Under an implementing arrangement, the agencies may use each other’s ground stations for telemetry, tracking and command functions.
Yay for international cooperation!
ESA’s European Space Tracking (Estrack) network has a core of six stations in six countries, including three deep space antennas, while the agreement will open access to the Korea Deep Space Antenna in Yeoju. This cooperation will boost resilience for missions by filling gaps in coverage and providing back-up tracking stations should the main facility not be available because of environmental reasons or congestion.
I didn’t even know there was an antenna in Yeoju. Cool stuff.
I find it quaint that so much of the Deep Space Network is essentially “shout really loudly at the spacecraft with giant radio dishes”. Future missions will probably make use of laser relay networks, but since there are still so many currently operating missions which use radio, it seems like these dishes will be with us for a long time.
If that’s launching on a Vega-C first stage then the payload must be tiny. Using a disposable 1st stage also feels like it defeats the purpose a bit. It’s cool that they’re at least studying the concept, though.
Hold up, it’s only 23 m tall? That’s like 1/3 the height of Starship, and 1/27 the mass and volume. Does the Starship architecture even work at that scale?
SpaceX are having enough challenges as it is getting a useful payload fraction out of the 9 m wide Starship, which they have stretched once and plan to stretch again.
Could be the sun with the yellow/reddish light we get at dawn (or dusk), shining onto the condensation trails of an airplane. And it looks a bit like two trails, like we’d expect from an airplane with 2 turbines/wings.
To date, Isar Aerospace, Rocket Factory Augsburg, Latitude, and PLD Space have all signed an initial feasibility agreement
I haven’t followed Latitude, but they’ve said they want to launch from this facility in 2026. PLD said the same thing, but they’re already working down there and the article said it’ll still be tight. So Latitude probably won’t launch until 2027?
Isar has Andoya and RFA has Saxavord, so they probably aren’t as worried about it.
I think it’s still technically a small-lift launcher, but 1000kg is a good step up from the really small ones around 100-250 kg, and would potentially let it steal some Vega launches.
“EU to Commission Mobile Responsive Launch System Studies” is not quite as exciting as “EU to Commission Mobile Responsive Launch System” would have been, but who knows? Perhaps one day one of these studies will lead somewhere… :)
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