Welcome to edition 7.35 of the Rocket report! The SpaceX steam roller is still rolling, but for the first time in many years it does not seem to roll. After a three-year series of perfect performance without launch errors or other serious malfunctions, SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket has had a handful of problems in recent months. In the meantime, SpaceX's next generation Starship Rocket also has problems. Kiko Dontchev, vice -president of SpaceX of the launch, has tackled some (but not all) concerns in a post on X this week. Despite the problems with the Falcon 9, SpaceX has maintained a remarkable launch Cadence. From Thursday, SpaceX has launched 28 Falcon 9 flights since 1 January prior to last year's pace.
As always, we welcome submissions from readers. If you don't want to miss a problem, you can subscribe to the box below (the form does not appear on versions of AMP-compatible versions of the site). Each report contains information about small, medium -sized and heavy rockets, as well as a quick look at the following three launches on the calendar.
Alpha Rocket Preps for weekend launch. While Firefly Aerospace gets the headlines to land on the moon, the Alpha Rocket is ready to launch again as soon as Saturday morning Van Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The two-stage, kerosene-driven rocket launches a self-financed technology demonstration satellite for Lockheed Martin. It is the first of a maximum of 25 launches Lockheed Martin has booked with Firefly for the next five years. This launch will be the sixth flight of an Alfa rocket, which has become a leader in the American commercial launch industry for special missions with 1 ton class satellites.
Firefly's OG … The Alpha Rocket was Firefly's first product, and it is a central part of the development of the company since 2014. Just like Firefly itself, the Alpha Rocket program has completed several iterations, including a wholesale re -design almost ten years ago. Of course Firefly cannot claim revolutionary scoops with the Alpha Rocket, as it is possible with his Blue Ghost Lunar Lander. But without Alfa Firefly would not be where it is today. The company based in Texas is one of only four American companies with an operational orbital rocket. One thing to pay attention to is how fast Firefly can solve his alpha launch cadence. The rocket only flew once last year.
