Spaceflight

A gentle space mystery with a little light learning about space debris too

China’s Long March 10A rocket is set to have its first flight in 2026, in what will be a crucial step in the country’s efforts to get astronauts on the moon.

A model of the Long March 10A, a single-core rocket for launching crew, is set to be unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow in southern China, due to open Nov. 12. The rocket is set to have its debut launch in 2026, according to a Nov. 5 report from Science and Technology Daily, an official Chinese ministry newspaper.

The 67.4-meter-long, 5.0-meter-diameter Long March 10A will be used to launch a new generation crew spacecraft to the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit. It will be capable of lifting 14,200 kilograms to LEO when recovering the first stage. The rocket will be 66.4-meters-long when used to launch cargo missions to Tiangong.

Also on display at Zhuhai will be a model of the Long March 9, which will be China’s rocket for launching space infrastructure, including to the moon. Images on Chinese social media Sina Weibo and reported by Ars Technica show a model on display with a reusable upper stage, akin to the SpaceX Starship.

Designs and models for CALT’s Long March 9 have evolved in recent years, from an expendable kerosene-fueled 10-meter-diameter rocket with four 5.0-meter-diameter side boosters, to various methane-fueled designs for reusability.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/27672211

Latitude announced Nov. 5 that it hired Aurélie Bressollette as chief executive. She succeeds Stanislas Maximin, co-founder of the company, who moved into the role of executive chairman.

Bressollette comes to Latitude from Rivada Space Networks, where she was vice president of the procurement office for the constellation company. She previously worked for Redwire, OHB System and Airbus.

In an interview, Maximin said he hired Bressollette to handle day-to-day operations of the company as Latitude grew. “As a founder, you’ve got to fire yourself from multiple jobs through the course of building the company,” he said, noting he had previously handed over responsibilities of being chief financial officer and salesman to others at the company.

Latitude, based in the French city of Reims with 140 employees, is developing a small launch vehicle called Zephyr designed to place up to 200 kilograms into low Earth orbit. Maximin said in the interview that the company will start received flight hardware this week for the first Zephyr rocket as it prepares for a series of engine hotfire tests late this year, with a first orbital launch attempt around the end of 2025.

I hope some of these European startups pan out. Arianespace could use some competition.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/27631025

“We’re excited to bid this time round for NSSL Lane 1, and we think Neutron is a really good vehicle for it,” Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO Peter Beck told SpaceNews.

The U.S. Space Force last week released a request for proposals from launch companies seeking to challenge SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin in the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 program.

The NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 program is structured as an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, enabling the Space Force to on-ramp providers on a yearly basis, and award individual task orders as needed.

The Space Force requires the next round of Lane 1 bidders to be ready for a first launch by December 2025, a timeline Beck says Neutron can meet.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/27630358