{"id":43857,"date":"2025-08-01T17:02:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T09:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-report-nasa-finally-working-on-depots-air-force-tests-new-icbm\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T17:02:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T09:02:01","slug":"rocket-report-nasa-finally-working-on-depots-air-force-tests-new-icbm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-report-nasa-finally-working-on-depots-air-force-tests-new-icbm\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Report: NASA finally working on depots, Air Force tests new ICBM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Edition 8.05 of the Rocket Report! One of the most eye-raising things I saw this week was an online update from NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center touting its work on cryogenic propellant management in orbit. Why? Because until recently, this was a forbidden research topic at the space agency, as propellant depots would obviate the need for a large rocket like the Space Launch System. But now that Richard Shelby is retired\u2026<\/p>\n

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don\u2019t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.<\/p>\n

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Australian launch goes sideways<\/strong>. Back-to-back engine failures doomed a privately developed Australian rocket moments after liftoff Tuesday, cutting short a long-shot attempt to reach orbit with the country\u2019s first homegrown launch vehicle, Ars reports. The 82-foot-tall (25-meter) Eris rocket ignited its four main engines and took off from its launch pad in northeastern Australia, but the rocket quickly lost power from two of its engines and stalled just above the launch pad before coming down in a nearby field. The crash sent a plume of smoke thousands of feet over the launch site, which sits on a remote stretch of coastline on Australia\u2019s northeastern frontier.<\/p>\n

Setting expectations<\/em> \u2026 Gilmour Space, the private company that developed the rocket, said in a statement that there were no injuries and \u201cno adverse environmental impacts\u201d in the aftermath of the accident. The launch pad also appeared to escape any significant damage. The company\u2019s cofounder and CEO, Adam Gilmour, spoke with Ars a few hours after the launch. Gilmour said he wasn\u2019t surprised by the outcome of the Eris rocket\u2019s inaugural test flight, which lasted just 14 seconds. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect that we would get to orbit,\u201d he said. \u201cNever did. I thought best case was maybe 40 seconds of flight time, but I\u2019ll take 14 as a win.\u201d (submitted by zapman987 and Tfargo04)<\/p>\n

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Firefly seeks to go public<\/strong>. Firefly Aerospace seeks to raise more than $600 million through a public stock offering, an arrangement that would boost the company\u2019s market valuation to nearly $5.5 billion, according to a document filed with the SEC on Monday, Ars reports. The launch of Firefly\u2019s Initial Public Offering (IPO) comes as the company works to build on a historic success in March, when Firefly\u2019s Blue Ghost lander touched down on the surface of the Moon. Firefly plans to sell 16.2 million shares of common stock at a price of between $35 and $39 per share. Under those terms, Firefly could raise up to $631.8 million on the public market.<\/p>\n

A lot of financial needs<\/em> \u2026 In a statement, Firefly said it will use the funds to pay off a \u201csubstantial\u201d amount of debt and support dividend payments and \u201cfor general corporate purposes.\u201d Firefly\u2019s general corporate purposes include a spectrum of activities, and some are going better than others. Firefly is deep into the capital-intensive development of a new medium-class rocket named Eclipse in partnership with Northrop Grumman, which made a $50 million strategic investment into Firefly in May. And Firefly is developing a spacecraft line called Elytra, a platform that can host military sensors and other payloads and maneuver them into different orbits.<\/p>\n

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\n The Ars Technica Rocket Report
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Air Force tests new ICBM<\/strong>. It\u2019s been half a decade since the Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a sole-source contract to develop a next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile, known as the LGM-35 Sentinel. The missiles will carry thermonuclear warheads and are intended to replace all 450 Minuteman III missiles starting in 2029. This week, the Air Force announced that testing of the rocket\u2019s second stage motor in a vacuum chamber to simulate high-altitude conditions is going well. \u201cThis test reflects our disciplined digital engineering approach and the continued momentum behind the Sentinel program,\u201d said Brig. Gen. William S. Rogers of the Air Force.<\/p>\n

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Real-world tests to validate models<\/em> \u2026 The stage-two motor is one of three booster segments that make up the three-stage Sentinel missile. According to the Air Force, this test is part of a series intended to qualify the stage-two design and validate predictive performance models developed in a digital engineering environment. The data gathered from the test will be used to refine design elements and reduce technical risk as the program moves toward production. The milestone follows the stage-one rocket motor test conducted in March at Northrop Grumman\u2019s facility in Promontory, Utah.<\/p>\n

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Starship debris clouds future of SpaceX Bahamas landings<\/strong>. In a new report, Reuters provides additional details about the deal between SpaceX and the Bahamas to land Falcon 9 first stages there and why it still may go sideways. The Bahamas rocket-landing deal, which unlocked a more efficient path to space for SpaceX\u2019s reusable Falcon 9, was signed in February last year by Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper. Sources told the publication that the quick approval created tension within the Bahamian government, with some officials expressing misgivings about a lack of transparency in the negotiations.<\/p>\n

Landing agreement on hold<\/em> \u2026 SpaceX\u2019s deal with the Bahamas, the government said, included a $1 million donation to the University of Bahamas, where the company pledged to conduct quarterly seminars on space and engineering topics. The company must also pay a $100,000 fee per landing. In April, the landing agreement was put on hold after the explosion of SpaceX\u2019s Starship rocket, whose mid-flight failure sent hundreds of pieces of debris washing ashore on Bahamian islands. Local activists have increased criticism of the Falcon 9 landing agreement since then, which remains under review. (submitted by Tom Nelson)<\/p>\n

A single cloud delays Crew 11 launch<\/strong>. The SpaceX Crew-11 mission was a little more than a minute away from the planned launch Thursday onboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour<\/em> spacecraft when cumulus clouds popped up in just the right spot to trigger a scrub, Spaceflight Now reports. The four astronauts, led by NASA\u2019s Zena Cardman, are bound for the International Space Station when they leave Earth.<\/p>\n

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Forecasters for the win?<\/em> \u2026 On Wednesday, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 90 percent chance for favorable weather at launch. Meteorologists said there was a low probability for interference from cumulus clouds, but that proved to be enough to stymie a launch attempt. As a meteorologist, I feel like I should apologize for my colleagues. Another attempt is likely Friday, although weather conditions will deteriorate somewhat.<\/p>\n

Mysterious rocket engine undergoes testing<\/strong>. The Exploration Company has successfully completed a six-week test campaign of the oxygen-rich preburner for its Typhoon rocket engine, European Spaceflight reports. With co-financing from the French space agency CNES, The Exploration Company began work on its Typhoon rocket engine in January 2024. The reusable engine uses a full-flow staged combustion cycle and is designed to produce 250 metric tons of thrust, which is comparable to a SpaceX Raptor. On Thursday, the company announced that it had completed a series of 16 hot-fire tests of the oxygen-rich preburner for the Typhoon engine.<\/p>\n

What is the engine for?<\/em> \u2026 At this point, the Typhoon engine does not have a confirmed application, as it is far too powerful for any of the company\u2019s current in-space logistics projects. According to information provided to European Spaceflight by the company, The Exploration Company partnered with an industrial prime contractor to submit a proposal for the European Space Agency\u2019s European Launcher Challenge. While unconfirmed, the company\u2019s contribution to the bid likely included the Typhoon engine.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s GSLV delivers for NASA<\/strong>. A $1.5 billion synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite, a joint project between NASA and the Indian space agency ISRO, successfully launched into orbit on Wednesday aboard that nation\u2019s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, Ars reports. The mission, named NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), was subsequently deployed into its intended orbit 464 miles (747 km) above the Earth\u2019s surface. From this Sun-synchronous orbit, it will collect data about the planet\u2019s land and ice surfaces two times every 12 days.<\/p>\n

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A growing collaboration<\/em> \u2026 After Wednesday\u2019s launch, the spacecraft will undergo a three-month commissioning phase. The NISAR mission is notable both for its price tag\u2014Earth observation missions typically cost less because they do not need to be hardened for long-duration flight in deep space\u2014as well as the partnership with India. In terms of complexity and cost, this is the largest collaboration between NASA and ISRO to date and could set a template for further cooperation in space as part of the Artemis program or other initiatives.<\/p>\n

You can now see a Merlin engine at the Smithsonian<\/strong>. The National Air and Space Museum welcomed the public into five more of its renovated galleries on Monday, including two showcasing spaceflight artifacts, Ars reports. The new exhibitions shine a modern light on returning displays and restore the museum\u2019s almost 50-year-old legacy of adding objects that made history but have yet to become historical.<\/p>\n

The mighty Merlin<\/em> \u2026 Among the artifacts debuting in \u201cFutures in Space\u201d are a Merlin engine and grid fin that flew on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Sian Proctor\u2019s pressure suit that she wore on the private Inspiration4 mission in 2021, and a mockup of a New Shepard crew module that Blue Origin has pledged to replace with its first flown capsule when it is retired from flying. It\u2019s great to see elements of the Falcon 9 rocket in the museum. Although the booster is still active, it is by far the most-flown US rocket in history, and the Merlin engine is the most reliable rocket engine over that timeframe.<\/p>\n

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Reason Foundation calls for termination of SLS<\/strong>. A libertarian think tank, the Reason Foundation, has published a new report that is deeply critical of NASA\u2019s Artemis program and its use of the Space Launch System Rocket and Orion spacecraft. \u201cNASA needs to bite the bullet and end its use of obsolete, non-reusable launch vehicles and sole-source, cost-plus contracts,\u201d the report states. \u201cIt should shift to state-of-the-art reusable spacecraft and public-private partnerships like those now transporting cargo and people between Earth and the International Space Station.\u201d<\/p>\n

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How to get to the Moon<\/em> \u2026 The report estimates that canceling the SLS rocket, its ground systems, Orion, and the Lunar Gateway would save NASA $5.25 billion a year. The authors posit several different architectures for a lunar lander that would be ready sooner and be compatible with existing rockets. This includes a novel plan to use Crew Dragon, with legs, as a lander. It is not clear how much impact the report will have, as Congress seems to want to fly the SLS indefinitely, and the Trump administration seeks to cancel the rocket after two more flights.<\/p>\n

NASA is finally interested in propellant depots<\/strong>. This week NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center posted an update noting its recent work on developing and testing technology to manage cryogenic propellants in space. Teams at the field center in Huntsville, Alabama tested an innovative approach to achieve zero boiloff storage of liquid hydrogen using two stages of active cooling, which could prevent the loss of valuable propellant. \u201cTechnologies for reducing propellant loss must be implemented for successful long-duration missions to deep space like the Moon and Mars,\u201d said Kathy Henkel, acting manager of NASA\u2019s Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio Project, based at NASA Marshall.<\/p>\n

If only this had been done earlier<\/em> \u2026 This is great, obviously, as long-term storage of liquid propellants such as oxygen, hydrogen, and methane are critical to the strategies of SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other companies working to develop reusable and more cost-effective space transportation vehicles. However, it is somewhat ironic to see NASA and Marshall promoting this work after it was suppressed for a decade by US Sen. Richard Shelby, the Alabama Republican. As Ars has previously reported, in order to protect the Space Launch System rocket, Shelby directed NASA to end its work on storage and transfer of cryogenic propellants, going so far as to say he would fire anyone who used the word \u2018depot.\u2019 Well, we will say it: Depot<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<h2>Next three launches<\/h2><\/p>\n

August 1<\/strong>: Falcon 9 | Crew-11 | Kennedy Space Center, Florida | 15:43 UTC<\/p>\n

August 2<\/strong>: Electron | JAKE 4 suborbital flight | Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia | 01:45 UTC<\/p>\n

August 4<\/strong>: Falcon 9 | Starlink 10-30 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida | 04:11 UTC<\/p>\n

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