Rockets

The Arianespace and ESA-set up independent inquiry commission has disclosed its conclusions on the reasons for the loss of the Vega-C VV22 mission after its launch in French Guiana on Tuesday, 20 December 2022. According to the Commission, after the nominal functioning of the Vega-C first stage P120C and nominal ignition of the second stage (Zefiro 40), a progressive decrease in the chamber pressure 151 seconds after lift-off led to the loss of the mission.

INNOSPACE has announced that it has set a new launch window from March 7 to March 21 (Brasilia Time, BRT) for the HANBIT-TLV first test flight from Brazil soil. The test will verify the flight performance of the 15-ton thrust single-stage hybrid engine from INNOSPACE.

Rocket Lab has announced that it has doubled its order backlog from about $241 million in contracts at the end of 2021 to $503.6 million at the end of 2022 and made progress on the Neutron rocket that it's developing, according to CNBC. 

The Small Satellites & Services International Forum (SSSIF) congress concluded yesterday in Malaga, Spain, after three days in which experts from the space sector gathered to discuss and reflect on the innovation of the international space sector, the present challenges and the future needs of small satellites. 

IENAI SPACE, an in-space mobility provider based in Madrid, Spain, has received two European Space Agency (ESA) contracts within the General Support Technology Program (GSTP), with a total budget of EUR 1.2 million. The contracts will allow the Company to mature and further develop their ATHENA (Adaptable THruster based on Electrospray powered by NAnotechnology) propulsion systems, a prototype version of the propulsion system flew aboard Firefly’s first flight to orbit in October 2022.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) has set May 4 for the maiden launch of its Vulcan rocket. The flight will launch Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine spacecraft to land on the Moon as well as two other payloads.

On January 3, 2023 at 09:55 ET, Launcher successfully launched its first spacecraft (Orbiter SN1) to orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 (Transporter-6). Upon successful separation on Launcher’s 24” separation system, the spacecraft powered up and communicated to the ground (command uplink and telemetry downlink) during its first scheduled ground station pass. The Company also communicated with the vehicle for the duration of expected battery life.

Japan will test its next-generation rocket from Tanegashima Space Centre this Thursday. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a prime contractor have developed the H-III rocket.

Axiom Space has announced the full crew complement for Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2), the second all-private mission to the International Space Station (ISS). 

HyImpulse Technologies and Adamant Composites have announced the successful completion of a hydrostatic burst test of a groundbreaking linerless Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) liquid oxygen (LOX) tank. This marks a key milestone in developing HyImpulse's orbital Small Launcher SL1.