Long Beach, California-based Rocket Lab last month submitted an SEC filing detailing the agreement: a deal to design, manufacture, deliver, and operate 18 “space vehicles” worth up to $515 million. For whom, though, is a mystery—the firm did not detail the specific customer, the purpose of the deployments, or the technology being delivered. But there are a few clues.

Rocket Lab’s SEC filing, dated December 21, 2023, said the company signed an agreement with a “United States government customer” to produce the 18 vehicles. Launches under the contract are expected to begin in 2027, shortly after the first customer delivery. 

The deal calls for Rocket Lab to operate the vehicles through 2030, with an option to extend that to 2033. At minimum, the firm will rake in $489 million from the contract, with options and incentives for a further $26 million.

While it’s unclear which agency is purchasing the technology, signs point to the Space Development Agency (SDA), an organization within the U.S. Space Force.

SDA is buying up hundreds of low-cost, industry-procured satellites to deploy in low Earth orbit (LEO). These will create a satellite “constellation” capable of detecting mobile missile launchers, ships, and other threats in real time for U.S. military forces on the ground. The initiative is called the Proliferated Warfighting Space Architecture, or PWSA.

The project contains five tranches, or stages. One of these, Tranche 2, is projected to include 90 communications systems (called “Beta” satellites) comprising a Transport Layer, which will provide military connectivity on Earth beyond the line of sight. In August, SDA awarded a total of $1.5 billion to defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to build 72 satellites for that component, called Transport Layer Tranche 2 Beta.

That’s a lot of fancy terminology. But in short, SDA needs 18 more satellites to fill out the roster. Does that number sound familiar? Derek Tournear, director of the SDA, last month acknowledged the figure and hinted that the organization is closing in on a purchase.

“We are looking at putting another 18 [Beta] satellites on contract, and we are looking at a third vendor to do that,” Tournear said at a National Security Space Association event on December 7. “We should make that announcement shortly.”

Tournear’s comments are not confirmation that SDA is Rocket Lab’s mystery customer. But the launch provider certainly fits the bill of that “third vendor,” and a collaboration between the two may make a lot of sense.

A Good Fit?

Rocket Lab got its start solely as a launch provider but has since expanded with a Space Systems business, which produces satellite components such as radios and solar panels. In fact, that unit actually outperformed the company’s launch business in the third quarter, leading all segments with $46.3 million in revenue.

Given the shift in business focus, a partnership with SDA makes sense. 

The organization introduced the PWSA initiative in 2019, launching the first two batches of Tranche 0 satellites this year. A third and final wave is expected to join them soon. Meanwhile, the agency has poured billions into Tranche 1 contracts for Lockheed, Northrop, and York Space Systems, with the first Tranche 1 satellites slated for launch in September. As of October, it was in the source selection phase for another batch of Tranche 2 vehicles.

Tranche 2 Beta satellites will deploy ultra-high frequency and S-band radio frequencies, which are used by the military for voice and data transmission. In November, SDA successfully demonstrated communications between satellites and earthbound receivers through the vacuum of space, using the Tranche 0 spacecraft deployed earlier this year.

Like SDA, the U.S. Space Systems Command is also developing LEO satellite constellations, part of a push by the Space Force to acquire small satellites for applications such as missile warnings. In other words, there’s plenty of demand for what Rocket Lab is supplying.

In addition, Rocket Lab and SDA have a prior relationship. In 2022, the company formed a national security subsidiary to hone in on the U.S. defense and intelligence market. That year, it won two SDA contracts worth $14 million to build separation systems for 84 SDA satellites, built by Lockheed and a second undisclosed supplier.

Rocket Lab on the Rebound

Like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Rocket Lab this year felt the wrath of the FAA after a September mishap. But with a massive contract now in hand, the company may be headed for a rebound.

The accident earlier this year, which destroyed a payload aboard the firm’s Electron rocket, may have something to do with the launch segment’s recent struggles compared to the Space Systems business. But with FAA authorization to resume flying and a return to action in December, the company’s flagship rocket is back—and, in fact, it had a record year.

Electron flew 10 times in 2023, besting the company’s record of nine flights the year before. That’s at the top of the list for any launch provider not named SpaceX—rival United Launch Alliance, for example, flew just three times. The two-stage rocket also made its first mission on U.S. soil and flew twice in the span of one week, setting a new high mark for turnaround time.

While Rocket Lab specializes in Electron missions out of spaceports in Virginia and New Zealand, the company also earned seven suborbital launch contracts this year: five from Leidos, one from the Department of Defense, and another from a confidential customer. 

In addition to Electron, Rocket Lab since 2019 has produced the Photon, a satellite bus that uses chemical propulsion to fly in LEO, mid Earth, geostationary, or lunar orbit, and even on planetary journeys. First launched in 2020, Photon can be configured for an array of uses from satellite constellations to hosted payloads, such as NASA’s 2022 Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (Capstone) mission. There are four in orbit.

The company is further developing the larger Neutron rocket, expected to debut in 2025. Earlier this year, it purchased $16.1 million in assets from the now-defunct Virgin Orbit, including a lease to one of the Richard Branson-owned company’s Long Beach facilities and key manufacturing infrastructure. 

In October, Rocket Lab opened an engine development center to produce the spacecraft’s new Archimedes engine. A few years ago, it also won a $24.35 million Space Force award to develop Neutron’s upper stage.

With all of that recent activity plus December’s massive contract, Rocket Lab will be hoping it can cling to the number two ranking among launch providers for the foreseeable future.

Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.

The post Rocket Lab Signs $515 Million Satellite Contract with Mystery Government Agency appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Last week, the U.S. Space Force launched the seventh mission of the X-37B: a secretive spaceplane or orbital test vehicle (OTV) project intended to prepare the country for the next era of space travel.

Almost nothing is known about the Boeing-built spacecraft’s specific purpose, payload, or final destination. But we do know that the most recent launch had more juice than any other, perhaps enough to send X-37B into deep orbit—or even to the neighborhood of the moon.

“The technological advancements we’re driving on X-37B will benefit the broader space community, especially as we see increased interest in space sustainability,” said Michelle Parker, vice president of space mission systems for Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “We are pushing innovation and capability that will influence the next generation of spacecraft.”

The mission, known as USSF-52 or OTV-7, departed Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A last Thursday evening in Florida after a few weeks of delays because of weather and technical issues. SpaceX shut down its livestream of the launch at the request of the Space Force once X-37B reached orbit.

“My memories go back to the Gemini and Mercury programs,” said Frank Kendall, secretary of the U.S. Air Force. “This is an incredible event, and I think about the teamwork over all those decades that has led to what has been a revolutionary improvement in space travel capability. We have come so far, and it’s been teamwork by the government, the Air Force, and now the Space Force, which didn’t exist until a few years ago, NASA, industry teams, and so many others that all contributed to what we saw.”

For the first time, the reusable, self-flying spaceplane left the launchpad coupled to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket—one of the most powerful launch vehicles in existence. The rocket’s three first-stage boosters are also reusable.

X-37B’s first five missions used Atlas V rockets made by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, while the sixth flew on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster. Each trip was confined to below 1,200 miles in altitude. Falcon Heavy, meanwhile, can reach 22,000 miles, fueling speculation that X-37B’s seventh mission may go deeper than ever before. But the Space Force has not disclosed the spaceplane’s flight plan.

The X-37B project—a collaboration between the Space Force and U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office under the National Security Space Launch program, with support from Boeing—is shrouded in secrecy.

Speculation on X-37B’s purpose ranges from new spying and reconnaissance capabilities to a weapons delivery system, the latter of which the Pentagon has denied. According to a Space Force statement, USSF-52 specifically will test operations in new “orbital regimes” and explore the effects of radiation on NASA payloads. Seeds, for example, will be exposed to the bitterness of space, perhaps to understand how humans could sustain interplanetary bases.

“The X-37B government and Boeing teams have worked together to produce a more responsive, flexible, and adaptive experimentation platform,” said William Bailey, director of the Rapid Capabilities Office. “The work they’ve done to streamline processes and adapt evolving technologies will help our nation learn a tremendous amount about operating in and returning from a space environment.”

In addition, the orbital test vehicle will experiment with “future space domain awareness technology,” which the Space Force explained is designed to enable safe and secure space operations for government and commercial users alike.

What Do We Know?

U.S. agencies have largely kept the details of X-37B under wraps, but there are a few clues as to its intended use.

The spaceplane has been in development for decades. Originally, it was a NASA-led project. In 1999, the agency enlisted Boeing’s Phantom Works—the manufacturer’s prototyping arm responsible for such cutting-edge designs as the A160 Hummingbird—to build the ambitious concept.

According to Boeing’s website, the design is an advanced reentry spacecraft geared for operations in low Earth orbit, about 150 to 500 miles above the ground. It’s the first vehicle since NASA’s space shuttle capable of returning experiments to Earth for analysis, landing on the runway like an airplane. Its goal, Boeing says, is to explore reusable technology for “long-term space objectives.”

X-37B introduced a handful of technologies that had previously never been used in spaceflight. Its state-of-the-art avionics, for example, automate de-orbiting and landing, considered some of the trickier maneuvers to make. The spaceplane’s flight controls and brakes replace hydraulics with electromechanical actuation, while a lighter composite structure stands in for traditional aluminum. The design also includes a new generation of high-durability tiles.

Not everything is new, however. The mysterious spacecraft’s landing profile and lifting body architecture—a fixed-wing configuration wherein the body itself provides lift for subsonic, supersonic, or hypersonic flight or spacecraft reentry, à la Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser—resemble the space shuttle’s.

Yet X-37B is only one-fourth as large, about the size of a small bus. It’s also much harder to track than its predecessor, capable of quickly changing orbit or “hiding” in the glare of the sun to keep its position secret.

Since its maiden voyage in April 2010, the spaceplane has spent more than 3,750 days in space, traveling an astounding 1.3 billion miles. In 2019, it won the Robert J. Collier Trophy, awarded by the National Aeronautic Association for the greatest American aeronautical or astronomical achievements of the year prior.

Another Space Race?

With each voyage, X-37B has flown farther and for longer. But at the same time, a foreign superpower is ramping up its own mysterious, state-of-the-art spaceplane project.

Boeing’s model was initially designed for a mission duration of 270 days. But since OTV-2 in 2011, each test flight has been longer than the last. 

Its sixth and most recent mission, which touched down in November 2022, lasted a record 908 days. If that’s any indication, OTV-7 will fly even longer. The mission was also the first to introduce an expanded service module that allowed the spacecraft to host more experiments than ever before, including payloads from the Naval Research Lab and more seeds from NASA.

X-37B’s seventh mission could be its last, according to comments from General B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations for the Space Force, in 2020. That could be consequential given activity across the Pacific. 

Earlier in December, China launched its Shenlong “Divine Dragon” on its third mission since 2020 aboard a Long March 2F rocket, which is less powerful than SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. There are no photos available of the secretive spacecraft, but it’s thought to be similar to the X-37.

Like its American counterpart, not much is known about Shenlong’s purpose. But a few weeks ago, it reportedly deployed six mysterious objects into orbit. Though the project is covert, U.S. officials are already drawing links between it and the Space Force initiative. The close timing of the two launches, in particular, has raised eyebrows—if not for delays, X-37B and Shenlong would have reached orbit within days of each other.

“It’s no surprise that the Chinese are extremely interested in our spaceplane,” Saltzman told Air & Space Forces Magazine last month. “We’re extremely interested in theirs. These are two of the most watched objects on orbit while they’re on orbit. It’s probably no coincidence that they’re trying to match us in timing and sequence of this.”

Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.

The post U.S. Space Force’s Secret Robot Spaceplane Could Be Headed to Deep Orbit appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Launch of the seventh mission of the Boeing-built reusable X-37B spaceplane, which has been designated USSF-52, will be December 7 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, the service said.

• READ MORE: SpaceX Launches Falcon Heavy for First Time in Three Years

The mission will mark the first X-37B launch on a Falcon Heavy rocket and encompass a range of testing objectives, including operating the reusable spaceplane in new orbital regimes and investigating radiation effects on materials provided by NASA.

Among the materials that will be on board USSF-52 will be plant seeds for a NASA experiment on the effects of harsh radiation during a long spaceflight, USSF said.

“We are excited to expand the envelope of the reusable X-37B’s capabilities, using the flight-proven service module and Falcon Heavy rocket to fly multiple cutting-edge experiments for the Department of the Air Force and its partners,” said Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Fritschen, the X-37B program director. 

• READ MORE: Boeing-Built X-37B Space Plane Sets Record After 908 Days in Orbit

Late last year, the X-37B set an endurance record of 908 days in orbit while on its sixth mission, racking up a total of 3,774 days in space. The X-37B program is a partnership between USSF and the U.S Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. 

The post Launch Date Set for Space Force’s X-37B Reusable Spaceplane appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) had experienced setback after setback, from its initial rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to the last moments before liftoff.

Standing at 322 feet, taller than the Statue of Liberty, the SLS was designed to take humans farther than ever before. According to NASA, the rocket can send over 27 metric tons to the moon. In a single launch, it could carry the Orion spacecraft, with four astronauts and an abundance of supplies, to its lunar destination. 

To accomplish such a feat, NASA designed SLS’ Block 1 Crew configuration to produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust. Between the four RS-25 Core Stage engines and the two shuttle-derived solid rocket boosters, a mass of fuel is needed to send Orion to the moon. 

Fueling operations were nominal until around 9:17 p.m., with a little more than three hours left until launch. Then, the team found an intermittent liquid hydrogen leak at the bottom of the mobile launcher. 

While the leak initially stayed within operational limits, it grew enough to warrant remedial actions. With the rocket sitting with near-complete fuel levels, it can be exceedingly dangerous for personnel to approach it. For Red Crew, a team of engineers on standby, this was the moment they trained for.

According to launch control, Red Crew’s fix would take only about 15 minutes to complete. At this point, hope for a successful launch began to dwindle throughout the crowd.

At 11:04 p.m., nearly an hour later, Launch Control announced Red Crew’s departure from Launch Complex 39B—their repairs were successful. A sigh of relief rippled across the Cape.

“All I can say is that we were very excited,” said Trent Annis, one of the three deployed members of Red Crew. “We showed up today.”

Sadly, the relief wouldn’t last long. The U.S. Space Force’s 45th Space Wing assisted with launch operations, including the locational tracking of the rocket after liftoff. The Wing had lost radar connection with SLS. The rocket would not launch without it.

“This data is critical to satellite operators all over the world in achieving mission success as the space domain becomes more contested and congested,” said Col. Marc A. Brock, Space Delta 2 commander, in a statement. “Timely and accurate xGEO space object detection and tracking in conjunction with our traditional SDA operations closer to Earth will be essential to our support for human space flight safety from launch to lunar landing and return, to facilitate human exploration and to promote the peaceful and responsible use of space.”

The opening of the launch window had arrived, and launch control was working against the clock. 

In an interview with FLYING, NASA Astronaut Stan Love explained why the timing of the launch is paramount to the mission’s success. 

“We have to time the launch based on when we want to land, and we want to land in daylight so that we can recover the capsule,” Love said. “And it’s winter in the northern hemisphere, so there’s not as much daylight as there otherwise is.”

“And then we work backwards,” he continued. “If you want to land in daylight, you have to leave the lunar vicinity around this time. Then, you have to leave your high lunar orbit around that time. Then, you have to get into your high lunar orbit at this other time. Then, you have to fly past the moon to get into that orbit this other time, and then you have to launch now.”

At 11:37 p.m., Launch Control identified a faulty Ethernet switch as the cause of the radar disconnect, and a 70-minute changeout was ordered.

For what felt like eons, we waited for an update from Launch Control. Many of us had driven or flown in from around the country for the second time to see Artemis I liftoff. A single core stage engine and inclement weather had stopped Artemis before, and there was no telling if it would happen again.

“Once again, we have gathered the guests for the wedding,” Love said. “Perhaps the bride will make an appearance.”

At 1:28 a.m., NASA’s first woman to serve as Launch Director, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, conducted the final readiness poll.

“On behalf of all the men and women across our great nation, who have worked to bring this hardware together, to make this day possible, and for the Artemis generation, this is for you. At this time, I give you a go to resume count and launch Artemis I.”

The wedding was on.

The countdown clock jumped to T-10 minutes. There was a mad dash to the shoreline—journalists scrambled to ensure their cameras were on and ready for the show.

All eyes were on Artemis I.

“Five… four… three… two… one…”

At 1:41 a.m., a blinding light sparked from below the rocket. The billowing smoke shook as shockwaves ripped through the atmosphere, and just like that, Artemis I was on its way to our moon.

Artemis I lit up Cape Canaveral like the morning sun, and the ground shook from sonic booms and cheering onlookers alike. 

This launch means the world to many. It marks the beginning of a new era, and becomes the foundation for future missions to stand on. Now, NASA is one step closer to landing the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface. The next generation of spaceflight has begun.

This article was originally published in the February 2023 Issue 934 of FLYING.

The post Artemis I: Against All Odds appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Shortly after Thursday’s test flight concluded in a ball of flames, reports emerged that the FAA has grounded Starship as it conducts an investigation into the reason behind the explosion—and as others examine the potential health and safety hazards it created.

The FAA confirmed this in an April 20 statement: “An anomaly occurred during the ascent and prior to stage separation resulting in a loss of the vehicle. No injuries or public property damage have been reported. The FAA will oversee the mishap investigation of the Starship / Super Heavy test mission.”

An FAA spokesperson told FLYING that mishap investigations, which are standard in cases such as this, “might conclude in a matter of weeks,” but more complex investigations “might take several months.”

It’s unclear where the Starship explosion falls on this spectrum. But we’re beginning to get an idea of the launch’s effects on the surrounding area.

Though Musk warned prior to the launch that Starship would likely explode, telling listeners in an April 16 Twitter Spaces that it would be “a success” if it did not destroy the company’s Boca Chica, Texas launchpad, the test flight’s impact appears to be greater than SpaceX expected.

Broken windows and ash-like particulate matter from the launch have been reported as far away as Port Isabel, a town of about 5,000 people six miles away from the launchpad, and South Padre Island, where onlookers watched the test flight from about five miles away. Port Isabel residents also reported shaking buildings, resembling the aftermath of a Starship explosion in 2022.

The debris field was expected to span 700 acres, or a radius of about one mile, equivalent to the size of the debris field resulting from Starship’s largest explosion to date.

Getting reports from multiple people now of “particulates” raining down in areas of Port Isabel after the nearby explosion of the SpaceX rocket stack Starship/Superheavy, 4 minutes after liftoff this morning from Boca Chica in the Rio Grande Valley. pic.twitter.com/Vb9ritd7JE

— Pablo De La Rosa (@pblodlr) April 20, 2023

The City of Port Isabel said that there is no “immediate concern for people’s health,” but environmental groups are holding judgment until a full investigation can be completed. 

Spokespeople for the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity noted that the particulate emissions may be unsafe to touch or breathe in, and samples will need to be collected and examined to dispel any concerns. 

Experts also worry about the impact on the surrounding environment and ecosystem, which is home to several endangered species. These animals could be vulnerable not just to debris, but also to the noise of the launch. Reporter Lavie Ohana, who was present for the test flight, called it “one of the loudest launches I’ve ever been at.”

Particles falling in Port Isabel minutes after launch. @elonmusk #SpaceX #Starship #Starbase #TLPNetwork #TLPCrew pic.twitter.com/mu5hKmbih6

— The Launch Pad (@TLPN_Official) April 20, 2023

Eric Roesch, an environmental engineer and former regulator who runs the blog ESGHound, noted that the launch tower sits just a few hundred feet away from a protected habitat owned by Texas Parks and Wildlife. 

And per data Roesch obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via a Freedom of Information Act request, a February static fire test—essentially a test run for the test flight—produced far more noise than SpaceX projected. Intensity readings three miles from the test site reached 110 decibels, the equivalent of standing next to a jackhammer, according to the agency. That test was conducted at 50 percent of total thrust.

Roesch also pointed out that the Boca Chica launchpad does not have a flame trench or water deluge system, features present at most other large sites that help to suppress heat and sound from launches. NASA’s Space Shuttle orbiter, for example, took off over a flame trench.

Some, like Roesch, have criticized the FAA’s willingness to go ahead with the launch given these concerns. Though the agency required SpaceX to take more than 75 actions to mitigate the environmental impact of the test flight, Roesch predicted that the launch would be more severe than anticipated, and it appears he was not far off.

As the FAA dives deeper into the safety of Starship’s operation, SpaceX has another hurdle to overcome. While it appeared that the infrastructure supporting Starship avoided the same fate as the rocket itself, it later became clear that the launchpad suffered major damage.

The force of the rocket and the lack of a trench beneath it created a massive crater under the launcher, which could render it unusable for months. Musk on Twitter speculated that “the force of the engines when they throttled up may have shattered the concrete, rather than simply eroding it.”

Musk also said that SpaceX had previously planned to install a water-cooled steel plate beneath the launcher, but scrapped it because it “wasn’t ready in time,” adding that, “we wrongly thought, based on static fire data, that Fondag [concrete] would make it through 1 launch.”

Musk also offered a timetable for the next launch: one to two months. But even if SpaceX is able to repair the launchpad in that time, it will still need the FAA’s signoff to run another test.

The good news for SpaceX is that the relationship between the space exploration firm and government regulators appears to be intact. On Tuesday, the company won approval from the U.S. Space Force to add a fifth U.S. launch site, signaling the government’s continued interest in working with Musk and SpaceX.

There’s that, plus the company’s collaborations with NASA on other missions, like resupply trips to the International Space Station using SpaceX’s Dragon. Chances are that NASA and SpaceX will continue to work together for the foreseeable future. What remains to be seen, though, is how long of a leash the FAA will give them.

The post SpaceX Starship Grounded Indefinitely By FAA appeared first on FLYING Magazine.