![Electron returned to flight successfully this week.](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rocket-lab-1-800x533.jpg)
Rocket Lab
Welcome to Edition 6.24 of the Rocket Report! This will probably be the ultimate edition of this text until January 4—hey, space enthusiasts need a vacation break too! And given all that is expected to occur in 2024 on the planet of launch, a little bit of a recharge looks like a wise move. Stephen and I wish everyone joyful holidays and a healthy and prosperous latest yr. Until then!
As all the time, we welcome reader submissions, and when you don’t need to miss a problem, please subscribe using the box below (the shape won’t appear on AMP-enabled versions of the location). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets in addition to a fast look ahead at the subsequent three launches on the calendar.
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Rating the highest 10 US launch firms of 2023. Oops, we did it again and published an inventory of probably the most completed US business launch firms. It’s no surprise that SpaceX is atop the list, but what comes after is more intriguing, including a brand new company in second position. I hope the list sparks debate, discussion, and appreciation for the challenge of operating a successful rocket company.
… The article closes with this message, which I feel is a fitting strategy to end the calendar yr and kick off the vacation season: “As ever, I remain in awe of all of the talented engineers and business people on the market attempting to make a go of it within the launch industry. It is a difficult and demanding business, replete with problems. I salute your exertions and hope to your success.”
Latest Shepard finally flies again. With redesigned engine components, Blue Origin’s Latest Shepard rocket took off from West Texas and flew to the sting of space on Tuesday with a package of scientific research and technology demonstration experiments, Ars reports. This was the primary flight of Blue Origin’s Latest Shepard rocket since September 12, 2022, when an engine failure destroyed the booster and triggered an in-flight abort for the vehicle’s pressurized capsule during an uncrewed flight.
… It took 15 months for Blue Origin to return to flight with Latest Shepard, but Tuesday’s successful launch puts the corporate on a path to resuming human missions. So when will Blue Origin start flying people again? “Following an intensive review of today’s mission, we sit up for flying our next crewed flight soon,” said Erika Wagner, a longtime Blue Origin manager who co-hosted the corporate’s webcast of Tuesday’s flight. (submitted by EllPeaTea and Ken the Bin)
Electron successfully returns to flight. Rocket Lab successfully launched a Japanese radar imaging satellite on the primary flight of its Electron rocket since a failure nearly three months ago, Space News reports. The Electron lifted off from the corporate’s Launch Complex 1 in Latest Zealand at 11:05 pm ET on December 14. The vehicle deployed its payload, the QPS-SAR-5 or Tsukuyomi-1 satellite, for Japanese company iQPS, afterward.
… The launch was the primary for Electron since a September 19 failure during a launch of one other radar-imaging satellite for Capella Space. On that mission, the primary stage performed as expected, however the second stage’s engine appeared to shut down immediately after ignition, stopping it from reaching orbit. The launch was the tenth flight of the Electron this yr, including one launch of a suborbital version of Electron called HASTE. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Shetland approved for UK launches. SaxaVord Spaceport on the small island of Unst has been given approval from the Civil Aviation Authority to start orbital launches in 2024, the BBC reports. It can be the primary fully licensed spaceport in Western Europe in a position to launch vertically into orbit. It permits as much as 30 launches a yr that will probably be used to take satellites and other payloads into space.
… The location, which is the primary spaceport in Scotland, has several launch operators all over the world currently developing rockets. It’s anticipated that German rocket firm HyImpulse will attempt sub-orbital launches as early as this August. Full orbital launches are expected to happen at SaxaVord from 2025. Cornwall Spaceport was the UK’s first licensed spaceport; nonetheless, its rockets are launched horizontally and carried by an aircraft. (submitted by gizmo23 and Ken the Bin)