Rocket Report: Russia’s rocket engine predicament; 300th launch to the ISS
Astrobotic andøya eyes. The lunar logistics company based in the United States Astrobotic and the Norwegian Espaceport operator and the onesitization have signed a sheet of terms describing the framework of a launch site agreement, report European spatial flight reports. The agreement, once finalized, will facilitate the flights of the test bench from the Xodiac Atrobotic landing from the Andøya spatial installations. Xodiac vertical takeoff, the vertical landing rocket was initially developed by Masten Space Systems to simulate landing on the Moon and Mars. When Masten filed for bankruptcy in 2022, Astrobotic acquired his intellectual property and his assets, including the Xodiac vehicle.
Through the pond … so far, the small xodiac rocket has stolen on atmospheric hops at low altitude of Mojave, California, reaching altitudes up to 500 meters, or 1640 feet. The agreement between Astrobotic and Andøya opens the way to “several” Xodiac flight campaigns from Andøya space installations on the Norwegian coast. “The presence of Xodiac in Andøya represents a significant step towards the supply of reliable, fast and profitable testing and demonstration capacities to the European space market,” said Astrobotic CEO John Thornton.
Ursa Major innovates in Colorado. On Wednesday, Ursa Major announced that he had struck a new 400 -acres site where he will test and qualify solid rocket engines on current and future missiles, including the standard navy missile fleet, reports daily defense. The new Weld county site, Colorado, north of Denver, will be ready to test in the fourth quarter of 2025. Ursa Major can perform static shots on a large scale, and department storage and temperature storage tests for current and future missile systems.
Search for SRM options … Ursa Major said that the new installation will support national and anti -missile defense programs. The company’s portfolio includes solid rocket engines (SRMS) ranging from 2 inches to 22 inches in diameter for missiles such as dart, javelin and air defense interceptors. Ursa Major aims to join the Northrop Grumman, L3harris industry, and the newcomer Andundil as the main SRM supplier to the government. “This installation represents a major step in our ability to deliver qualified SRMs that are scalable, flexible and ready to respect the evolving threat environment,” said Dan Jablonsky, CEO of Ursa Major, in a press release. “It is a clear demonstration of our commitment and our ability to advance and quickly extend the industrial base of engine of solid American manufacturing rocket that the country needs, ensuring that the combatants will have the quality and the quantity of SRM necessary to meet mission requests.”
