Rocket Report: SpaceX fires up seven Raptors; SpinLaunch raises big funding round

The edition 5.11 of the rocket report is here. I apologize for the lack of report last week, but I was on assignment with the crew of Polaris Dawn. This week's edition is 2500 words long.

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The company raised $71 million. A company that is developing a launch system that uses a first stage has raised over $65 million, according to Space News. The funding secured by the company will allow it to develop a system that will accelerate vehicles to hypersonic speeds. Conventional rocket engines are used to reach space after the vehicles are done. According to SpinLaunch, this approach can enable a higher flight rate than conventional rockets.

A bigger Centrifuge is being built. At Spaceport America in New Mexico, SpinLaunch built a small version of its centrifuge, 33 meters in diameter, for suborbital testing. I would like to see if this approach works. The company's challenges are significant.

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The European launch CEO took a shot at the startup. In an interview with L'Echo, the CEO of Ariane Group, André-Hubert Roussel, criticized the companies that were pulling resources away from Ariane.

Is it a good idea to bring nothing to the table? Europe was encouraging competition that brought nothing in terms of innovation to the table because these companies were duplicating what was already being done in launch, according to Roussel. It's hard not to root for the upstarts against the established industry if you think this is a lousy attitude to have towards one's competition.

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Spaceport talk in Michigan is overblown. Some state officials are worried about a lack of progress after three years of studying the creation of a spaceport in northern Michigan. The state is still waiting for a final report from the Michigan Launch Initiative, which was paid 2.5 million dollars to study launch sites. The leader of the project said he secured the contract after pitching it to the former governor.

Is an announcement imminent? The state senator asked if Brown overpromised what he could deliver. The most important thing for me is for people to get value for their money. Brown told the publication that he will prove critics wrong and that a big announcement is imminent. It is similar to cautionary tales we heard in other states.

The Skyrora is going to be launched from Canada. Skyrora said this week that it would launch its rocket from a spaceport in Nova Scotia. Skyrora completed a successful second stage static hot fire test at Machrihanish Air Base in Scotland in August, and the three stage rocket is designed to loft a maximum of 350 kilogram into low Earth orbit.

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There is a partnership between the two countries. Skyrora's vehicles and vehicle support staff will be purchased by Maritime Launch. Skyrora will be provided with a launch pad, ground and operations support, public safety services, regulatory approvals, and mission integration facilities. Good luck to both.

The space is close to a test. After completing a static-fire test, a Spanish company is ready to launch a suborbital mission. The Miura 1 rocket was tested at a company facility in Spain. Two previous static-fire tests lasting 5 and 20 seconds preceded that firing. The vehicle is ready for a flight.

There is a stepping stone. The first flight of the suborbital vehicle is ready to go after the static fire test campaign is over. The launch is expected to take place in December at the El Arenosillo site. Ral Verd is the chief operating officer. The Miura 1 can carry 100 kilograms to an altitude of 150 kilometers and can generate up to four minutes of microgravity time. The primary purpose of Miura 1 is to demonstrate technology for the Miura 5 launch vehicle, according to Verd.

The crash of SpaceShip Two. An author who analyzes plane crashes recently called attention to a crash eight years ago. One of the two test pilots was killed, but the other was able to survive.

It was falling short of the stars. The death of one of the pilots of the VSS enterprise and the destruction of it promised to be a major blow to the commercial space flight industry. This item was included in the Rocket Report because it is an excellent analysis after the fact, with sobering photographs. It's a reminder of the challenges we face in this industry.