![The final Ariane 5 launch vehicle liftoff for flight VA261 as seen from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on Wednesday.](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ariane5-800x533.jpg)
ESA/S. Corvaja
Welcome to Edition 6.01 of the Rocket Report! On account of the undeniable fact that we’re as much as Edition 6, it implies that Ars has been publishing this article for five years. I genuinely need to thank everyone for his or her contributions through the years, whether you’ve got submitted a story (Ken the Bin for MVP?) or simply passed the newsletter along to a friend to subscribe. Also, starting next week our latest space hire, Stephen Clark, will alternate publication of the newsletter with me. Hopefully, there can be no missed issues going forward.
As all the time, we welcome reader submissions, and when you don’t need to miss a difficulty, please subscribe using the box below (the shape is not going to appear on AMP-enabled versions of the positioning). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets in addition to a fast look ahead at the following three launches on the calendar.
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Virgin Galactic flies industrial mission. The space tourism company founded by Richard Branson launched three Italian researchers and three company employees on the suborbital operator’s first industrial flight to the sting of space on June 29, Ars reports. The spacecraft rocketed to an altitude of greater than 279,000 feet, higher than the 50-mile height recognized because the boundary of space by NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration.
… Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, hailed the flight Thursday as the beginning of a “latest era of repeatable and reliable access to space for personal passengers and researchers.” Nevertheless it hasn’t been a straightforward road for Virgin Galactic to achieve this point, and the corporate remains to be facing headwinds. One other industrial flight by Virgin Galactic is planned in August, followed by monthly revenue-earning suborbital missions. (submitted by EllPeaTea)
Vega C rocket still struggling. A static fire test of a Vega C “Zefiro 40” second stage conducted on June 28 led to failure. Avio, the rocket’s Italy-based manufacturer, said of the test, “The brand new carbon-carbon material showed a nominal performance, closely linked to prediction. Nevertheless, after 40 seconds into the test, one other anomaly was revealed, resulting in a discount in overall pressure performance of the motor before the test completion planned at 97 seconds.”
… The test comes as the brand new rocket, intended to interchange the unique Vega model, attempts a return to flight after a failure on the booster’s second flight in December 2022. European Spaceflight reports that the European Space Agency has established an Independent Enquiry Commission to analyze the failure throughout the static fire test. Progress on returning Vega C to flight can be halted until the investigation’s conclusion, likely pushing its return into the primary quarter of 2024 on the earliest. (submitted by Ken the Bin and EllPeaTea)
Astra creates spacecraft engine subsidiary. Astra is carving out its spacecraft engine business as a completely owned subsidiary, a company restructuring that can provide greater flexibility in hiring and financing, TechCrunch reports. The publication suggests that one in all the restructuring goals is to rent well-qualified employees who should not US residents, as American launch firms are governed by strict export control rules often known as International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
… The corporate acquired electric propulsion company Apollo Fusion in July 2021, right after going public via SPAC merger. But in keeping with LinkedIn, of the workers that list Apollo Fusion under their prior work experience, nearly all of them have since moved on from Astra. Truthfully, I do not know what this implies for Astra’s launch business and its Rocket 4 vehicle, but I’ll remain skeptical about its prospects until the vehicle is on the launch pad. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
PLD Space postpones debut launch. Spanish launch vehicle startup PLD Space has postponed a suborbital test flight to September after weather and a technical glitch scrubbed earlier launch attempts, Space News reports. The corporate announced on June 27 that the launch of its Miura 1 rocket from a military base in southwestern Spain can be rescheduled for September. The corporate cited “obligatory compliance” with a Spanish law and military directive that restrict such activities to stop wildfires.
… During a launch attempt on June 17, the countdown reached T-0 and the vehicle’s first-stage engine ignited, only to right away shut down. PLD Space later said it aborted the launch because not all of the umbilical cables attached to the rocket’s avionics bay separated as required. Miura 1 is a suborbital vehicle whose single stage is designed to splash down under a parachute and be recovered. (submitted by Ken the Bin and EllPeaTea)
Canadian spaceport hosts its first launch. On Thursday, a rocketry team from Ontario’s York University, Arbalest Rocketry, launched its amateur ‘Goose 3’ rocket from the Spaceport Nova Scotia launchpad. The largely ceremonial event was billed as “an illustration that Canadian rocketry and engineering education is making significant progress and developing space sector excellence” by Maritime Launch, which is developing the spaceport in Nova Scotia.
… Within the news release concerning the launch, there have been no details concerning the rocket or its altitude. It was regulated to realize a maximum altitude of 25 km, nevertheless. Development of the spaceport stays in its initial phases, and while there may be talk of orbital rocket tenants, to date, there are not any firm, publicly announced plans for what firms, or rockets, will launch from the Canadian site. (submitted by Joey-SIVB)