Starfish Space’s Post

Cost per kilogram of mass informs everything from spacecraft design to scientific mission planning. With next-gen launch vehicles like Starship coming online, K2 Space Corporation sees a different future on the horizon. “Across almost every application, because we’ve been forced to either mass constrain our payloads or volume constrain our payloads or even power constraint them, what we can actually do has been constrained to a large degree,” cofounder and CEO Karan Kunjur said. “As a result, the types of missions you can do are more limited.” https://lnkd.in/gYSW3GS7

A white rabbit (Hakuto in 🇯🇵) on the Moon? Will it touch gently the surface? More details in my new article for Space Voyaging blog! 🤩🐰🌝 #ispace #hakuto #lunarwhiterabbit #SpaceVoyaging #becomingspacepolitans

Atomos Space will send up two spacecraft, an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) called Quark and a target vehicle, Gluon, in Q1 2024 on the Transporter-10 rideshare mission. After separating from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, Quark will attempt to autonomously rendezvous and dock with Gluon, and then refuel from the target vehicle. During the mission, the two spacecraft will attempt to demonstrate additional maneuvers, including release, re-docking and orbital transfer. TechCrunch | Aria Alamalhodaei #orbittransfer #spaceexploration #rendezvousproximityoperations #refueling _____ Approach Venture enables founding teams building the future of frontier technology to achieve their full potential.

Firefly Aerospace, a player in #space #transportation, has been chosen to develop a framework for integrated on-orbit spacecraft hubs as part of #DARPA's LunA-10 capability study. The hubs, utilizing #Firefly's #Elytra orbital #vehicles, aim to provide versatile services in #cislunar space, including refueling, delivery, and transportation. #DARPA #FireflyAerospace #LunA10 #orbital #spacecraft

New Post: Vulcan Rocket Lifts Off, First U.S. Moon Launch in Decades - A brand-new rocket lifted off early Monday morning from Cape Canaveral, Fla., sending a robotic spacecraft toward the surface of the moon. No American spacecraft has made a soft landing on the moon since 1972.For United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, the successful launch of the Vulcan Centaur rocket was crucial. Vulcan is designed to replace two older rockets, and the United States Space Force is also counting on it to launch spy satellites and other spacecraft that are important for U.S. national security.The Vulcan is also the first of several new rockets that could chip away at the current domination of the space launch market by Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX. SpaceX sent nearly 100 rockets into orbit last year. Other debut orbital launches in the coming months could include the Ariane 6 rocket from Arianespace, a European company, and New Glenn from Blue Origin, the company started by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder.Through the night, the countdown for the Vulcan rocket proceeded smoothly, and the weather cooperated.At 2:18 a.m. Eastern time, the rocket’s engines ignited and lifted off from the launchpad, heading up and east over the Atlantic Ocean.“Everything looking good,” Rob Gannon, the launch commentator at United Launch Alliance, said repeatedly as the Vulcan headed to space.“Yee-haw,” Tory Bruno, the company’s chief executive, said after the deployment of the lunar spacecraft. “I am so thrilled. I can’t tell you how much.”United Launch Alliance was formed in 2006, and for seven years it was the only company certified by the United States government to send national security payloads into orbit. Until now, it has used two vehicles: the Delta IV, developed by Boeing, which will complete its final flight later this year, and the Atlas V, developed by Lockheed Martin, which is also to retire in a few years.Seventeen Atlas V launches remain, but the rocket uses Russian-built engines, which became more politically untenable with the rise of tensions between Russia and the United States. That led U.L.A. to begin development of the Vulcan, which replaces the capabilities of both rockets at a lower cost, United Launch Alliance officials said.“What’s unique about Vulcan, and what we originally set out to do, was to provide a rocket that has all the capabilities of Atlas and Delta in one single system,” said Mark Peller, the U.L.A. vice president in charge of Vulcan’s development. “Because we do have that adjustability, its configuration can be really tailored to the specific mission.”Vulcan can be configured in a variety of ways. Its core booster stage, the main body of the rocket, is powered by two BE-4 engines manufactured by Blue Origin The engines, which emit deep blue flames from the burning of methane fuel, will also be used on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. Up to six solid rocket fuel boosters can b

RIDE! #SpaceBubble - From May 6th to May 12th. Read in less than 30 seconds the 5 launch vehicles' news from this week that you really shouldn't have missed! ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Let's go back to the news: 6 launches last week: 🚀 Falcon 9 🚀 Long March 6C (Chang Zheng 6C) 🚀 Falcon 9 🚀 Long March 3B (Chang Zheng 3B) 🚀 Falcon 9 🚀 Long March 4C (Chang Zheng 4C) 📰 NEWS 📰 ▶ Long March 6C rocket successfully inserts four satellites into orbit in its inaugural flight. CHINA AEROSPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION. ▶ Portal Space Systems unveils blueprint for Supernova spacecraft with innovative propulsion aimed at facilitating swift transitions between orbits. ▶ Testing of Rocket Lab's Neutron launch vehicle with the Archimedes engine is currently underway, and the firm announced a delay in its maiden flight until mid-2025. ▶ LEONID boosts its space portfolio by extending over $20 million term loan to ABL Space Systems. ▶ Sweden’s Esrange Space Center gets its first orbital launch customer, Perigee Aerospace. They’ve signed an agreement with the SSC - Swedish Space Corporation. Feel free to share the news or to let us a comment below👇🏼 and see you next week 😉 You are just a click away from #space for 🛰 & 🚀

💰Turion Space Secures $1.9M Space Force Contract for Debris-Capture Tech Turion Space, a space tech startup based in Irvine, California, has won a $1.9 million contract from SpaceWERX, the U.S. Space Force’s technology arm, to develop autonomous spacecraft docking and maneuvering systems. This technology aims to engage uncooperative space objects and deorbit inactive satellites. Turion, co-founded by former SpaceX engineer Ryan Westerdahl, is also working on in-space mobility and non-Earth imaging, with plans for a debris-capturing demonstration by 2026. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gwEpA6SW #SpaceIndustry #SpaceNews #SpaceTech #DebrisRemoval #TurionSpace #SatelliteTechnology #SpaceWERX #SpaceInnovation

Very interesting paper from Jack van Loon ESA Technology and team, discussing a concept of having a rotating spacecraft. Similar to what we saw in Kubrik’s movie, 2001:A Space Odyssey. Highlights from the paper: 🚀 •A continuous rotating spacecraft providing Artificial Gravity will: •Improve crew health and wellbeing •Improve mission safety and success •Reduce costs significantly •Simplify numerous operations in flight •Provides the use of 1g verified systems #space https://lnkd.in/dpGVKRBe

A new in-orbit refuelling service for spacecraft is under development

Exploration Labs, a Southern California startup focused on space resources, is planning a 2028 mission to rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis before it reaches Earth. During the mission, ExLabs intends to deposit three cubesats in Apophos’ orbit. The flight also is designed to validate systems and software for future campaigns to capture and move near-Earth asteroids into stable orbits for resource acquisition. “We’re creating a unique partnership to enable a new style of lower-cost missions in collaboration with government and commercial partners,” ExLabs CEO Matthew Schmidgall told SpaceNews. ExLabs is developing massive modular spacecraft to host partner payloads, plus robotics to capture and transport space objects to new locations. Space Exploration and Resource Vehicle, or SERV, is an ExLabs spacecraft to host payloads with a mass of 30 tons. The Arachne Platform will capture and transport noncooperative objects, Schmidgall said. Full Article: https://lnkd.in/g4X-FSvQ #ExLabs #SERV #Apophis Render of Exploration Labs' render of Arachne, a spacecraft designed for large debris capture. (ExLabs)