#Rocket Factory Augsburg

[outer-space-youtube]

Rocket Factory Augsburg

The Angry Astronaut is telling us about the replacement of SpaceX’s DragonXL, but why did SpaceX stop the development of the DragonXL? ‘Obviously, the SpaceX Starship makes the DragonXL obsolete, so what does that mean for the ARGO?’ Angry points out the advancements of the Argo cargo capsule that might cargo humans to orbit and back, if needed in the future? I see the Argo Cargo Capsule…

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#Argo #Rocket Factory Augsburg #spacex #Starship #@astro_angry #@TheAngryAstronaut #habitat #moon #NASA #space

[spacenutspod]

Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), from Augsburg, Germany, appears to have made a significant step toward the first vertical orbital launch attempt from the United Kingdom (UK). On May 16, RFA successfully conducted an unannounced first static fire of the first stage of its RFA ONE rocket. A video showing the test has since been released, with an accompanying update saying, “We hot-fired a total of four Helix engines, igniting one by one at four-second intervals. All engines ran simultaneously for 8 seconds with a total hot-fire duration of 20 seconds. The test ran flawlessly through start-up, steady-state and shutdown.” First fire! We have successfully kicked off the hot fire campaign for our first stage at @SaxaVord_Space. We hot-fired a total of four Helix engines, igniting one by one at four second intervals. All engines ran simultaneously for 8 seconds with a total hot-fire duration of 20… pic.twitter.com/QsppIyV4XB — Rocket Factory Augsburg (@rfa_space) May 19, 2024 The stainless steel-constructed RFA ONE first stage was mounted vertically on the Fredo launch mount at SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst in Shetland at the end of April. In April, the vehicle was shipped by road and ferry from Germany for integration and hot-fire tests. RFA went on to say, “With this hot fire, we were able to demonstrate that we can nominally operate and control our first stage and all its systems, as well as a cluster of Helix engines.” RFA ONE is a three-stage, two-meter diameter rocket, standing 30 meters high and powered by RFA’s own kerosene-fuelled Helix engines. The first stage has nine engines, while the second stage has one. Claimed to be able to lift 1,300 kilograms to a 500-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit, the booster comes with the Redshift Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV), which functions as a kick-stage and on-orbit services spacecraft. Helix is a staged combustion engine operated with RP-1 (kerosene) as propellant and liquid oxygen as oxidizer. Unlike engines with an open combustion cycle, the exhaust gases from the Helix engine’s oxygen-rich preburner are fed into the main combustion chamber after driving the turbopump. Thus, the fuel is burned more completely, increasing Helix´s efficiency. Staged combustion is also more environmentally friendly, as significantly fewer highly sooty exhaust gases are released into the atmosphere. The engine was named following a public poll in 2022. In a quote to NSF, Dr. Stefan Brieschenk, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder at RFA, said, “Over the next few weeks, we will install four more Helix engines on the first stage to complete the nine-engine cluster. Once these have completed the check-out tests, the next hot fire with nine Helix engines will take place after the end of the bird breeding season in SaxaVord. At the same time, we will hot-fire the upper stage for flight acceptance in Sweden and the Redshift OTV in Germany. If these qualification campaigns are successful, we are well on the way to having a full stack RFA ONE on the launch pad in August.” SaxaVord Spaceport, Unst, Shetland Scotland’s first vertical rocket launch site has moved another step closer to opening with the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) granting the SaxaVord Spaceport a range control license, allowing teams at the Spaceport to control the danger areas around the launch area. This license, granted at the end of April, follows closely behind the spaceport license granted in December last year and was the last major paperwork hurdle needing to be overcome before SaxaVord can start to conduct launches. Updated Google Earth imagery of @SaxaVord_Space from April 28 shows @rfa_space's ONE first stage on the launch pad! H/T @dpoddolphinpro https://t.co/8FeWjpu0lh pic.twitter.com/Yjk8tYhfYH — Harry Stranger (@Harry__Stranger) May 19, 2024 The clear leader in terms of construction, SaxaVord has been rising from the small Scottish island of Unst for some time, and there is now a recognizable launch pad, named Fredo, and a nearby rocket hanger nearing completion. As mentioned above, the spaceport’s paperwork is sufficiently complete to allow for the UK’s first vertical orbital launch, which could be as early as September this year if the RFA test campaign goes well. CEO Frank Strang and his team have attracted an adequate array of customers for the fledgling spaceport, not least the UK Pathfinder Launch program, which is partly funded by the UK Space Agency. Lockheed Martin and ABL are in partnership to launch the RS1 from SaxaVord, though there has been little news for some time, particularly since the rocket’s failure on its maiden flight from Kodiak, Alaska, in January 2023. German rocket company HyImpulse signed a partnership with SaxaVord in November 2023 enabling two sub-orbital launches and one orbital launch from Shetland. The agreement is enabled by a launch license issued by the CAA allowing launches from Shetland until December 2024. HyImpulse appears to be currently focused on launching its SR75 sounding rocket from Kooninga in South Australia. For the first time, a German company has achieved the “Lift-off” of a commercially viable launch vehicle. #LightThisCandle #SR75 #HyImpulse #LaunchCampaign pic.twitter.com/e10HcHnkjR — HyImpulse Technologies (@HyImpulseTech) May 3, 2024 Edinburgh company Skyrora is also intending to launch from SaxaVord, utilizing their Skyrora XL 3-stage orbital rocket, which is powered by the company’s Ecosene fuel. Ecosene is made, at least partially, from recycled plastics, including some that are not otherwise usable for recycling, including chip (crisp) packets. The company has been unusually very quiet so far this year and has not yet issued a 1st quarter update for 2024. Sutherland Spaceport, Melness, Sutherland Sutherland Spaceport had appeared to be rather static for many months following the resolution of various court cases, which were settled in 2021, allowing construction to begin. However, in November 2022, launch company Orbex, based in Forres, Inverness, announced they would be taking on oversight of the construction, and would be managing the spaceport going forward. Visual progress eventually appeared, with the erection of a sign, followed by the official ground-breaking ceremony on May 4, 2023. Actual construction, though, is now well underway with the delivery of steel bridge decks and helicopter-delivered concrete for bridge abutments. The access road will be a novel form of floating roadway, intended to preserve the environmentally important peat at the launch site. With the help of @pdgaviation & one of their fleet of helicopters, we recently started creating the abutments for our watercourse crossing bridges at Sutherland Spaceport that will form part of our floating road.https://t.co/TRY3V3Aefl#spaceport #helicopterconstruction pic.twitter.com/uvdrpohJbG — Orbex Space (@orbexspace) April 8, 2024 Spaceport Cornwall, New Quay Airport, Cornwall While Spaceport Cornwall holds the honor of being the first UK-licensed Spaceport, its commercial partner, Virgin Orbit, closed following the loss of its first orbital launch attempt from the UK on January 9, 2023. This resulted in the company’s closure and the sale of the remaining assets, including the iconic Boeing 747 Cosmic Girl, which was sold to Stratolaunch. Cornwall is currently operating a new Space Systems Operations Facility, which hosts at least 13 companies, including Avanti Communications, which operates a small fleet of satellites from both this site and the Goonhilly Earth Station, which works closely with the Spaceport. In January 2024, the Spaceport trailed the possibility of a new launch partner, possibly launching as early as 2025, but there has been no further comment since. Snowdonia Space Centre, Llanbedr Airfield, Snowdonia, Wales In December 2023, the Snowdonia Space Centre was granted UKP820,000 from the UK Space Agency to build a Space Technology Test Centre (STTS) at its site on Llanbedr Airport, on the western coast of Snowdonia in Wales. The new STTS will have a full suite of spacecraft testing environments and the ability to launch small rockets out into the existing Ministry of Defence (MOD) range off its shoreline. Rocket engine testing facilities will also be available. This project is underway and is expected to open in March 2025. It will be operated jointly with Newton Launch Systems, a small UK company founded in 2011 to make spaceflight more sustainable. Llanbedr Airfield — site of Snowdonia Spaceport. (Credit: Snowdonia Enterprise Zone) The site’s business plan could include a space observatory and a planetarium, given that it is in a dark skies area that is popular with tourists. Spaceport 1, Scolpaig, North Uist, Scotland Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, “Western Isles Council,” and QinetiQ, a military contractor working with the MOD, have obtained planning permission to build a small suborbital rocket launch base in Scolpaig on the Outer Hebridean island of North Uist. Objectors who are concerned about the new site’s proximity to important seabird nesting sites are fiercely fighting the proposals, and progress has been slow as a result. A period of public consultation is currently underway regarding the plans to introduce an airspace Danger Area, which is a legal requirement when launching rockets. Launch company Gravitilab Aerospace Services flew a sounding rocket from nearby Benbecula in support of the new base in August 2023. Prestwick Airport Spaceport, Glasgow, Scotland Prestwick has ambitions to rival Cornwall in the horizontal launch site market, having a very long runway available on Scotland’s western coast, as well as very good transport connections, something most other UK spaceports lack. C-17 Globemaster in Astraius colours. (Credit: Astraius) In March 2023, Spirit AeroSystems Inc. and Astraius Ltd. signed a partnership agreement to enhance future satellite launch capabilities from Prestwick. They plan to utilize air launch methods, flying horizontally launched rockets inside a C-17 Globemaster cargo aircraft, deploying the rocket from the rear cargo door of the aircraft once they reach a suitable height and heading, after which the rocket will fire and carry the payload to orbit. Astraius’ rocket has three stages. The first two are Northrop Grumman-powered Orion solid motors, while the third stage is built by Exquadrum and will be capable of placing the payload into the required orbit. Spaceport Machrihanish, Argyll, Scotland No obvious activity has been reported regarding this spaceport since Skyrora performed some engine testing there in 2022. (Lead image: RFA ONE static fire at SaxaVord. Credit: RFA) The post RFA static fires at SaxaVord Spaceport as other UK spaceports continue to develop appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

#space #astronomy #news #science

[trandtalk]

Space shorts: German rocket company to launch orbital tug for Spaceflight Inc.

Space shorts: German rocket company to launch orbital tug for Spaceflight Inc.

Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. and Rocket Factory Augsburg, a German launch startup, say they have signed a memorandum of understanding calling for Spaceflight’s Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles to ride on RFA One rockets. Credit social media In an announcement today at the International Astronautical Congress in Paris, the companies said they are targeting mid-2024 for their first…

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[ai-briefing]

Space Shorts: German rocket company will launch orbital tugs for Spaceflight Inc.

Space Shorts: German rocket company will launch orbital tugs for Spaceflight Inc.

An artist’s concept shows Rocket Factory Augsburg’s launch vehicle in flight. (RFA Illustration) Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. and Rocket Factory Augsburg, a German launch startup, say they’ve signed a memorandum of understanding that calls for Spaceflight’s Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles to ride on the RFA One rocket. In an announcement made today at the International

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[spacetodaypt]

Go ahead for second round of micro-launcher payload competition

Go ahead for second round of micro-launcher payload competition

On 20 June 2022, the German Space Agency (DLR) launched the second round of its competition for zero-cost flights of small satellites on microlaunchers developed and constructed in Germany. This marks the start of the implementation phase for a total of three additional flights being offered by the space companies Isar Aerospace Technologies GmbH and Rocket Factory Augsburg AG in 2023 and 2024.…

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[spaceexp]

Rocket Factory Augsburg signs agreement with Andoya Space for maiden flight

Augsburg, Germany (SPX) Sep 30, 2020 Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA), a participation of space technology company OHB SE, will be establishing a launch site for a micro launcher together with Norwegian company Andoya Space. The two partners have now signed a letter of intent to this effect. The site is to provide launch services for small satellites from 2022. "This partnership is of key importance as it will enable RFA and Full article>>

#space

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

ESA signs first Boost! commercial space transportation contracts ESA has signed the first three contracts with European economic operators arising from its permanently open call for proposals for commercial space transportation services. Boost! – ESA's Commercial Space Transportation Services and support to Member States programme was adopted at Space19+ and an Open call for proposals under its Element 1 was launched in April this year. Through this programme, ESA aims to stimulate and support competitiveness and new commercial European space transportation services. ESA provides co-funding, expert advice and the use of testing facilities that help entrepreneurs to take their service projects towards commercialisation. Today, the first Boost! support contracts have been signed with three German New Space companies: HyImpulse Technologies, Isar Aerospace Technologies, and Rocket Factory Augsburg. All three companies are preparing to offer new launch services using small launch vehicles to serve the growing small satellite market. “It is great to see this high level of entrepreneurship in Germany, targeting new commercial launch services for small payloads. Boost! offers tailored support at the pre-commercial phase to help these companies to succeed with their business and technical objectives,” explained Thilo Kranz, ESA's Commercial Space Transportation Programme Manager. HyImpulse Technologies, based in Neuenstadt am Kocher in Southern Germany is developing a three-stage small launcher. The launch vehicle, called SL1, will be powered by green hybrid propulsion technology, using liquid oxygen and paraffin as propellants. The Boost! contract ‘HyImpulse SL1 Launch Service Development Support’ will help the company to finalise preliminary design solutions and verification plans for all key systems of the launch system and support the development of associated ground support equipment, including for critical subsystem testing. Munich based Isar Aerospace Technologies, initially supported by ESA’s Business Incubation Centre Bavaria, is developing a two-stage launch vehicle called Spectrum to serve the small satellite market. The ‘Spectrum Launch Service Development Support’ contract will cover measures to advance the rocket's ‘Reaction Control System’. It will further support the definition and build-up of the launch vehicle manufacturing line at the Isar Aerospace premises in Ottobrunn. Rocket Factory Augsburg, backed by the German satellite manufacturer OHB and Munich-based venture capital firm Apollo Capital Partners, is developing a three-stage launcher system equipped with an orbital stage. The vehicle called RFA ONE will be using state-of-the-art staged-combustion engine technology for its main propulsion systems. Under the ‘RFA One Launch Service Development Support’ contract, Rocket Factory Augsburg will receive support with the detailed design, manufacturing as well as testing of its first stage demonstrator. "We look forward to supporting these companies in achieving their ambitious objectives, fostering diversification and competitiveness of the European space transportation sector," added Jorgen Bru, ESA's Commercial Services Manager and technical officer for these contracts. Boost! is currently set to cover activities between Q2 2020 until Q4 2022 and will continue to accept proposals at any time. The next key submission date via the Open call for proposals is on 22 November. TOP IMAGE....HyImpulse Technologies, based in Neuenstadt am Kocher in Southern Germany is developing a three-stage small launcher. The launch vehicle, called SL1, will be powered by green hybrid propulsion technology, using liquid oxygen and paraffin as propellants. HyImpulse technologies is one of the first three companies to gain support from Boost! – ESA's Commercial Space Transportation Services and support to Member States programme. HyImpulse Technologies GmbH CENTRE IMAGE....Rocket Factory Augsburg, backed by the German satellite manufacturer OHB and Munich-based venture capital firm Apollo Capital Partners, is developing a three-stage launcher system equipped with an orbital stage. The vehicle called RFA ONE will be using state-of-the-art staged-combustion engine technology for its main propulsion systems. Rocket Factory Augsburg is one of the first three companies to gain support from Boost! – ESA's Commercial Space Transportation Services and support to Member States programme. Rocket Factory Augsburg AG LOWER IMAGE....Munich based Isar Aerospace Technologies is developing a two-stage launch vehicle called Spectrum to serve the small satellite market. Isar Aerospace Technologies is one of the first three companies to gain support from Boost! – ESA's Commercial Space Transportation Services and support to Member States programme. Isar Aerospace Technologies GmbH

#space #science #Astronomy #physics #news #ESA

[almanyalilar]

Drei Raketen-Start-ups starten in die 2. Runde des deutschen Wettbewerbs für Mikrolauncher

Drei Raketen-Start-ups starten in die 2. Runde des deutschen Wettbewerbs für Mikrolauncher

Beim Mikrolauncher-Wettbewerb des DLRRaumfahrtmanagements haben drei Teams die zweite Runde erreicht: HyImpulse Technologies aus Baden-Württemberg, IsarAerospace Technologies und Rocket Factory Augsburg aus Bayern (alphabetische Reihenfolge). Entschieden hat eine Jury unter Vorsitz von Thomas Jarzombek, Koordinator der Bundesregierung für die Luft- und Raumfahrt und Start-up-Beauftragter im…

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#(„Letter of Support“) #almanyalilar.com #Europäischen Raumfahrtagentur ESA #HyImpulse #Isar Aerospace Technologies #Rocket Factory Augsburg

[sciencespies]

DLR opens applications for free launch services aboard Isar Aerospace demo missions

https://sciencespies.com/space/dlr-opens-applications-for-free-launch-services-aboard-isar-aerospace-demo-missions/

DLR opens applications for free launch services aboard Isar Aerospace demo missions

JOHANNESBURG — German space agency DLR began accepting applications this week for institutional payloads to fly aboard a pair of Isar Aerospace Spectrum launches free of charge.

Munich-based launch startup Isar Aerospace beat out Rocket Factory Augsburg and HyImpulse Technologies in May to win a DLR microlauncher competition. As a stipulation to receiving the 11-million-euro ($13 million) prize, Isar Aerospace is required to launch institutional payloads aboard two demonstration missions of its Spectrum rocket slated for 2022 and 2023.

As of Aug. 31, DLR had begun accepting applications from European institutional customers interested in securing a place aboard the two Spectrum missions. 

Applicants must be national governments, agencies, public institutions, universities, or public research centers from European Union or European Space Agency member states. Other requirements include a maximum payload weight of 150 kilograms and a target orbit achievable from Norway’s Andøya Spaceport.

There is no predefined limit to the number of payloads DLR could select. The only stipulation is that the combined weight of the payloads cannot exceed 150 kilograms.

All standard launch services supplied by Isar Aerospace will be free of charge for the selected payloads. However, institutions will be liable for the cost of payload adaptors or dispensers and any non-standard launch requirements.

The deadline for applications is Oct. 31. The selection of payloads will be made by DLR in consultation with ESA. Although Isar Aerospace will not play a part in the selection of the payloads to be launched aboard its demonstration missions, it will assess the technical compatibility of each applicant.

Spectrum’s road to the launchpad 

The DLR-selected institutional payloads will be carried to orbit aboard Isar Aerospace Spectrum rockets, a two-stage launch vehicle powered by nine first-stage engines and designed to deliver up to 1,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit.

Isar Aerospace is currently entering a critical period in preparation for Spectrum’s debut. Over the coming months, the launch startup will be conducting “structural testing, engine testing, and fairing testing,” Isar Aerospace chief commercial officer Stella Guillen told SpaceNews. 

The debut of Spectrum is currently slated for the second half of 2023. However, this is dependent on whether the launch pad being built in Norway by the Andøya Space research institute will be fully operational in time.

#Space

#Space

[orbemnews]

In Sweden’s Far North, a Space Complex Takes Shape KIRUNA, Sweden — The path to the reindeer herder’s spring home took him across four frozen lakes and countless snowy hilltops. Arriving to a light dusting of snow, the herder, Aslak Allas, switched off his snowmobile, and the overwhelming silence of Sweden’s Arctic settled in. His reindeer, thousands of them, were nowhere to be seen. “They are very scared of noise,” Mr. Allas, explained, pointing to his vehicle. He then motioned toward the distant hills dotted with birch trees, their buds swelling with the warming spring sun. “Now, the noise coming from there, that will be something else,” Mr. Allas sighed. That noise is expected to arrive with a roar next year, when Sweden is scheduled to complete construction of a rocket-launching complex in the frozen lands north of the Arctic Circle and jump into the commercial space race, the first country in Europe to do so. With the crystal-clear air of the Arctic night and a decent telescope, it’s easy to pick out some of the thousands of shoebox-size commercial satellites orbiting the earth. Their numbers are set to explode in the coming decade, powered by the use of light, reusable rockets developed by innovative U.S. companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX. He and several competitors are planning to send up to 50,000 such satellites into space in coming years, compared with fewer than 3,000 out there now. While the United States, China, Russia and several other countries already have spaceports, Sweden’s would be the first orbital launch site for satellites in Europe — capable of launching spacecraft into orbit around Earth or on interplanetary trajectories. Currently, the intergovernmental European Space Agency launches its traditional single-use Ariane rockets from French Guiana. Several private European companies are designing spaceports in Europe to host a new generation of smaller rockets. Portugal is looking into building one on the Azores Islands, two remote sites have been allocated in Britain and Norway is upgrading its Andoya Space Center. But none are as far along as Sweden, which is transforming an old Arctic space research center into a complex featuring several new pads for orbital launches and landings. The Esrange Space Center will be a testing ground for Europe’s first reusable vertical rocket in 2022, and it can conduct engine tests as well. In 1972, the Swedish government took over the base from the European Space Agency, which no longer needed it. For decades, the Swedes hired out the site for smaller, slower research rockets, satellite ground-control services and the launching of stratospheric balloons. But with the commercial space race promising new revenue, the government-owned Swedish Space Corporation, which manages the site, is offering launch services to private ventures wishing to send satellites into space. “We are a bit of a unicorn in the space business,” said Philip Pahlsson, vice president for strategy and innovation of the Swedish Space Corporation, referring to the government ownership of the site. “But we do plan on being the awesomest company in the government’s portfolio.” Esrange shares a landing zone that is more than 2,000 square miles — more than twice the size of Rhode Island — with a local population of mostly bears, wolves, reindeer and a handful of herders like Mr. Allas. If a launch should fail, it would be highly unlikely to cause any damage to human settlements. For certain satellites — those launched into polar orbits — an Arctic location offers key advantages. These orbits, passing over the North and South Poles, are ideal for Earth-observing satellites, because as the Earth rotates, the entire surface of the planet passes underneath. And it takes less energy to launch to a polar orbit from higher latitudes. With the space market growing fast, the Europeans increasingly need launching sites for smaller rockets carrying smaller satellites, experts say. “Europe really needs to build infrastructure to get to space,” said Stefan Gustafsson, a senior vice president at the Swedish Space Corporation, in an interview at its Stockholm headquarters. “We can provide a proper space base.” That base lies close to Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost city and home to the largest underground iron ore mine in the world. It is so huge, in fact, that several neighborhoods are being moved, as the city is slowly sinking into the excavated caverns below. A 50-foot rocket stands at one of the main intersections, a testament to Sweden’s space ambitions. Space is woven into the fabric of the city. The Swedish Institute of Space Physics is based in Kiruna, as is the Space High School for gifted teenagers. The space engineering program at Lulea University of Technology, also in Kiruna, attracts Ph.D. students from across Europe. An enormous satellite receiver dish, sticking out from the woods in a vast white valley, serves as a geographical landmark. Esrange has many of the attributes of other space ports — high fences and warning signs, and some used rockets on display. But it also has a church, a visitor center and the Aurora hotel, named for the northern lights that color the winter skies. Snow is everywhere, of course, and reindeer roam the terrain (no one knows how they get past the fences), but astronauts and moon landers are nowhere to be found. Leading a tour of the grounds, Mr. Pahlsson became slightly agitated when a photographer began snapping pictures. “We have contracts,” he said. “Some of our customers don’t like their equipment to be photographed.” The launchpads for the orbital rockets, mostly piles of construction equipment and materials at this point, are rising four miles from the central site. Pointing at a pile of sand during a tour of the grounds, Mr. Pahlsson said this was the site of their future “launch-vehicle integration building.” By the end of next year, he said, they hoped to use the launch site to test Europe’s first reusable rocket, called Themis, after an ancient Greek Titaness who was the personification of divine order. On this day, the main activity consisted of engine testing by two fiercely competitive German space start-ups, Rocket Factory Augsburg and ISAR Aerospace Technologies. “You can actually call me a rocket scientist,” said Josef Fleischmann, 30, one of three founders of ISAR. In 2017, he and fellow students won an award by building the fastest pod in Elon Musk’s competition for ultra-high-speed transport in hyperloop, or travel in a vacuum tube. That caught the attention of Bulent Altan, a former vice president at Space X, who decided to back Mr. Fleischmann and his friends. “Now, we have $100 million in investments and we are building rockets.” “The location seems remote, but for space this is the place to be,” said Rene Laufer, a professor of space technology at Lulea University of Technology. “Also, you don’t want to test rockets in your own backyard.” So far, Esrange has not elicited criticism from environmentalists, but that could change. Solid rocket fuel can leave a heavy carbon foot print, and liquid fuels pose a threat of toxicity. The exhaust clouds that form after liftoff and during flight are also concerns. Sweden’s space minister, Matilda Ernkrans, in an interview said that she expected the base to play a key role in helping to map global climate change. Back at his modest dwelling, Mr. Allas, the reindeer herder, would second that notion, and he is planning to do something about it, even if his backyard is one of the few not attached one way or another to the space industry. Mr. Allas is more than a man with a snowmobile and lots of reindeer. He is chairman of the Talma sameby, one of the larger Sami districts in Sweden. The Sami are the last Indigenous people of Europe and live in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. In 2019, after an appeal by his district, Mr. Allas managed to block some of the expansion plans for the base, and now his sights are set on the coming noise pollution. “They might say we need to launch or else we lose our customers, but reindeer herding has been around here long as you can imagine,” Mr. Allas said, adding that a legal battle seemed inevitable. “For us, the Space Corporation is the oldest intruder of our lands, but we have much older rights.” Source link Orbem News #complex #North #shape #Space #Swedens #Takes

[outer-space-youtube]

Asteroid Mining for Real?

I watched a documentary that pointed out one of the things needed for Asteroid Mining… which is an affordable way to reach the asteroid. I vaguely commented that SpaceX is going to Mars to mine the resources needed to expand humanity’s reach in outer space. I saw a CNN report from across the pond about the first step to space mining. The company was started by a founder of SpaceX, so he must know…

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#Asteroids #NASA #Rocket Factory Augsburg #Starship #@apexastrophysics #@astro_angry #@SpaceFlightNews #@TheAngryAstronaut #@TheResearcherYT

[expeditionspace]

Space News: Isar Aerospace wins three-way DLR microlauncher competition

by Andrew Parsonson

VALLETTA, Malta — German launch startup Isar Aerospace beat out Rocket Factory Augsburg and HyImpulse Technologies to win a DLR endorsement that clears the way for it to secure 11 million euros from the European Space Agency’s Boost! program. 

DLR, Germany’s space agency, announced its microlauncher competition May 15, 2020 as a multi-round funding drive aimed at promoting the development of domestic smallsat launchers. The competition is funded by the German government and managed through the ESA Boost! program, which aims to foster commercial launch capabilities in Europe.

Isar Aerospace, Rocket Factory Augsburg, and HyImpulse, the three launch startups that qualified for the competition, received 500,000 euros in ESA Boost! funding in November. Those initial awards funded specific development goals in preparation for the competition’s two main rounds, each worth 11 million euros in ESA funding.

The first round is now all but decided following DLR’s April 30 announcement that it has chosen Isar Aerospace to receive a DLR letter of support required to submit a formal service proposal to ESA. The agency will review Isar’s proposal and enter into negotiations with the company before signing a launch contract and awarding the 11 million euros in development funding. As the sole submission for the award, this process is largely a formality.

Isar has raised more than $90 million in private funding since 2019, including a $75 million Series B round led by European venture capital fund Lakestar. 

In a statement, Isar Aerospace CEO Daniel Metzler called the announcement a significant milestone for launch services in Europe.

“We are particularly pleased about the paradigm shift this implies: For the first time, a government contract has been awarded to a purely privately financed space launch startup in Europe. The government is no longer funding technological development but is becoming an anchor customer.”

In return for the 11 million euros in funding, Isar Aerospace will be required to launch two 150-kilogram payloads of the German government’s choosing over two flights.

The institutional payloads will be carried to orbit aboard Isar Aerospace Spectrum rockets, a two-stage rocket designed to deliver up to 700 kilograms of payload to sun-synchronous orbit. 

The maiden flight of the Spectrum rocket is currently slated for mid 2022. However, Isar Aerospace spokeswoman Anna-Lena Lämmle told SpaceNews that the launch date would be dependent on whether the launch pad being built by Andøya Space in Norway would be fully operational in time.

There could be more than one winner

While Isar Aerospace prevailed over Rocket Factory Augsburg and HyImpulse Technologies to win DLR’s endorsement for the first 11 million euros, all three companies remain in the running for an additional 11 million euros that will be awarded under Boost! next year.

“In the current round of the microlauncher competition, Isar Aerospace Technologies has come out on top, but HyImpulse Technologies and Rocket Factory Augsburg have also made significant progress,” said Walther Pelzer, the head of DLR. “In this close race, both companies and their promising concepts have another chance to receive funding of 11 million euros in April 2022.”

DLR has not spelled out the criteria for the 2022 award, at least not publicly, but the date roughly coincides with when all three companies currently expect to fly their competing rockets for the first time. In November, when ESA divided 1.5 million euros between the three, at least two of the companies (Isar and RAF) were still shooting for late 2021 maiden launches. 

The DLR microlauncher is funded through 25 million euros Germany pledged to ESA’s Boost! program at the Space19+ ministerial council meeting in Seville in November 2019. In addition to German launch startups, the program has assisted in fostering launch startups in the United Kingdom. Through funding pledged to Boost! by the U.K. government at Space19+, Orbital Launch Express (Orbex) and Skyrora were awarded a combined €10.45 million.

In response to the news that Isar Aerospace had won DLR’s endorsement, Rocket Factory Augsburg spokesman Ibrahim Ata told SpaceNews that the competition was more about prestige and would not have made a material impact on operations.

“It would have been great to win this from a prestige point of view but in terms of operations, it’s not much,” said Ata. “We congratulate the winner and we will enter the next round of the competition. Until then we will continue to extend our technological lead.”

Rocket Factory Augsburg is designing its RFA One rocket to carry 1,300 kilograms to a 300-kilometer polar orbit. Over the last two months, RFA has secured three launch contracts from other parts of its parent company OHB SE and completed an initial ignition test of the rocket engine that will power the RFA One. In February, RFA announced that it was embarking on a 25-million-euro financing round with the aim of setting up serial production of its 3 million euros per launch rocket. 

HyImpulse Technologies, meanwhile, is developing its three-stage SL1 rocket, which is designed to carry payloads of up to 500 kilograms to low Earth orbit. HyImpulse, a spinoff of DLR, announced in March that it entered a strategic partnership with rideshare specialist Exolaunch [PDF] for end-to-end launch services. 

SpaceNews

from SpaceNews https://ift.tt/3vLPK1M https://ift.tt/2R08njx from Blogger Expedition Space: Space Launch, Events, News

#NASA #Expedition Space Space News: Isar Aerospace wins three-way DLR microlauncher competition 2021

[spaceexp]

Rocket Factory Augsburg signs agreement with Andoya Space for maiden flight

Augsburg, Germany (SPX) Sep 30, 2020 Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA), a participation of space technology company OHB SE, will be establishing a launch site for a micro launcher together with Norwegian company Andoya Space. The two partners have now signed a letter of intent to this effect. The site is to provide launch services for small satellites from 2022. "This partnership is of key importance as it will enable RFA and Full article>>

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[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Rocket Factory Augsburg AG and Southern Launch Sign Agreement For Launch Facilities Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA), Europe’s leading launch service provider, has partnered with Southern Launch, a South Australian rocket launch facility provider. The partnership allows for the German launcher RFA ONE to be launched from Southern Launch’s Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex in South Australia. Southern Launch’s orbital complex provides direct ascent into sun-synchronous and polar orbits. The agreement will enable RFA to provide flexible, low-cost, and precise launch services with its RFA ONE from a regional spaceport in the Asia-Pacific region. This three-stage small rocket, with its highly efficient staged combustion engine and orbital stage, can deliver up to 1,350 kg to a 300-km polar orbit. The rocket is 30 meters high and 2 meters wide and has reached important milestones in its development over the past year. The RFA ONE is expected to launch up to fifty times a year in the future, delivering satellites into near-Earth orbit quickly and reliably at a highly competitive price point The first engagement between RFA and Southern Launch was at the International Astronautical Congress, Washington in 2019, and the parties are now very pleased to have finalized and to be signing a launch services agreement at the Global Space and Technology Convention in Singapore. Jörn Spurmann, Chief Commercial Officer at RFA, says: “Launching from South Australia allows us to offer our launch services in a highly customer-oriented way from a regional spaceport in the Asia-Pacific region. It marks a central milestone in our strategy for a globally distributed launch capability. With various launch sites around the world, we minimize our customers’ logistics and time constraints and lay the infrastructural foundation for a weekly launch cadence. Southern Launch offers a comprehensive and competitive service to launch our rockets. We could not have wished for a better partner.” Lloyd Damp, Chief Executive Officer of Southern Launch, said: “We are excited to announce this partnership with Rocket Factory Augsburg AG, which will see their launcher RFA ONE launched into space from Southern Launch’s sites in South Australia. This partnership further demonstrates Australia’s world-class space launch capabilities to the international space industry.” About Rocket Factory Rocket Factory Augsburg was founded in 2018 with the mission to significantly reduce launch costs in the space industry. The company’s goal is to develop a launch vehicle prototype by the end of 2022 which can launch satellites into low Earth orbits on a weekly basis at unmatched prices. The RFA ONE launch vehicle combines three key competitive advantages: An extremely customer focused service through our orbital stage with precise in-orbit delivery, at a highly competitive price, made possible by our superior staged combustion technology, industrial automation and low-cost structure. About Southern Launch Southern Launch is an innovative space company providing launch services, launch sites and bespoke rocket subsystems and designs to customers. The company operates the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex located at the tip of the Eyre Peninsula to support orbital launches into the highly sought after polar and sun-synchronous orbits. In addition to the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex, Southern Launch operates the suborbital Koonibba Test Range, the southern hemisphere’s largest overland suborbital rocket testing facility. The Range extends out 145 kilometres and covers over 10,000km2, making it the perfect location to launch and recover rocket and satellite technologies in the uninhabited national parks to the north. The Range provides a critical steppingstone for companies to validate their technology’s performance before launching their rockets and satellites into orbit. Southern Launch is committed to providing Australia with a world-class orbital launch complex, whilst simultaneously contributing to material habitat improvement, consequent biodiversity improvement and the long-term survival of local fauna and flora species. The Australian company is privately owned and headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia.

#space #science #Astronomy #physics #news

[stiri-noi]

Germania intră în cursa spațială. Când vrea să lanseze Spectrum,  prima rachetă construită în ţară 

Germania se va alătura cursei spaţiale comerciale. O companie privată a început producţia a ceea ce ar putea deveni prima rachetă construită în ţară care va fi lansată pe orbită.

Isar Aerospace din München îşi propune să lanseze prima rachetă Spectrum până la sfârşitul anului 2021, relatează Financial Times.

Modelul, care are o lungime de 27 de metri şi va transporta mai mult de o tonă de marfă, poate lansa sateliţi la altitudini cuprinse între 400km şi 1.200 km, a spus compania. Isar speră să lanseze cel puţin 20 de zboruri pe an.

Susţinut de investitori, printre care şi Airbus, Isar este unul dintre cei trei producători germani de rachete, împreună cu HyImpulse şi Rocket Factory Augsburg, scrie Financial Times. Pentru a reduce costurile, Isar foloseşte imprimante 3D la hangarul său din München pentru a fabrica 40% din motoarele sale pentru rachete.

Cât va costa ducerea unui satelit în spațiu

Compania germană îşi propune să vizeze clienţii cu sateliţi cu greutatea de la 50 kg la 400 kg pentru care va percepe o sumă de 10.000 EUR pe kilogram, a spus Metzler.

Lupta pentru cucrerirea comerțului spațial se amplifică. Asta chiar dacă estimările privind dimensiunea industriei variază. Grupul de cercetare Allied Market Research proiectează o piaţă în valoare de peste 9 miliarde de dolari până în 2027, dintre care aproximativ o treime va fi cheltuită în Europa.

Giganţii tehnologici, inclusiv Amazon şi SpaceX, au anunţat deja investiţii în valoare de câteva miliarde de dolari pentru a finanţa lansarea a zeci de mii de sateliţi mici în următorii câţiva ani pentru a furniza internet. Sateliţii mici pot fi, de asemenea, utilizaţi pentru a furniza date exacte privind recoltarea sectorului agricol şi pentru a sprijini condusul autonomă.

Articolul Germania intră în cursa spațială. Când vrea să lanseze Spectrum,  prima rachetă construită în ţară  apare prima dată în Descopera.ro.

#Germania intră în cursa spațială. Când vrea să lanseze Spectrum # prima rachetă construită în ţară

[sciencespies]

Isar Aerospace raises $75 million

https://sciencespies.com/space/isar-aerospace-raises-75-million/

Isar Aerospace raises $75 million

WASHINGTON — Isar Aerospace, a German small launch vehicle company, has raised an additional $75 million that will allow the company to expand its manufacturing and launch capabilities.

The company announced July 29 that it added $75 million to a Series B round it raised in December 2020. The new funding brings the size of that round to more than $165 million, with a total raised to date of more than $180 million.

HV Capital, Porsche Automobil Holding SE and banking group Lombard Odier led the extension of the Series B round. Existing investors Earlybird Venture Capital, Lakestar, Vsquared Ventures, Apeiron Investment Group and UVC Partners also participated in the round.

With the original Series B round, Isar said it had enough funding to take the company through the first launch of its Spectrum small launch vehicle. The additional funding, executives said, will allow it to build out manufacturing and launch infrastructure needed for later growth.

“Now we want to expand our launch capabilities, our manufacturing and production capabilities,” Stella Guillen, chief commercial officer of Isar, said in an interview. The company also plans to use some of the funding to work on reusability. The company, which currently has more than 180 employees, expects to grow to more than 200 by the end of the year.

Spectrum, the rocket Isar is developing, is a two-stage vehicle designed to place up to 1,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit. The vehicle is powered by Aquila engines that the company is also building.

Guillen said the company is preparing to start tests of the full Aquila engine soon on a test stand in Kiruna, Sweden. Isar is also working on a launch site in Norway, having signed an agreement in April with Andøya Space for exclusive use of a pad at a new site under development by the state-owned launch site operator.

A first launch of Spectrum from Andøya is expected in the second half of 2022, she said. The company expects to conduct three to four launches in 2023, with a long-term goal of about 10 launches per year. While Andøya is well-suited for launches to sun-synchronous orbits, Isar is considering alternative launch sites, such as French Guiana, for missions to lower inclination orbits.

Isar has won launch contracts from Airbus Defence and Space as well as the German space agency DLR, the latter through a competition sponsored by the European Space Agency where Isar beat out Rocket Factory Augsburg and HyImpulse Technologies, two other German small launch vehicle startups. Guillen said the Isar has also signed other customers it has not yet announced.

The backing of ESA and DLR has been particularly important for Isar. “We’re working with them hand-in-hand” on vehicle requirements, Guillen said. “They are supporting us in terms of bringing customers in.”

While Isar is interested in European government and commercial customers, its ambitions extend beyond the continent. “Obviously, Europe is a big market for us, but we see the growth potential in Asia and in the U.S. as well,” she said. “I think we are really well positioned to penetrate the market.”

Isar has already unlocked one challenge as a European space startup: raising money. The company claims the total funding it has raised is the most by any space startup in Europe, after years of complaints by entrepreneurs that European investors were less willing to invest in the industry than their American counterparts.

“As an investor focusing on mobility and industrial technology, we are convinced that cost-effective and flexible access to space will be a key enabler for innovations in traditional industries as well as for new and disruptive technologies and business models,” Lutz Meschke, a member of the executive board of Porsche SE and an investor in Isar, said in a statement. “The technological progress and the development speed of the whole organization are very impressive, and we look forward to support Isar Aerospace with its ambitious growth plans.”

“Isar has shown that it has a good business plan and that they can tell the story of how space can be a trillion-dollar economy by 2040,” Guillen said. “This is a huge sign that European investors are waking up to the benefits of space.”

#Space

#Space