Welcome to version 6.22 of the Rocket Report! We are approaching the end of 2023, and it has been a great year for new rocket debuts. At the beginning of the year, we witnessed the emergence of small launch vehicles from Relativity Space and ABL, and in the spring, we saw the appearance of Japan’s H3 rocket and SpaceX’s Starship. There is one major rocket remaining: United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket. This will be a great gift to end the year on Christmas night.
Issue with Vega Rocket
In sad news for the Italian rocket manufacturer Avio, two of the four fuel tanks on the fourth stage of the Vega rocket – the upper stage powered by dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide – have gone missing. It now appears that the tanks have been found. However, according to Ars reports, the tanks were recovered in a destroyed state, smashed alongside metal scrap at a landfill. This is a significant problem for Avio, as this was set to be the last launch of the Vega rocket, and production lines for this vehicle have now been shut down.
Poor Options
The Vega rocket is set to launch this 1,250 kg satellite for the European Space Agency, a mission that will use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to assess the health of forests on Earth and determine how they are changing. The satellite is estimated to be worth over $200 million. Officials are working on two options. The first option involves using old fuel tanks that were built for qualification tests for the Avio rocket more than a decade ago. The other option is to modify the upper stage utilized by the new Vega C rocket. Although there are some similarities between the Vega and Vega C rocket stages, there are differences, and the new upper stage AVUM+ was not intended to fly on the original Vega rocket.
Stratolaunch Progresses Toward Talon A Launches
On Sunday, Stratolaunch completed the first flight carrying a hypersonic Talon A vehicle beneath the wing of its larger Roc carrier aircraft. Stratolaunch is working on behalf of the U.S. military on a goal that will simulate hypersonic threats to support the development of new defensive capabilities, and it is expected to be derived from the Talon-A design or at least utilize some of the same technology, according to a report from The Drive.
Solid Fuel Rocket Test in South Korea
On Monday, South Korea conducted a successful test of a solid fuel rocket carrying a satellite over the sea near Jeju Island amid increasing space race tensions with neighboring North Korea, according to the Ministry of Defense. This successful test was the third for the rocket technology following two others in March and December 2022, according to a Reuters report.
Improving reconnaissance operations… Hanwha Systems announced that the satellite, which will be used for civilian purposes including environmental monitoring, successfully sent signals to the ground control center. The ministry welcomed the launch and considered it a milestone achievement after Pyongyang launched its first military spy satellite, which the U.S. and its allies criticized for using missile technology that violates U.N. Security Council resolutions. The successful launch will enable South Korea to accelerate its surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, according to the ministry.
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