Blue Origin · SpaceX · Japan · Ars Technica
Rocket Report: Rebuild begins at Blue Origin launch pad; Relativity targets Mars
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Welcome to Edition 8.46 of the Rocket Report!
Key facts
- 50, 100, 150?… A US Space Force spokesperson said the military is tracking at least 51 objects attributed to the breakup of the upper stage
- Better real estate… The new pad would replace Launch Complex 46, which lies within the explosive clear zone of Blue Origin’s nearby Launch Complex 36
- LC-46’s proximity to LC-36 means the two pads cannot operate simultaneously without disruption
- The new location, known as Launch Complex 51, would be located about 2 miles north of Port Canaveral, making it the spaceport’s closest pad to public areas
Summary
There’s still a fair bit of work to go before Flight 13, so don’t count on a launch next month yet. As always, they welcome reader submissions. Isar test flight scrubbed again. The Spectrum rocket has flown once to date, on a failed launch last year that lasted less than 30 seconds. Gravity still winning… The two-stage, 92-foot-tall (28-meter) Spectrum rocket was awaiting liftoff from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway. Isar called off a launch attempt on January 21 due to an issue with a pressurization valve, and then halted a countdown on March 25, moments before liftoff, when engineers detected rising temperatures in the rocket’s liquid propane fuel. Swift reboost mission ready for launch. 10 months ago, NASA asked three companies if they could do something nobody had done before. Could they build and launch a satellite to save a $500 million astronomy mission at risk of crashing back to Earth?