Reuters reports, “The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it was moving to streamline a key commercial space launch and reentry license hurdle, declaring some flight safety analyses in California, Florida, and Virginia satisfy requirements. The FAA noted the commercial space industry often cites meeting flight safety analysis requirements as a challenge before launches. The FAA said the change reduces the amount of material applicants must submit, and improves FAA technical review efficiency. Companies like SpaceX have complained about delays getting FAA launch licenses.”
Full Story (Reuters)
Tag: Wallops
Rocket Lab Launches NROL-123 Mission in 4th US Liftoff
SPACE reports, “Rocket Lab launched from the U.S. for the fourth time ever Thursday morning (March 21), sending mystery payloads aloft for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).” The NROL-123 mission, or “Live and Let Fly,” as Rocket Lab has designated it, launched at 3:25 a.m. EDT from the company’s Launch Complex 2 at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Full Story (SPACE)
Videos
RocketLab Electron 46 | NROL-123
(The Launch Pad; YouTube)
Final Antares 230+ Rocket Lifts Off to Resupply ISS
Spaceflight Insider reports that in near-perfect weather, the final Antares 230+ rocket “took to the skies to send the Cygnus cargo spacecraft on its way to the International Space Station.” Carrying the autonomous NG-19 Cygnus resupply freighter, dubbed the S.S. Laurel Clark, the Antares rocket successfully “launched at 8:31 p.m. EDT Aug. 1 (00:31 UTC Aug. 2), 2023, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.” It flawlessly lifted off “from its launchpad, drawing a bright arc of light against the fading evening sunset, marking the start of another critical cargo run to the ISS.” Some 8,200 pounds (3,700 kilograms) of supplies, hardware and experiments “are aboard NG-19. It is expected to arrive at the ISS on the morning of Aug. 4 where it will be captured by the outpost’s robotic arm and attached to the Earth-facing port of the Unity module.” Over the coming weeks, members of the station’s Expedition 69 crew “will work to unload the cargo before beginning to reload it with trash.” After about two months, Cygnus “is expected to depart the ISS for an eventual destructive reentry over the Pacific Ocean.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Insider)
Video
Last Antares Rocket Using Russian Rocket Engines
Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
Northrop Grumman Prepares for Final Antares Flight
Space News reports that a Cygnus cargo spacecraft “is set to launch to the International Space Station on the final flight of a version of an Antares rocket with Russian and Ukrainian components.” NASA and Northrop Grumman “completed a launch readiness review July 30 for the NG-19 mission, approving plans to launch the spacecraft on Aug. 1 at 8:31 p.m. Eastern from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia.” The Cygnus is “carrying nearly 3,750 kilograms of cargo to the station, including experiments, hardware and crew supplies.” An on-time launch “would allow the spacecraft to arrive at the station early Aug. 4 and remain there at least three months.”
Full Story (Space News)
Rocket Lab Preparing for First Launch from US
ExecutiveGov reported that Rocket Lab completed a “wet dress rehearsal” at its Launch Complex 2(LC-2) in Wallops Island, Virginia. The company’s representatives said in a statement Thursday, “With this major milestone complete, the Electron launch vehicle, launch team and the LC-2 pad systems are now ready for Rocket Lab’s first launch from US soil.” Rocket Lab’s autonomous flight termination system still needs to be certified by NASA, and a date cannot be set until then.
Full Story (ExecutiveGov)