Rocket News: SpaceX takes over at SLC-37; Europe's reusable rocket faces a further delay
Rocket News: SpaceX takes over at SLC-37; Europe's reusable rocket faces a further delay
Welcome to the Rocket Report's 7.48th edition! Elon Musk, the creator of SpaceX, apologized for some of his remarks criticizing President Donald Trump on social media, but the shock of last week's public altercation between the two has subsided. Additionally, Musk retracted his warning to start dismantling the Dragon spacecraft, which is now the only means by which the US government can deliver personnel to the ISS. However, a lot of people believe that Musk's relationship with Trump could wind up endangering the US space program, and I don't think that threat has been eliminated.
Submissions from readers are always welcome. Please use the box below to subscribe if you don't want to miss any issues (AMP-enabled versions of the site will not display the form). Information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets will be included in each report, along with a brief preview of the upcoming three scheduled launches.
Whether through a separate national or commercial program or by participation in the European Space Agency, which finances its own rockets, Canada is the only G7 country without a domestic satellite launch capability. A few Canadian commercial launch businesses haven't made much headway, and the Canadian Space Agency has long avoided making any large investments in creating a domestic satellite launcher. Bachar Elzein, a former researcher in multiphase and reactive flows at École Polytechnique de Montréal, where he focused on propulsion and combustion dynamics, launched Reaction Dynamics in 2017. Later this year, Reaction Dynamic intends to launch its first suborbital rocket. As early as 2027, the company hopes to try orbital flight with its Aurora rocket. It was provided by Joey S-IVB.
Themis has yet another year to wait. According to European Spaceflight, the first flight of the European Space Agency's reusable rocket demonstration is now almost definitely going to be delayed until 2026, marking yet another setback for the agency's Themis program. The European Space Agency's Themis program, which aims to develop and mature critical technologies for future reusable rocket stages, was launched almost six years ago. With ever greater hop tests to show vertical takeoff and vertical landing procedures, Themis is comparable to SpaceX's reusable rocket prototype, the Grasshopper, which was tested over ten years ago. When the program began, it was anticipated that the first Themis demonstrator would undergo an initial hop test in 2022.
ESA has committed an additional 230 million euros ($266 million) to the Themis program, which is being led by ArianeGroup, the company that produces Europe's Ariane rockets. The funds will be used to upgrade a test stand at ArianeGroup's propulsion facility in Vernon, France, continue developing the rocket's methane-fueled engine, and create a single-engine version of the Themis program. According to an official Themis program update two months ago, the first Themis launch campaign would start before the year ended. According to European Spaceflight, which cites program insiders, the initial Themis integration tests at Sweden's Esrange Space Center are now nearly guaranteed to take place between late 2025 and 2026.
Europe's space industry startups are advancing independently, despite the delays facing the continent's massive government-backed rocket projects. According to European Spaceflight, one of these businesses, Alpha Impulsion, a French startup, just finished a brief autophage rocket engine test-firing. These aren't your typical rocket engines that run on hydrogen, methane, or regular kerosene. By harnessing heat from combustion to melt its plastic fuselage and carefully feed the melted plastic into the combustion chamber, an autophage engine essentially destroys itself as it burns. The "largest autophage rocket engine in the world" was successfully tested on May 27th, according to Alpha Impulsion.
The idea of a self-consuming rocket engine seems so insane that it might actually work. However, from the time of its 1938 patent until the first controlled firing of an autophage engine in 2018, the concept remained theoretical. Among the many benefits of the autophage design is its relative simplicity in contrast to the intricate plumbing of liquid and hybrid rockets. However, autophage engines present significant difficulties, such as how to scale up the combustion chamber to a size that allows it to travel on a practical rocket and how to feed molten fuel into it. (provided by EllPeaTea and Trimeta)
Axiom Space's fourth private astronaut flight to the ISS was delayed this week due to a fuel leak in a Falcon 9 rocket, according to Space News. A liquid oxygen leak discovered in the Falcon 9 rocket during inspections after a static-fire test on Sunday prompted SpaceX to announce the postponement on Tuesday, stating that it needed additional time to rectify the problem. "Once complete–and pending Range availability–we will share a new launch date," the business said. Under the direction of retired NASA commander Peggy Whitson, the Ax-4 mission will transport four commercial astronauts to the ISS on a Dragon spacecraft for a stay of roughly 14 days. Crewmates from Poland, Hungary, and India will accompany Whitson.
While SpaceX engineers worked on resolving the propellant leak on the ground, a leak of another kind in orbit forced officials to order a longer delay to the Ax-4 mission. In a statement Thursday, NASA said it is working with the Russian space agency to understand a "new pressure signature" in the space station's Russian service module. For several years, ground teams have monitored a slow air leak in the aft part of the service module, and NASA officials have identified it as a safety risk. NASA's statement on the matter was vague, only saying that cosmonauts on the station recently inspected the module's interior surfaces and sealed additional "areas of interest." The segment is now holding pressure, according to NASA. (submitted by EllPeaTea)
A different type of propellant leak in orbit prompted authorities to impose a longer delay to the Ax-4 mission as SpaceX workers worked to fix the fuel leak on the ground. NASA stated in a statement Thursday that it is collaborating with the Russian space agency to investigate a "new pressure signature" in the Russian service module of the space station. A steady air leak in the aft section of the service module has been seen by ground personnel for a number of years, and NASA authorities have determined that it poses a safety risk. According to NASA's ambiguous statement, cosmonauts on the station recently examined the inside surfaces of the module and sealed off further "areas of interest." NASA said the portion is now holding pressure. (EllPeaTea contributed this).
After launching payloads, such as Starlink satellites, into low-Earth orbit, SpaceX typically deorbits rockets. However, deorbiting a rocket from a much higher geosynchronous transfer orbit is a different story. "a controlled deorbit of the SiriusXM-10 upper stage after GTO payload deployment," wrote SpaceX vice president of Falcon and Dragon programs Jon Edwards. This is a rare and noteworthy first for us since, although we frequently do controlled deorbits for LEO stages (like Starlink), deorbiting from GTO is quite challenging because of the large energy required to change the orbit. This demonstrates SpaceX's dedication to being a leader in both space exploration and public safety and was only made possible by the diligence and genius of the Falcon GNC (guidance, navigation, and control) team.
January saw the largely successful launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, which has now been in operation for five months. The corporation once set "late spring" as the goal for the rocket's second launch. However, Dave Limp, the CEO of Blue Origin, admitted on social media Monday that the rocket's next launch will now not happen until at least August 15, according to Ars. He didn't mention it, but this might be the only New Glenn launch this year. "This will require a great deal of execution and a little bit of luck. The GS2 [second stage] that we will fly on this second mission was hot-fired in April, and we are on target to make eight of them this year.
Submissions from readers are always welcome. Please use the box below to subscribe if you don't want to miss any issues (AMP-enabled versions of the site will not display the form). Information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets will be included in each report, along with a brief preview of the upcoming three scheduled launches.
Whether through a separate national or commercial program or by participation in the European Space Agency, which finances its own rockets, Canada is the only G7 country without a domestic satellite launch capability. A few Canadian commercial launch businesses haven't made much headway, and the Canadian Space Agency has long avoided making any large investments in creating a domestic satellite launcher. Bachar Elzein, a former researcher in multiphase and reactive flows at École Polytechnique de Montréal, where he focused on propulsion and combustion dynamics, launched Reaction Dynamics in 2017. Later this year, Reaction Dynamic intends to launch its first suborbital rocket. As early as 2027, the company hopes to try orbital flight with its Aurora rocket. It was provided by Joey S-IVB.
Themis has yet another year to wait. According to European Spaceflight, the first flight of the European Space Agency's reusable rocket demonstration is now almost definitely going to be delayed until 2026, marking yet another setback for the agency's Themis program. The European Space Agency's Themis program, which aims to develop and mature critical technologies for future reusable rocket stages, was launched almost six years ago. With ever greater hop tests to show vertical takeoff and vertical landing procedures, Themis is comparable to SpaceX's reusable rocket prototype, the Grasshopper, which was tested over ten years ago. When the program began, it was anticipated that the first Themis demonstrator would undergo an initial hop test in 2022.
ESA has committed an additional 230 million euros ($266 million) to the Themis program, which is being led by ArianeGroup, the company that produces Europe's Ariane rockets. The funds will be used to upgrade a test stand at ArianeGroup's propulsion facility in Vernon, France, continue developing the rocket's methane-fueled engine, and create a single-engine version of the Themis program. According to an official Themis program update two months ago, the first Themis launch campaign would start before the year ended. According to European Spaceflight, which cites program insiders, the initial Themis integration tests at Sweden's Esrange Space Center are now nearly guaranteed to take place between late 2025 and 2026.
Europe's space industry startups are advancing independently, despite the delays facing the continent's massive government-backed rocket projects. According to European Spaceflight, one of these businesses, Alpha Impulsion, a French startup, just finished a brief autophage rocket engine test-firing. These aren't your typical rocket engines that run on hydrogen, methane, or regular kerosene. By harnessing heat from combustion to melt its plastic fuselage and carefully feed the melted plastic into the combustion chamber, an autophage engine essentially destroys itself as it burns. The "largest autophage rocket engine in the world" was successfully tested on May 27th, according to Alpha Impulsion.
The idea of a self-consuming rocket engine seems so insane that it might actually work. However, from the time of its 1938 patent until the first controlled firing of an autophage engine in 2018, the concept remained theoretical. Among the many benefits of the autophage design is its relative simplicity in contrast to the intricate plumbing of liquid and hybrid rockets. However, autophage engines present significant difficulties, such as how to scale up the combustion chamber to a size that allows it to travel on a practical rocket and how to feed molten fuel into it. (provided by EllPeaTea and Trimeta)
Axiom Space's fourth private astronaut flight to the ISS was delayed this week due to a fuel leak in a Falcon 9 rocket, according to Space News. A liquid oxygen leak discovered in the Falcon 9 rocket during inspections after a static-fire test on Sunday prompted SpaceX to announce the postponement on Tuesday, stating that it needed additional time to rectify the problem. "Once complete–and pending Range availability–we will share a new launch date," the business said. Under the direction of retired NASA commander Peggy Whitson, the Ax-4 mission will transport four commercial astronauts to the ISS on a Dragon spacecraft for a stay of roughly 14 days. Crewmates from Poland, Hungary, and India will accompany Whitson.
While SpaceX engineers worked on resolving the propellant leak on the ground, a leak of another kind in orbit forced officials to order a longer delay to the Ax-4 mission. In a statement Thursday, NASA said it is working with the Russian space agency to understand a "new pressure signature" in the space station's Russian service module. For several years, ground teams have monitored a slow air leak in the aft part of the service module, and NASA officials have identified it as a safety risk. NASA's statement on the matter was vague, only saying that cosmonauts on the station recently inspected the module's interior surfaces and sealed additional "areas of interest." The segment is now holding pressure, according to NASA. (submitted by EllPeaTea)
A different type of propellant leak in orbit prompted authorities to impose a longer delay to the Ax-4 mission as SpaceX workers worked to fix the fuel leak on the ground. NASA stated in a statement Thursday that it is collaborating with the Russian space agency to investigate a "new pressure signature" in the Russian service module of the space station. A steady air leak in the aft section of the service module has been seen by ground personnel for a number of years, and NASA authorities have determined that it poses a safety risk. According to NASA's ambiguous statement, cosmonauts on the station recently examined the inside surfaces of the module and sealed off further "areas of interest." NASA said the portion is now holding pressure. (EllPeaTea contributed this).
After launching payloads, such as Starlink satellites, into low-Earth orbit, SpaceX typically deorbits rockets. However, deorbiting a rocket from a much higher geosynchronous transfer orbit is a different story. "a controlled deorbit of the SiriusXM-10 upper stage after GTO payload deployment," wrote SpaceX vice president of Falcon and Dragon programs Jon Edwards. This is a rare and noteworthy first for us since, although we frequently do controlled deorbits for LEO stages (like Starlink), deorbiting from GTO is quite challenging because of the large energy required to change the orbit. This demonstrates SpaceX's dedication to being a leader in both space exploration and public safety and was only made possible by the diligence and genius of the Falcon GNC (guidance, navigation, and control) team.
January saw the largely successful launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, which has now been in operation for five months. The corporation once set "late spring" as the goal for the rocket's second launch. However, Dave Limp, the CEO of Blue Origin, admitted on social media Monday that the rocket's next launch will now not happen until at least August 15, according to Ars. He didn't mention it, but this might be the only New Glenn launch this year. "This will require a great deal of execution and a little bit of luck. The GS2 [second stage] that we will fly on this second mission was hot-fired in April, and we are on target to make eight of them this year.
Next three launches
June 13: Falcon 9 | Starlink 12-26 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida | 15:21 UTC
June 14: Long March 2D | Unknown Payload | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China | 07:55 UTC
June 16: Atlas V | Project Kuiper KA-02| Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida | 17:25 UTC
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https://www.aitechgadget.com/2025/06/rocket-news-spacex-takes-over-at-slc-37.html
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