Welcome to edition 6.22 of the Rocket Report! As we approach the end of 2023, it has been an amazing year for the emergence of new rockets. At the beginning of the year, we saw small launch vehicles from Relativity Space and ABL, and in the spring, we witnessed the Japanese H3 rocket and SpaceX’s Starship. One big rocket remains: United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket. This will be a great year-end gift on Christmas Eve.
Issue with the Vega Rocket
In unfortunate 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 dimethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide – went missing earlier this year. It now appears that the tanks have been found. However, according to reports from Ars, the tanks were recovered in poor condition, having been crushed alongside metal debris in a landfill. This is a significant problem for Avio, as this was supposed 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 the 1250 kg BIOMASS satellite for the European Space Agency, a mission that will utilize synthetic aperture radar in the P band to assess the health of forests on Earth and determine how they are changing. The satellite is estimated to cost over $200 million. Officials are working on two options. The first option involves using old fuel tanks built for qualification testing for the Avio rocket over a decade ago. The second option is modifying the upper stage used by the new Vega C rocket. Although there are some similarities between the upper stages of Vega and Vega C rockets, there are also differences, and the new AVUM+ upper stage was not designed to fly on the original Vega rocket.
Stratolaunch’s Progress Towards Talon A Launches
On Sunday, Stratolaunch completed its first flight carrying the Talon A hypersonic vehicle beneath the wing of its larger carrier aircraft, Roc. Stratolaunch is working for the U.S. military on a goal that simulates hypersonic threats to support the development of new defense capabilities, and this is expected to be derived from the Talon-A model or at least utilize some of the same technology, according to a report by The Drive.
There may be a staged-supported flight on the way … This was the twelfth flight for the Roc launch platform, with the Talon-A vehicle fully fueled. The flight lasted three hours and 22 minutes. According to Stratolaunch, it was “a significant step towards the company’s near-term goal of completing a staged-supported flight with the Talon-A vehicle.” Talon-A is expected to be capable of reaching speeds of at least Mach 6. The vehicle is 28 feet long and just over 11 feet wide. There may be a supported flight in the next stage after data review. (Submitted by Ken the Bin)
Solid-Fuel Rocket Test in South Korea
South Korea successfully conducted a solid-fuel rocket test carrying a satellite over the sea near Jeju Island on Monday amid an escalating space race with neighboring North Korea, according to the Ministry of Defense. This was the third successful test of the rocket technology after two others in March and December 2022, according to a Reuters report.
Enhancing reconnaissance operations … Hanwha Systems stated that the satellite, which will be used for civilian purposes including environmental monitoring, successfully transmitted signals to the ground control center. The ministry welcomed the launch as a benchmark achievement after Pyongyang launched its first military satellite, which was criticized by the United States and its allies 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. (Submitted by wesley96 and Ken the Bin and tsunam)
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