Welcome to Edition 2.03 of the Rocket Report! We’re a week into June, and the small-space race is heating up, just like the Northern Hemisphere. While Stratolaunch appears to have gone by the wayside—official denials notwithstanding—Virgin Orbit is moving forward with plans to launch from both the United Kingdom and Japan. Meanwhile, efforts to build spaceports in Australia and Canada have also advanced.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Stratolaunch may soon be grounded for good. The aerospace company founded by Paul Allen, Stratolaunch, is closing operations, according to a report by Reuters that cited anonymous sources. In response to a query from Ars about potentially ending operations, a spokeswoman for the Seattle-based company replied, “We don’t have any news or announcements to share at this time. Stratolaunch remains operational.”

Would be a sad end … Questions about the future of Stratolaunch arose almost immediately after Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft, died in October 2018 at the age of 65. Earlier, the company ended its efforts to develop a new line of rockets. Now, the grounding of the world’s largest airplane to launch small rockets into space seems inevitable. It would be a sad end to a saga that started with Allen’s goal of lowering the cost of access to space. (submitted by ricardoRI and fleisher)

China conducts first orbital sea launch. On Wednesday, a Long March 11 rocket lifted off from a floating platform in the Yellow Sea off the eastern province of Shandong, NASASpaceFlight.com reports. The four-stage solid-fueled rocket carried seven satellites into orbit.

A commercial deal … This was China’s first space launch from a sea-based platform, which will offer more flexibility to the country’s launch industry. The sea launch developed as part of a partnership between WEY, a premium SUV subsidiary of Great Wall Motors, the China Space Foundation, and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. WEY vehicles were prominent during the countdown and launch of the rocket, making for a somewhat unusual spectacle. (submitted by JohnCarter17, UnrulyCow, and Ken the Bin)

UK to fund spaceport for Virgin Orbit. The UK Space Agency and a local government announced plans Tuesday to invest as much as $25 million in facilities at a British airport, SpaceNews reports. The funds will support launch operations by Virgin Orbit and allow for construction of “facilities and operational capabilities” at Spaceport Cornwall, enabling Virgin to carry out launches using its LauncherOne air-launch system.

Flights in a few years … If nothing else, the agreement shows that prospective spaceports are willing to support companies with operational (or nearly operational) rockets. Virgin will contribute about $3 million to the project, which should allow missions to begin flying in the early 2020s. “We are very proud to play a role in bringing space launch back to Britain, with a revolutionary new level of flexibility and responsiveness,” Dan Hart, chief executive of Virgin Orbit, said in a statement. Virgin Orbit still anticipates that LauncherOne will make its first orbital flight this year. Separately, Virgin also announced a deal with Japan-based ANA Holdings for missions from that country as well. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

NASA to launch sounding rockets from Australia. NASA will work with Equatorial Launch Australia to launch sounding rockets into space from the startup’s Arnhem Space Center in 2020, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. The financial terms of the deal with NASA are confidential, but officials said the startup expects to be turning over in the “multimillion-dollar arena” in the coming years.

Near the equator … The new spaceport is located halfway between Darwin and Cairns on the northern side of Australia, and NASA will use it to launch sounding rockets to test instruments used on satellites and spacecraft. Among the benefits of the new spaceport are proximity to the equator, good access to a deep-water port, and a city-quality airport. (submitted by David Woodward)

Vega-C rocket moves into qualification testing. In keeping with its revised schedule for a maiden launch in 2020, Europe’s Vega-C rocket has completed its critical design review. Final tests in the qualification phase will verify the design and manufacturing processes, assembly and flight hardware and software, and associated ground support systems.

Building on a success … Arianespace has also finished adaptations to the existing Vega launch complex in French Guiana, including mobile gantry cantilever reinforcements, platform shutters, and a new overhead traveling crane that will enable Vega-C missions. The original Vega rocket has been something of a commercial success for Europe, so it will be interesting to see how well the upgraded Vega-C booster does. (submitted by Ken the Bin and Unruly Cow)

Nova Scotia spaceport wins environmental approval. The company aiming to build a rocket-launching facility on the East Coast of Nova Scotia received approval from the province’s Environment Department on Tuesday, CBC reports. Maritime Launch Services wants to build a private launch site to send satellites into space for use in near-Earth imaging, communications, and scientific experiments.

Finding a launch site for the Cyclone-4M … Environmental officials were most concerned about the hydrazine fuel used by Ukrainian-built Cyclone 4M rockets, which may launch from the proposed facility. Management plans for noise, wildlife, environmental protection, transportation of hazardous materials, and site rehabilitation will also need to be submitted to the environmental department. But there appear to be no showstoppers. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

Wisconsin rocket-engine facility opens. Sierra Nevada Corp. has completed a $20 million facility on the site of the former Badger Army Ammunition plant to test rocket engines built in Madison, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. Engineers at Sierra Nevada’s Wisconsin division, formerly known as Orbitec, are developing four rocket engines, including one that will steer the Dream Chaser spacecraft.

Bringing space to the state … Tom Crabb, vice president of SNC’s propulsion and environmental systems, said, “We’re bringing rocket science to Wisconsin on a daily basis and making it a business in Wisconsin.” The Nevada-based company, which has about 250 employees in Wisconsin, will work on the upper-stage Vortex and other engines in the state. (submitted by N9IWP and Ken the Bin)

SpaceX preparing for $1 billion satellite launch. As early as June 12, SpaceX will attempt to launch a trio of Canadian satellites worth $1 billion from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Built by Maxar for the Canadian Space Agency, the Radarsat Constellation Mission comprises three remote-sensing spacecraft designed with large surface-scanning radars as their primary payload, Teslarati reports.

Crew Dragon rocket back in action … Due to the value of the satellites, the Canadian Space Agency had requested a new or gently used flight-proven Falcon 9 booster. The Teslarati story recounts that there weren’t many options available, and it now appears the mission will fly on the Falcon 9 first stage first used during the Crew Dragon test mission that flew in March for NASA. (captainbob23)

Russia launches first Proton rocket of 2019. A Russian Proton rocket launched the Yamal-601 communications satellite for Gazprom Space Systems late last week, completing the first of six Proton missions planned for this year, SpaceNews reports. All went well with the flight, and the satellite is healthy, officials said.

Whither commercial? … Of the five remaining missions projected to launch this year, just one is commercial: a dual launch of the Eutelsat-5 West B satellite and Northrop Grumman’s first Mission Extension Vehicle, MEV-1. This is not optimal as Russia seeks to continue selling Proton launches on the commercial market through its International Launch Services sales arm. (submitted by Ken the Bin).

Study argues for a new era of exploration. The Reason Foundation has published a study on how best to accelerate the current era of exploration and economic development of space. The report outlines a 10-year plan in which the private sector assumes responsibility for all space transportation, large payload launch vehicles and launch operations, in-space facilities, and more. The Reason Foundation is a libertarian think tank.

NASA moves into a VC mode … Led by Jeff Greason and James Bennett, the study says US space activity should become more commerce focused. What would NASA do? “NASA in this new paradigm would operate more as a venture capitalist, making an investment in the infrastructure that serves both government and commercial transportation needs and fosters an industry that is increasingly self-sustaining financially,” the study suggests.

Orion launch motor ships to Florida. Northrop Grumman announced that it has shipped the inert abort motor for NASA’s Orion spacecraft Launch Abort System from the company’s facility in Magna, Utah, to Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The motor will be integrated with the Launch Abort System and Orion spacecraft for the first flight of NASA’s Space Launch System, now named Artemis-1.

Now that’s confidence … “The solid propulsion we use in the abort motor is high-performing and reliable; it should inspire confidence in any future Orion crew members and their families,” said Charlie Precourt, vice president, propulsion systems, Northrop Grumman. This suggests high confidence in the abort motor to be used for Orion, considering that the full system won’t even be tested until this July, with Orion’s Ascent Abort-2 flight test.

Next three launches

June 12: Falcon 9 | Radarsat constellation | Vandenberg AFB, Calif. | 14:17 UTC

June 20: Ariane 5 | DirecTV 16 and Eutelsat 7C satellites | Kourou, French Guiana | 21:41 UTC

June 21: Proton-M | Spektr-RG X-ray observatory | Baikonur, Kazakhstan | 13:44 UTC

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1518095