WESTMINSTER, Colo. - Maxar Intelligence, provider of secure, precise geospatial intelligence, today confirmed the first two WorldView Legion satellites are performing well after being launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket earlier today from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

Shortly after launch, the satellites deployed their solar arrays and began receiving and sending signals. These satellites will undergo commissioning, and Maxar Intelligence expects first images from the spacecraft later this spring.

These two satellites are part of a first block of six WorldView Legion satellites. When these six satellites join Maxar Intelligence’s constellation, the business will be able to collect imagery of the most rapidly changing areas on Earth as frequently as every 20 to 30 minutes.

Built by Maxar Space Systems, the two Earth observation satellites are the first Maxar 500 series high-stability platforms to reach space. WorldView Legion spacecraft are a new approach to Earth imaging satellites. Its optical instrument, provided by Raytheon, delivers the same 30 cm-class imagery that Maxar is known for and benefits from the high stability and pointing accuracy of the Maxar 500 series bus.

Source: Maxar
Associated URL: https://maxar.com/press-releases/first-two-worldview-legion-spacecraft-performing-well-after-launch

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Rocket Lab USA, Inc. announced it has completed the first full assembly of its Archimedes engine, the new 3D printed, reusable, rocket engine for the Company’s Neutron medium lift launch vehicle. Rocket Lab has now begun an intensive test campaign that will feature a number of engine system activations leading up to a first Archimedes hot-fire.

The Archimedes test campaign will take place at Rocket Lab’s dedicated engine test stand at America’s largest rocket propulsion test site, NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. As an oxidizer rich staged combustion cycle powered by liquid oxygen and methane, Archimedes is a unique rocket engine of its thrust class, engine cycle, and propellant combination. The engine is designed for maximum reusability, with an operating point that allows the engine to operate at a lower stress levels comparative to other rocket engines on the market, and with a minimum reuse target of up to 20 launches per engine. At full power, each Archimedes engine is capable of producing 165,000 lbf (733 kilonewtons) for a combined total of 1,450,000 million lbf on Neutron’s first stage. Critical 3D printed parts to undergo testing include Archimedes’ turbo pump housings, pre-burner and main chamber components, valve housings, and engine structural components.

Many component, subsystem, and all-up system tests will be conducted throughout the test campaign. These tests will validate Archimedes’ transient start-up, steady-state, and shut down performance. The engine test and development campaign is a key driver of the schedule for Neutron’s first launch, which the Company today confirmed is now expected to take place no earlier than mid-2025.

Production of subsequent Archimedes engines is continuing in parallel with the ongoing test campaign, with long-lead 3D printed components already manufactured and undergoing checkouts and analysis ahead of integration and engine full assembly at Rocket Lab’s Engine Development Complex in Long Beach, California.

Additional recent milestones on the path to first Neutron launch include the completion of carbon composite flight structures for Neutron’s fairing panels, Stage 1 and Stage 2 tanks, and the reusable Stage 1 structure. Infrastructure development is also continuing at pace across Neutron’s dedicated launch site at Wallops Island, Virginia, with completed foundation concrete works for Neutron’s launch mount and propellant and gas storage facilities, and installation of the site’s 278 ft water tower.

Source: Rocket Lab
Associated URL: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/updates/rocket-lab-completes-archimedes-engine-build-begins-engine-test-campaign/

SANDY HOOK, Conn. - The much-awaited Boeing Starliner (CST-100) mission, Boeing Crew Flight Test (Boe-CFT), was scrubbed on the night of May 6 due to a valve issue on the Lockheed Martin Centaur upper-stage. The next attempt will likely take place around May 10. The Centaur is not a new piece of kit and is well-proven with early variants first launching in the 1960s. The Centaur was atop United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Atlas V rocket, another proven piece of technology.

Lockheed Martin developed the Atlas V heavy-lift booster for the USAF's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program (now National Security Space Launch NSSL program). The vehicle features a number of common elements, including the 3.8-meter-diameter by 27.15-meter-tall Common Core Booster (CCB), a propulsion system powered by an RD-180 engine, a Centaur upper stage, standard commercial payload adapters, and standard commercial avionics. This booster has a geosynchronous-transfer-orbit (GTO) payload capability of more than 5,000 kilograms. Atlas V will eventually be phased out by Vulcan in mid-term future; however, Atlas V's days are not completely numbered.

Announced in April 2021, Amazon contracted ULA for nine Atlas V launches. These launches are to orbit a proposed Kuiper broadband constellation. Little is known about the constellation; however, it will be large - on the scale of SpaceX's Starlink. The nine launches are a significant increase to Atlas V's lifespan before Vulcan takes over in ULA's launch offerings. The first two Kuiper demonstration satellites launched in October 2023 on Atlas V.

The upper stage on Atlas V is the Centaur. The Atlas V employs the RL10A-4-2 Centaur upper stage with either one or two engines, depending on the mission. Dubbed the Common Core Booster because it features the larger propellant tank used for Atlas V, the upper stage has a longer burn time than other upper stages. In addition to being inherently powerful, Centaur engines have a multiburn capability, enabling the booster to fire, coast for a definite period, and then fire again. This process can be repeated a number of times, in contrast with solid rocket motors, which, once ignited, burn until all the propellant is consumed. Centaur will also feature on early flights of ULA's new Vulcan launch vehicle.

One of the reasons Atlas V is being replaced due to its reliance on the Russian RD-180 engine. Due to the war in Ukraine, relations between Russia and the United States have become strained. The U.S. has long wanted to eliminate reliance on Russia for these engines. The new Vulcan launch vehicle uses the Blue Origin BE-4 engine. There are still RD-180 engines in the United States however no more will be procured from Russia.

Scrubbing a mission comes with the territory and should not be seen as a major setback. The valve issue appears to have been easily identified and will be fixed in the coming days. As previously stated, Atlas V and Centaur are proven workhorses in the industry and this mission will occur soon. More importantly is how the Starliner itself will perform. Boeing has been under scrutiny, a successful mission will certainly be welcome.

Source: Forecast International
Associated URL: https://flightplan.forecastinternational.com/2024/05/07/boeing-starliner-launch-delayed-by-valve-issue-on-centaur-upper-stage/