{"id":9113,"date":"2023-05-15T08:57:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-15T15:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/?p=9113"},"modified":"2023-05-17T16:47:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T23:47:23","slug":"spaceflight-insight-chinese-space-plane-commercial-space-station-raptor-v3-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/2023\/05\/15\/spaceflight-insight-chinese-space-plane-commercial-space-station-raptor-v3-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Spaceflight Insight: Raptor V3, Commercial Space Station, And More!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Welcome back to Spaceflight Insight: your weekly dose of digestible space news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">To kick off this week\u2019s space news we will travel to the Southern Island of New Zealand where the small satellite launch company, Rocket Lab, launched their latest payload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/TROPICS-launch-big-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9114\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/TROPICS-launch-big-1024x683.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/TROPICS-launch-big-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/TROPICS-launch-big-768x512.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/TROPICS-launch-big-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/TROPICS-launch-big-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/TROPICS-launch-big-570x380.jpg 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off Launch Complex 1, Pad B, in M\u0101hia, New Zealand on May 8 at 1 p.m. New Zealand time (May 7 at 9 p.m. EDT), carrying two NASA CubeSats designed to study tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons. NASA\u2019s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) CubeSats will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification. (NASA Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Rocket Lab is known for their small satellite launch vehicle called Electron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">On this latest launch, the payload is a NASA satellite called TROPICS. TROPICS is a hurricane detection and observer satellite. As explained during the broadcast, current satellites can only take wind readings every few hours. The new TROPICS constellation will allow meteorologists to update the severity of a hurricane every few minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">On May 7th the \u201cRocket Like A Hurricane\u201d mission successfully launched the first two TROPICS satellites. In the coming months the next satellites in this constellation will be launched by Rocket Lab.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Next in space news, a mysterious space plane has successfully landed in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">On May 8th the small reusable spacecraft landed somewhere at a Chinese air base. While information about this mission is scarce, what we do know is that after being launched on August 4th, the small space plane was observed to release a small satellite by the US Space Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">After 276 days in space the spacecraft landed. It is believed that this spacecraft is very similar to the US Space Force\u2019s X-37 space plane that undergoes similar secretive missions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"688\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/X-37-1024x688.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9112\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/X-37-1024x688.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/X-37-300x202.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/X-37-768x516.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/X-37-1536x1032.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/X-37-2048x1376.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/X-37-570x383.jpg 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The US Space Force&#8217;s X-37 (Space Force Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Heading back to the US, a space startup and SpaceX announced a ground-breaking mission. On May 10th, the aerospace company Vast announced that they have purchased a spot on a Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the world&#8217;s first commercial space station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The small habitation module, while simple, will be the first space station created for the growing space tourism industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/VAST-Haven-1_Station-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9115\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/VAST-Haven-1_Station-1024x576.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/VAST-Haven-1_Station-300x169.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/VAST-Haven-1_Station-768x432.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/VAST-Haven-1_Station-1536x864.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/VAST-Haven-1_Station-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/VAST-Haven-1_Station-570x321.jpg 570w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/VAST-Haven-1_Station-1110x624.jpg 1110w, http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/VAST-Haven-1_Station-528x297.jpg 528w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A render of VAST&#8217;s Haven-1 space station (VAST Media Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The \u201cHaven-1\u201d station will eventually grow adding more facilities and science opportunities. Vast stated that the launch is planned for no earlier than August 2025. After the launch of the station a Dragon 2 capsule will be launched for the Vast &#8211; 1 mission to put the first people on the station. The mission will remain on the station for 30 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Another piece of news comes from SpaceX. In a tweet by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, it was revealed that the next generation of Raptor engines have been test fired at a never before seen pressure of 350 bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Raptor V3 just achieved 350 bar chamber pressure (269 tons of thrust). Congrats to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SpaceX<\/a> propulsion team!<br><br>Starship Super Heavy Booster has 33 Raptors, so total thrust of 8877 tons or 19.5 million pounds. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZlskpCXUmu\">pic.twitter.com\/ZlskpCXUmu<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1657249739925258240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 13, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The Raptor main engines are the main engines that powered the Starship launch vehicle. The vehicle has already been using the Raptor V2 engine that greatly reduced the complexity of the original Raptor V1 engine. With improvements to the engine the capabilities of Starship can be improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">To close out this week\u2019s Spaceflight Insight I am happy to bring an update to the JUICE mission. In the last article we talked about how the large radio antenna on the probe failed to open. On May 12th the European Space Agency shared that after maneuvers designed to break the antenna free, the antenna was able to be unlatched from its closed position. So far it looks like the JUICE mission has no other problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Juice_RIME_antenna_deploys.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9116\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The JUICE RIME antenna deploys (ESA Photo) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">I hope to make these digestible bits of spaceflight news better, so If you have any aerospace questions or some feedback, don\u2019t hesitate to let me know. Contact me at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:codyeutsler@gmail.com\">codyeutsler@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">As always, fly safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Has the JUICE spacecraft recovered? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":9117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,74],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-9113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-space-insight","tag-spaceflight-insight","czr-hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9113"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9125,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9113\/revisions\/9125"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}