Moonshot #24

Stratolaunch's first powered flight of Talon, Defense Unicorns lands a SpaceWERX contract, and everything else happening in the commercial space sector.

She flies solo: hypersonic vehicle TA-1 takes off for the first time from the twin-fuselage Roc carrier. Credit: Stratolaunch

Stratolaunch – For the first time, Stratolaunch’s Roc carrier aircraft released the Talon A vehicle from its clutches during a test flight on March 9th. Little else is known about the demonstration, thanks to the company’s “proprietary agreements,” but we understand that TA-1 only “approached” its targeted hypersonic speed, aka Mach 5 or higher. That said, the clean vehicle separation along with TA-1’s engine ignition and acceleration to high supersonic speeds has Stratolaunch – and Colorado propulsion specialist Ursa Major, whose Hadley engine powered the hypersonic vehicle – pretty dang chuffed. While TA-1 was an expendable test model (RIP), its successors TA-2 and TA-3 will be reusable. And speaking of reusing, Stratolaunch is currently modifying a Boeing 747-400 it picked up from last year’s Virgin Orbit yard sale, which will become an additional launch platform to be known as “Spirit of Mojave.” Roc would be jealous of the poignant name, if its own etymology wasn’t already so cool. 

Defense Unicorns – And while we’re on the note of majestic names, Defense Unicorns, a Colorado Springs startup recently landed a SpaceWERX contract to develop updated IT systems for Space Force rocket launches. Strategic Funding Increase – better known as STRATFI – funding typically ranges from $3 million to $15 million per project, and Defense Unicorns is taking home the very top of that range for this project, a sign that the U.S. Space Force values the modernization of military systems. 

Rocket Lab – Trusty launch provider Rocket Lab continued a successful run with Japan’s Synspective, completing its fourth Electron launch for the satellite company on March 12th. Taking off from its launchpad in New Zealand, the “Owl Night Long” mission deployed StriX-3, a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellite into sun synchronous orbit, adding to Synspective’s growing constellation. According to a July 2023 contract, the collaborators have two more similar launches in their future. The mission was the third Electron launch of this year, of a planned 22 total launches in 2024, according to CEO Adam Spice. 

Terran Orbital – It often feels like geostationary orbit is giving “you have to be this tall to ride” energy. California-based Terran Orbital is taking away the size prerequisites (or at least lowering them) with its new SmallSat GEO bus, designed for satellites over 500 kilograms. This reflects, according to Terran Orbital CEO Marc Bell, the movement of the market, which is seeing “more GEO spacecraft ordered in the small size class.”

SpaceX – We talked a lot about SpaceX’s Starlink-colored glasses this week in Continuum. Are we finished? Not quite. While Californians enjoyed the launch of 22 Starlink satellites last Monday, by way of a “dazzling streak” across the sky, others are not as dazzled by the satellite monopoly. As made evident during a panel at Washington’s SAT24 conference last week, some GEO operators are turning away from SpaceX’s Starlink in favor of local operators. Operators like Spain-based Hispasat pose that local providers can often serve customers better – and faster, particularly in rural areas. Compared to an online-based, foreign service like Starlink, a regional provider can provide installation and hardware immediately, and for less money. This certainly won’t be true everywhere, such as in Brazil’s Amazon region, which saw Starlink antennas installed in 90% of its municipalities by July of last year. Kazakhstan and the Republic of Rwanda also rely on Starlink terminals at many of their rural schools. Though, it’s important to note that before those installments, the Musk Foundation gave $5 million to Giga, a United Nations program that identified those Rwandan and Kazakh schools in need of connectivity. Maybe Musk’s charity should consider bribing donating to Spanish schools, too?