Space @ interstellar news

  Relativity Space raises $500 million Relativity Space says the $500 million Series D round will allow the company to accelerate its long-term plans beyond the development of its Terran 1 rocket. Credit: Relativity WASHINGTON — Small launch vehicle startup Relativity Space has raised a $500 million funding round that the company says will enable it to accelerate its long-term vision of reshaping aerospace manufacturing. Relativity announced Nov. 23 that it raised the $500 million Series D round, led by hedge fund Tiger Global Management. Several new investors joined the round, including Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, ICONIQ Capital, General Catalyst, XN, Senator Investment Group, and Elad Gil. The company’s existing investors also participated in the round, which valued the company at more than $2 billion. The funding round is among the largest for a space company, rivaled only by investments in OneWeb and SpaceX. Tim Ellis, co-founder and chief executive of Relativity, said in an int...

  Rocket Lab declares success in Electron rocket recovery The Electron first stage from Rocket Lab's latest launch being hauled onto a recovery ship after a reentry and splahsdown that the company said was a "complete success." Credit: Rocket Lab WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab says its attempt to recover the first stage from its latest Electron launch was a “complete success,” but that the company still has work to do before it’s ready to attempt to reuse the stage. On  Rocket Lab’s latest launch Nov. 19 , the rocket’s first stage made a controlled reentry after stage separation, then released a drogue and a main parachute before splashing down about 400 kilometers downrange from its New Zealand launch site, where it was recovered by a boat. The recovery itself went as planned. “The test was a complete success,” Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, said in a call with reporters Nov. 23. “The stage splashed down completely intact. What it proved to us is that this is a feas...

  Traditional launch services may not suit the needs of the future Space Force The U.S. Space Force Launch Enterprise is doing market research on emerging space technologies such as tug vehicles and how that could influence future space launch requirements. Seen here is Spaceflight's Sherpa tug. Credit: Spaceflight Industries illustration. The Space Force’s launch enterprise is trying to gain better insight into the next wave of space innovation and figure out how the military could acquire those capabilities.  WASHINGTON — SpaceX and United Launch Alliance were selected as U.S. national security launch providers based on their ability to deliver spacecraft to specific Earth orbits. How the Pentagon buys launch services in the future could change, however, as the military considers using emerging technologies and services known as “space mobility and logistics.” Col. Robert Bongiovi, the director of the Space Force’s launch enterprise, said his office is trying to gain better ...

  SpaceX ready for Starship suborbital flight as FAA begins new environmental study Elon Musk tweeted this image of the "Starship Production Complex" in Boca Chica, Texas, in June. Credit: Twitter @elonmusk WASHINGTON — As SpaceX prepares for the first high-altitude test flight of its Starship reusable launch vehicle, the Federal Aviation Administration is starting a new environmental review required for the company’s future launch vehicle plans. SpaceX performed a brief static-fire test of its Starship SN8 prototype Nov. 24 at its Boca Chica, Texas, test site. After the test, company founder and chief executive declared on Twitter that the vehicle was now ready for a suborbital flight to an altitude of 15 kilometers. “Good Starship SN8 static fire! Aiming for first 15km / ~50k ft altitude flight next week,” he  tweeted . “Goals are to test 3 engine ascent, body flaps, transition from main to header tanks & landing flip.” That flight will be the first time that a Starship...

  SpaceX sets new Falcon 9 reuse milestone on Starlink launch A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a set of 60 Starlink satellites Nov. 24 on the 100th flight of the Falcon 9, and the seventh of this particular first stage. Credit: SpaceX WASHINGTON — SpaceX set a new milestone in Falcon 9 reuse with the latest Starlink satellite launch Nov. 24 as the company seeks permission to deploy Starlink satellites into a new orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 9:13 p.m. Eastern. The rocket’s upper stage released its payload of 60 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit about 15 minutes later. The rocket’s first stage landed on a droneship in the Atlantic, completing its record-setting seventh launch. The stage first flew in September 2018 launching the Telstar 18 Vantage satellite, followed by the final Iridium mission in January 2019. The rocket then launched four Starlink missions starting in May 2019, most recently A...

  Crew-1 launch remains on schedule despite Sentinel-6 slip The Crew-1 commercial crew mission remains on schedule for launch Nov. 14 despite a delay of another Falcon 9 launch of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ocean science satellite. Credit: SpaceX WASHINGTON — NASA is delaying the launch of an ocean science satellite on one Falcon 9 rocket, but says that delay will not affect another Falcon 9 launch of a commercial crew mission. The agency announced Nov. 3 it was delaying the launch of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California from Nov. 10 to Nov. 21. The reason for the delay, the agency said, was to give SpaceX time to replace two engines in the rocket’s first stage. The performance of the Falcon 9’s Merlin engines had been under scrutiny since a launch abort seconds before the scheduled liftoff of a Falcon 9 carrying a GPS 3 satellite Oct. 2. An investigation  eventually blamed the abort on a “masking lacquer,” ...

  Space traffic management idling in first gear Credit: SpaceNews illustration Debate over which agency should manage civil STM stymies progress FOR THE HEAD OF NASA, IT WAS ONE CLOSE APPROACH TOO MANY. On Sept. 22, International Space Station controllers acted quickly to adjust the orbit of the station when U.S. Space Command informed them that an unidentified piece of debris would come within 1.4 kilometers of the station later that day. A Progress cargo spacecraft docked to the station fired its thrusters, nudging the station enough to ensure the object — later found to be debris from an H-2A rocket upper stage that broke apart last year — passed without incident. “The space station has maneuvered three times in 2020 to avoid debris. In the last two weeks, there have been three high concern potential conjunctions. Debris is getting worse!” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted shortly after the debris passed. “Time for Congress to provide the Commerce Department with the $1...