Artemis III rocket preps as SpaceX pivots to AI
▼ Summary
– Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket achieved a successful first-stage launch and landing during its third flight, but an upper stage failure caused the loss of its AST SpaceMobile satellite payload in a low orbit.
– The upper stage failure is suspected to be due to a valve problem, a common issue in the aerospace industry.
– Canada’s Defense Minister announced a $200 million investment over 10 years for a space launch pad in Nova Scotia, leased to Maritime Launch Services.
– Some local residents, organized as Action Against the Canso Spaceport, oppose the project, citing genuine concerns about the spaceport and its developers.
– The entire spaceport currently consists of a small concrete pad at the end of a gravel road, as highlighted by a critic in the Halifax Examiner.
Welcome to Edition 8.38 of the Rocket Report. This week’s headlines were dominated by the third flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. The first 15 minutes were electrifying: a previously flown booster lifted off and executed a flawless landing on a drone ship at sea. But that triumph quickly soured. Blue Origin experienced its first-ever loss of an orbital payload when the upper stage malfunctioned, injecting the AST SpaceMobile satellite into a dangerously low orbit. Industry chatter points to a valve issue, though that’s hardly a scoop , in rocketry, it’s almost always the valves.
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Canada’s spaceport plan draws local opposition. About a month ago, Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty announced a “historic investment” of $200 million over 10 years to lease a dedicated space launch pad from Maritime Launch Services in Nova Scotia. But not everyone is onboard. Local resident Marie Lumsden, writing in the Halifax Examiner, published a photo showing what the spaceport currently amounts to: a small concrete pad at the end of a gravel road. Residents have formed a group called Action Against the Canso Spaceport, voicing “genuine concerns about this project and the people behind it.”
(Source: Ars Technica)
