Relativity Space Poised to Lead New Generation of Launch Providers with Terran 1 Rocket
The inaugural flight of Terran 1, the first launch vehicle designed and manufactured in Long Beach CA, is scheduled to occur at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station LC-16 March 8, launch window open 13:00-1600 EST. At 33.5-m tall / 2.3-m diameter, the small-lift launch vehicle is built to loft 1,250 kg to LEO / 900 kg to SSO, with first stage powered by 9 in-house Aeon engines fueled by methane and liquid oxygen (LCH4 / LOX). Known as methalox and valued for its smaller carbon footprint compared to RP1 and its abundance on Mars, this propellant / oxidizer combo is the design focus of ULA Vulcan Centaur (BE-4 engines), LandSpace Zhuque-2 (TQ-12), SpaceX Starship / Super Heavy (Raptor), which are slated for launch in 2023; while Blue Origin New Glenn (BE-4) and Rocket Lab Neutron (Archimedes) are planned to fly in 2024. Operating since 2015, Relativity Space with cofounders (T-B) Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone, is establishing a business model based on additive manufacturing automated with productivity-boosting machine learning algorithms – Terran 1 is touted as being 85% 3D printed by weight. It is also working towards Terran R, a larger (66-m tall / 5.5-m diameter) rocket capable of carrying payloads up to 20,000 kg (medium-lift). Contracted missions for NASA, Spaceflight Inc, Momentus, Mu Space, Iridium and DoD have allowed Relativity to raise a market-leading US$1.3B in funding. (Image Credits: Relativity Space, NASA)
MONDAY
☆ Mar 6 — ISS,~415-km LEO: Expedition 68 now 11-member crew with arrival of Crew-6; Soyuz MS-23 to remain attached until Sep 27, MS-22 to return to Earth before April for analysis.
☆ Mar 6 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 15 three-member crew continue work in LEO as China plans to open TSS selection & training process for international Astronauts.
Highlights…
o NewSpace: ispace on track for April lunar landing, beginning construction of Mission 2 model at Narita International Airport; Virgin Galactic VSS Unity commercial flights to begin in Q2 from Spaceport America with 3-member Italy Air Force crew; Globestar to bolster satellite constellation via MDA / Rocket Lab with US$252M prepayment from Apple.
☆ Solar System: Johns Hopkins APL-led DART investigation team finds ~0.8-km asteroids may be redirected in future planetary defense missions given several years notice; LN2 spray system may mitigate lunar dust issues following Washington State University study showing 98% removal of simulant in vacuum.
●USA:ULA reportedly up for sale under transaction led by Morgan Stanley / Bain & Company; Heliophysicist Nicola Fox to lead NASA Science Mission Directorate following appointment by Bill Nelson; Texas Gov Greg Abbot proposes Texas Space Commission be funded $350M over next 2 years.
● Hawai’i: Keck NIRC2 instrument monitoring X7 dust / gas cloud in 170-year orbit around Sgr A* likely to dissipate ~2036; Keck High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer used in conjunction with McDonald Observatory Hobby-Eberly Telescope to characterize remarkably stable 11-billion year old Kepler-444 planetary system.
● = Terrestrial and… o = International terrestrial events
☾ = Moon activity
★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).
17th SpaceOps 2023 Being Held in Dubai as UAE Astronauts Fly to ISS, Rover Preps for Moon Landing
The 2023 International Conference on Space Operations themed Invest in Space to Serve Earth and Beyond is being held March 6-10 in Dubai, UAE with support from Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre and under patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VP and PM of UAE and Ruler of Dubai. H.E. Salem Humaid Al Marri (Director General of MBRSC) will open the conference which includes 5 plenary events, 3 special sessions, 2 keynote speakers (Amna Al Owais, Dubai Future Foundation Courts; and Sami W. Asmar, Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems), 13 oral / 4 electronic presentation sessions, an exhibition, tour of MBRSC, student workshop, speed mentoring, and Women in SpaceOps event. The “Public-private collaboration opportunities in lunar missions” panel will have representatives from ESTEC, Italian Space Agency, Thales Alenia, Orbital Reef, Surrey Space and Space Copy. Since the creation of SpaceOps in 1990 the organization has held 15 in-person International meetings; the 2025 edition being planned in Montreal, Canada by CSA-ASC. UAE newest Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, is now aboard ISS via SpaceX Crew-6 for a 6-month mission. Yet to fly are 2 other UAE Astronauts: Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla. In late April UAE is also set to see its Rashid lunar rover land on the Moon, after a ~4.5-month journey to lunafirma on ispace lander. (Image Credits: SpaceOps, MBRSC, UAE Gov, NASA)
☆ Mar 6 — ISS, Expedition 68 In-Flight Event,~415-km LEO: In-flight United Arab Emirates event with UAE flight engineer Sultan Alneyadi with Johnson Space Center; starts 07:00 EST, live coverage available.
☆Mar 6 — JAXA, Launch H-3 / ALOS 3,Tanegashima Space Center, Japan: H3 rocket on its 1st test flight will carry Advanced Land Observing Satellite 3 (ALOS 3) Earth observation satellite for JAXA (launch set Mar 5 at 15:37:55 HST / Mar 6 JST at 10:37:55); window open through Mar 10.
☆ Mar 7 — ISS, Expedition 68 In-Flight Event,~415-km LEO: In-flight event with TelevisaUnivision and NASA flight engineer Frank Rubio via Johnson Space Center; starts 12:35 EST, live coverage available.
☆ Mar 7 — Apollo Asteroid 535844 (2015 BY310): Near-Earth Flyby (0.026 AU)
WEDNESDAY
★ Mar 8 — Relativity Space, Launch Terran 1 / Demo,LC 16, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Relativity Space to attempt first orbital launch of Terran-1 (3D printed rocket using methane/LOX propellant) on demo mission dubbed ‘Good Luck, Have Fun’; live coverage available, launch window 13:00-16:00.
● Mar 8 — Space Foundation, Online: Space Matters Webinar Series; panel of experts discuss National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group, 13:00 EST.
☆ Mar 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 FQ: Near-Earth Flyby (0.035 AU)
☆ Mar 9 — Aten Asteroid 2021 EY1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.055 AU)
☆ Mar 9 — Apollo Asteroid 2023 BA10: Near-Earth Flyby (0.064 AU)
FRIDAY
★ Mar 10 — Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Orbit: NASA spacecraft enters 17 full years / begins 18th year in Mars orbit today, continues to study seasonal changes on planet circling at 300-km near-polar orbit; launched Aug 12, 2005, entered orbit Mar 10, 2006.
★ Mar 11 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Dragon CRS-27,LC39A, Kennedy Space Center FL: Dragon 2 Cargo resupply mission to be launch by SpaceX Falcon to ISS; first stage booster to land on drone ship in Atlantic Ocean; 20:36 EST.
● Mar 11 — Space Center Houston,Houston TX:Breakfast with an Astronaut, Michael Baker, adult US$99.95 / child $79.95.
SUNDAY
o Mar 12 — International Planetarium Society Inc., Multiple Locations:International Day of Planetaria; promote knowledge of planetaria to the public.
● Mar 12 — Daylight Saving Time (USA): Set clock ahead 1 hour; does not include Hawai’i, American Samoa or Arizona (except the Navajo Nation).
☆ Mar 12 — Apollo Asteroid 2014 TJ33: Near-Earth Flyby (0.061 AU)
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