say the FAA should conduct a new, full review, with a public comment period. The FAA says the potential environmental impacts of the small-lift launch vehicles are subsumed within the potential impacts of the medium-large-lift class vehicles. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

bluShift Aerospace plans prototype launch. The Maine-based new space startup says it will attempt to launch a single-stage Stardust 1.0 prototype rocket on Friday, January 15, from the Loring Commerce Centre in Limestone, Maine. The low-altitude demo launch is the culmination of six years of research and development and more than 200 engine tests, the company said in a news release. The launch will be streamed.

Using biopower ... The company says this is the first-ever commercial launch of a rocket powered by bioderived fuel anywhere in the world. The rocket is equipped with a proprietary modular hybrid rocket engine. The small company has not yet publicly outlined a plan for developing a suborbital or orbital launch vehicle.

Canadian spaceport still alive, for now. Proponents of a spaceport to be built in Nova Scotia say the dream is still alive. Little progress was made toward developing the spaceport in 2020, the chief executive of Maritime Launch Services acknowledged recently, according to CBC. "We are moving forward with the initiative, for sure," said Steve Matier, who is spearheading the project.

A difficult year ... "It has been a bit of a hard year for everyone with respect to the pandemic, of course, and things certainly haven't gone as quickly as we had hoped and planned, but I'm looking forward to a much more productive 2021," Matier also said. The Canso spaceport as envisioned will serve as a launch pad for Ukrainian Cyclone-4M rockets. There is no firm timeline for construction to begin, and investors are still needed. (submitted by Glen and BH)

Florida may see up to 53 missions in 2021. As many as 53 space missions are projected to lift off in 2021 from Florida's Space Coast, the vice commander of the 45th Space Wing said on Tuesday. "We have 53 launches in our forecast with one already on the books," Col. Brande Walton told the National Space Club of Florida during an online event, SpaceNews reported.

Not all will happen, of course ... The US Space Force's 45th Space Wing oversees space launch operations from the East Coast, including commercial, civil, and military launches. A total of 31 space launches were carried out in Florida in 2020, Walton said. The 2021 forecast is just a projection as launch schedules shift from month to month. The launch tally includes some missions we're not sure will happen, so it's probably high. But we're looking forward to a busy year in the Sunshine State. (submitted by Ken the Bin and platykurtic)

MethaneSAT will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket. The Environmental Defense Fund said Thursday that its Earth-observing MethaneSAT will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket in October 2022. This innovative mission, which will augment climate-science data, will aid decision-makers as they grapple with addressing climate change.

Jeff buys a rocket launch ... The 350kg satellite will fly as a rideshare on an unspecified Falcon launch. One interesting note is that the satellite and its launch will largely be paid for by a $100 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund. So, yeah, Jeff Bezos is buying a launch on a SpaceX rocket. And it's for a good cause. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

Europe seeks "alliance" to compete with SpaceX, China. The European Union will pursue a more aggressive European space strategy to prevent being muscled out by US and Chinese rockets, Reuters reports. "We must ask ourselves: will our current approach successfully get us to 2050, considering the disruptions in the sector that we all observe? I strongly doubt it, and I believe we need a more offensive and aggressive strategy," European Commissioner Thierry Breton said.

Plan would need funding ... Europe is concerned about the emergence of SpaceX, with its low-cost reusable rocket, and rising competition from a new generation of Chinese rockets. To remain competitive for commercial satellite launches, Breton said he would initiate a "European Launcher Alliance," which would identify a roadmap to develop a new generation of rockets. In a separate news conference, the head of Arianespace, Stéphane Israël, urged European governments to order more launches on his company's rockets. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

NASA moves SLS hot fire test to Saturday. NASA said it was moving the four-engine hot fire test of its Space Launch System rocket core stage a day earlier, to Saturday, January 16. The eight-minute test will take place at Stennis Space Center. During a pre-briefing with reporters, NASA officials said the nominal time for the space shuttle main engines to ignite is 4pm CST (22:00 UTC), but delays were likely.

Last step before shipping ... This is the final major test of the core stage before it is shipped from the Mississippi test site to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA said the rocket could still make its 2021 launch date, but we're not overly confident about that. Ars will be on hand for the test firing in Mississippi and have a full report after the test's conclusion. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

SpaceX hot fire tests Starship three times in four hours. After the first of three tests on Wednesday, SpaceX founder and chief engineer Elon Musk said on Twitter, "Today at SpaceX is about practicing Starship engine starts. Ship is held down by massive pins while engines are fired." After the third test, Musk confirmed that all three tests were completed without a major issue. Ars reports that performing three tests like this in rapid succession is a notable achievement, and it points to maturing spaceship hardware, ground systems, and procedures for SpaceX's Starship launch program.

Next up, a test flight ... Musk said the goal is to reach a point where a traveler could "hop in and go" to Mars. Such a capability for Starship remains years into the future, if it is ever realized. But the company appears to be making progress toward a robust launch system. The next step for SN9 is to go and fly. The vehicle is already on its launch stand, and Musk and his engineers will now conduct a "readiness" review in advance of what is expected to be another test flight to about 12.5km. A flight may occur on Friday or Saturday.

Aerojet says it has completed first AR1 engine. On Tuesday, Aerojet Rocketdyne shared an image of its new engine via Twitter, stating it was complete. Of the engine, the company said: "The first American-made liquid oxygen/kerosene staged-combustion engine. AR1 is the ideal engine for many possible solutions; it brings the right thrust level, size, and performance to a wide variety of launch vehicles."

Wanted, one large rocket ... You may recall that the AR1 engine was competing with Blue Origin's BE-4 engine to power the Vulcan rocket being developed by United Launch Alliance. The company ultimately selected the BE-4 engine because it was further along and cost less. The future of the AR1 engine is not clear as there is currently no rocket that plans to use it. Now that Lockheed Martin plans to acquire Aerojet, perhaps we'll get some more clarity about the AR1's future. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

Next three launches

Jan. 16: Electron | "Another one leaves the crust" | Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand | 07:38 UTC

Jan. 17: LauncherOne | Launch Demo-2 mission | Mojave Air and Space Port | 18:00 UTC

Jan. 18: Falcon 9 | Starlink-16 | Kennedy Space Center, Fla. | 18:35 UTC

Channel Ars Technica