{"id":44029,"date":"2026-04-10T17:39:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T09:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-report-chinese-version-of-falcon-9-fails-artemis-depends-on-rapid-heavy-lift\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T17:39:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T09:39:21","slug":"rocket-report-chinese-version-of-falcon-9-fails-artemis-depends-on-rapid-heavy-lift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-report-chinese-version-of-falcon-9-fails-artemis-depends-on-rapid-heavy-lift\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Report: Chinese version of Falcon 9 fails; Artemis depends on rapid heavy lift"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to Edition 8.36 of the Rocket Report! Thank you for your indulgence of our missing the report last week, as we focused on the launch and progress of the Artemis II mission. And we are so thrilled it has been going smoothly, with brilliant imagery of the far side of the Moon. Of course, arguably the most difficult part of the flight remains ahead of the crew and Orion spacecraft: atmospheric reentry on Friday evening. We will, of course, have full and continuing coverage for you.<\/p>\n<p style=\"\">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<p><iframe allow=\"autoplay; attribution-reporting 'src' https:\/\/cm.teads.tv\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"native\" id=\"teads-native-iframe\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 100% !important; height: 385px; border: none; overflow: hidden; display: block; float: none;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<figure class=\"ars-img-shortcode id-1314289 align-center\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"81\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/smalll.png\" class=\"center full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/smalll.png 560w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/smalll-300x43.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\"><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>Alpha rocket may launch offshore<\/strong>. Seagate Space Corporation announced on Monday a \u201cmemorandum of understanding\u201d with Firefly Aerospace to explore the development of an offshore launch platform that enables a sea-based launch capability for the Alpha rocket. Seagate Space said it will work closely with Firefly to mature the design of an integrated offshore launch system capable of supporting Alpha.<\/p>\n<p><em>A clean break<\/em> \u2026 \u201cPartnering with Firefly to align our Gateway platform with their Alpha vehicle is a major step toward making offshore launch a practical reality for the industry,\u201d said Sean Fortener, president and COO at Seagate Space. The company said its Gateway technology represents a \u201cclean break\u201d from legacy barge conversions and repurposed vessels. The launch platform would open up additional orbits and inclinations for Alpha.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Isar Aerospace stands down from Thursday launch attempt<\/strong>. The Germany-based launch company had said its latest launch window for the second launch of the Spectrum rocket would open at 20:00 UTC on Thursday, April 9. However, about an hour before the opening of the window, the company said it was standing down to \u201cevaluate a suspected leak in a composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV). The teams are assessing and will determine next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<p><em>Seeking to be the first<\/em> \u2026 The launch attempt from a site in Norway follows the initial flight of the Spectrum rocket about a year ago, during which the rocket cartwheeled upside-down and fell a short distance from its Arctic launch pad. Isar is attempting to become the first European launch startup to reach orbit. The Spectrum rocket is designed to have a lift capacity of up to 1 metric ton to low-Earth orbit.<\/p>\n<h5 class=\"ars-newsletter-shortcode-header\">\n    <svg class=\"ars-newsletter-shortcode-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\"><defs><clipPath id=\"rocket_svg__a\"><path fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"0\" d=\"M0 0h60v60H0z\"><\/path><\/clipPath><clipPath id=\"rocket_svg__b\"><path fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"0\" d=\"M0 0h60v60H0z\"><\/path><\/clipPath><\/defs><g clip-path=\"url(#rocket_svg__a)\"><g clip-path=\"url(#rocket_svg__b)\"><path fill=\"#e8e9ec\" d=\"M45.9 8.57c-.49-.7-.9-1.48-1.32-2.25q.525 1.095 1.32 2.25m7.78 6.85c-.77-.42-1.55-.84-2.25-1.32.77.53 1.52.98 2.25 1.32m-7.67-6.7a22 22 0 0 0 2.41 2.86c-.88-.87-1.68-1.83-2.41-2.85\"><\/path><path fill=\"#ff4e00\" d=\"M14.32 45.68a.905.905 0 0 0-1.29 0L1.99 56.72c-.36.36-.36.93 0 1.29s.93.36 1.29 0l11.04-11.05c.36-.36.36-.93 0-1.29m3.88 1.3a.905.905 0 0 0-1.29 0L5.87 58.02c-.36.36-.36.93 0 1.29s.93.36 1.29 0L18.2 48.26c.36-.36.36-.93 0-1.29m-5.17-5.17a.905.905 0 0 0-1.29 0l-9.75 9.76c-.36.36-.36.93 0 1.29s.93.36 1.29 0l9.75-9.75c.36-.36.36-.93 0-1.29\"><\/path><path fill=\"#e8e9ec\" d=\"M45.9 8.57c.04.05.07.1.11.16.73 1.03 1.53 1.98 2.41 2.85.87.88 1.83 1.68 2.86 2.41.05.04.1.07.16.11.7.49 1.48.9 2.25 1.32.39.19.76.34 1.13.47C58.05 8.86 59.48 2.94 59.99.84c.12-.51-.31-.94-.83-.83-2.11.44-8.02 1.94-15.05 5.17.13.37.29.74.47 1.13.42.77.84 1.55 1.32 2.25m-4.25 38.79c.82-1.19 1.17-2.64.99-4.08l-1.01-7.99c5.33-5.33 9.18-11.37 11.98-16.93-2.15-.51-4.87-2.15-7.34-4.62s-4.11-5.19-4.62-7.34c-5.56 2.8-11.6 6.65-16.93 11.98l-7.99-1.01c-1.43-.18-2.89.17-4.08.99L.09 26.96c-.14.1-.11.32.06.36l9.58-.71c.86-.07 1.73-.01 2.58.15l4.36.85c-1.76 2.8-2.21 3.76-2.21 3.76-2.92 5.96-1.14 9.42 1.8 12.37 2.94 2.94 6.41 4.72 12.37 1.8 0 0 .96-.45 3.75-2.21l.85 4.36c.17.85.22 1.72.15 2.58l-.71 9.58c.05.17.27.2.36.06l8.61-12.56Z\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/svg><br \/>\n    The Ars Technica Rocket Report<br \/>\n  <\/h5>\n<p>  The easiest way to keep up with Eric Berger\u2019s and Stephen Clark\u2019s reporting on all things space is to sign up for our newsletter. We\u2019ll collect their stories and deliver them straight to your inbox.<br \/>\n  Sign Me<br \/>\n    Up!<\/p>\n<p><strong>PLD Space secures bank loan<\/strong>. Spanish launch services provider PLD Space has secured a 30 million euro ($35,111,839) loan from the European Investment Bank, a month after closing a 180 million euro ($210,671,034) Series C funding round, European Spaceflight reports. PLD Space made the announcement on Tuesday, explaining the loan would fund \u201cthe final development stage\u201d of its MIURA 5 rocket. While the company did not disclose detailed terms of the loan, it confirmed that the financing would take the form of venture debt, which is repaid directly over time rather than exchanged for equity.<\/p>\n<p><em>Access now \u201cessential\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;\u2026 \u201cAs space becomes increasingly strategic, access is no longer a luxury. It is essential to our security, our economy, and our future,\u201d said European Union Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius. The Series C funding announced earlier will be focused on what comes next, with the company scaling production and industrial infrastructure as it prepares to transition to commercial operations following what it hopes will be a successful inaugural launch. The two-stage MIURA 5 rocket may make its debut later this year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Phantom Space acquires thermal components company<\/strong>. Phantom Space said on April 2 it had acquired Thermal Management Technologies, a company that builds advanced satellite thermal components for in-space applications. With the acquisition, the Arizona-based rocket and satellite developer is aiming to spur development of its in-orbit data center constellation\u2014called Phantom Cloud\u2014which is targeting an initial deployment in mid-2027, Payload reports.<\/p>\n<p><em>Waiting on Daytona<\/em> \u2026 \u201cTMT\u2019s technology is a critical piece of the puzzle for our constellation,\u201d Phantom CEO Jim Cantrell said. \u201cThey have deep expertise in satellite thermal components, and we see immense potential in their technology to improve the performance and reliability of our orbital infrastructure.\u201d Phantom is also developing the Daytona launch vehicle, the debut for which has now been pushed back to the \u201clatter half\u201d of 2027. Also, it\u2019s hard to believe, but we recently passed the fifth anniversary of the infamous Phantom rendering. Time flies even if rockets do not.<\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ars-img-shortcode id-1314295 align-center\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"81\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/mediuml.png\" class=\"center full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/mediuml.png 560w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/mediuml-300x43.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\"><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>Tianlong-3 fails on debut launch<\/strong>. The first launch of the Tianlong-3 rocket from Chinese commercial firm Space Pioneer failed Friday after suffering an anomaly in its ascent phase, Space News reports. State media Xinhua&nbsp;confirmed the failure with a short text report a few hours after liftoff. The specific cause is under further analysis and investigation, the report stated. Space Pioneer is one of the more promising Chinese launch startups, raising funds of $350 million to date.<\/p>\n<p><em>Intended to compete with the Falcon 9<\/em> \u2026 Tianlong-3 is a 72-meter-long, two-stage launch vehicle using a kerosene-liquid oxygen propellant mix. Designed for partial reusability, it is capable of carrying 17 to 22 metric tons to low Earth orbit. The first stage is powered by nine Tianhuo-12 variable thrust engines. The rocket is among a number of new, potentially recoverable rockets developed by commercial and state entities preparing for debut flights, including the Zhuque-3 and Long March 12A. Both rockets successfully reached orbit but failed with first-stage recovery attempts in December.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ariane 6 may be comparable in price to Falcon 9 in some cases<\/strong>. The European Space Agency has disclosed that launching the Sentinel-1D Earth observation satellite aboard an Ariane 62 rocket in November 2025 cost 82,070,773 euros ($96,055,192), European Spaceflight reports. ESA\u2019s disclosure marks the first public indication of Ariane 62 launch pricing, enabling a more direct comparison with other launch systems such as Falcon 9.<\/p>\n<p><em>Different customers, different prices<\/em> \u2026 In December 2022, NASA, in partnership with ESA, announced that it would launch the Sentinel-6B mission aboard a Falcon 9 at a cost of approximately $94 million, around 90 million euros ($105,335,517) at December 2022 exchange rates. On this basis, Ariane 62 appears broadly comparable in price to Falcon 9 for dedicated institutional missions. However, SpaceX clearly has a sliding price scale, and it is believed to have an internal launch cost for its own Starlink missions of approximately $15 million.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Falcon 9 stretches its reuse milestone<\/strong>. SpaceX\u2019s fleet-leading Falcon 9 booster made a record-breaking 34th flight on March 30 with a mission to deploy a batch of 29 satellites for the company\u2019s Internet service, Spaceflight Now reports. SpaceX is currently targeting up to 40 uses per Falcon 9 first stage.<\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<p><em>Accumulating a lot of experience<\/em> \u2026 Booster 1076 entered the SpaceX fleet in 2021 and since then has launched missions including CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Eutelsat Hotbird 13G, SES O3B mPOWER-A, PSN Satria, Telkomsat Merah Putih 2, Galileo L13, Koreasat-6A Crew-6, and USSF-124, plus 22 batches of Starlink satellites. (submitted by EllPeaTea)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Atlas V launches heaviest payload<\/strong>. United Launch Alliance launched its latest Atlas 5 rocket, which carried a batch of 29 Amazon Leo satellites to low-Earth orbit early on April 4, Spaceflight Now reports. The mission was the largest and heaviest payload carried to orbit by an Atlas 5 rocket to date, according to ULA.<\/p>\n<p><em>Upper stage performance is key<\/em> \u2026 The previous four missions for Amazon Leo that launched on Atlas 5 rockets carried 27 satellites each. ULA and Amazon Leo were able to increase the payload stack to 29 as \u201ca result of detailed engineering work between ULA and Amazon,\u201d according to ULA. Amazon pointed to ULA\u2019s use of the RL10C-1-1 engine on the rocket\u2019s upper stage as a key reason why they were able to add two more satellites to the mission.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ars-img-shortcode id-1314297 align-center\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"81\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/heavyl.png\" class=\"center full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/heavyl.png 560w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/heavyl-300x43.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\"><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>SLS rocket successfully delivers Artemis II crew to orbit<\/strong>. On April 1, the Space Launch System rocket majestically launched the Orion spacecraft into orbit from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Ars reports. A few minutes after liftoff, as Artemis II headed east over the Atlantic Ocean, the astronauts got their first glimpse of the full Moon through their forward windows. \u201cWe have a beautiful moonrise,\u201d Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman reported. \u201cWe\u2019re heading right at it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Two for two<\/em> \u2026 The SLS rocket has now launched two times, both successfully. In the days afterward, NASA engineers said the rocket had inserted Orion into its proper orbit with greater than 99 percent accuracy, better even than the Artemis I mission in late 2022. The Mobile Launch tower was being prepared for movement back into the Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida for minor repairs and to prepare for the stacking of the SLS rocket for the Artemis III mission. The program is preparing to support a launch in 2027.<\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<p><strong>NASA\u2019s Moon program depends on reusable launch<\/strong>. This is not the kind of talk you would hear from past NASA administrators, but it is entirely true. This week, the US space agency\u2019s chief, Jared Isaacman, said almost off-handedly that the long-term success of the Artemis program depended on SpaceX and Blue Origin succeeding with their reusable launch systems, Starship and New Glenn, Ars reports.<\/p>\n<p><em>Saying truths out loud<\/em> \u2026 \u201cA big key to our strategy\u2014to not just return to the Moon but to stay and build a base\u2014is the rapid reusability of heavy-lift launch vehicles,\u201d Isaacman said during an Artemis II news conference. \u201cThe more they get experience doing that, the more options that are available to us for Artemis III.\u201d One of the most refreshing things about Isaacman\u2019s tenure has been his willingness to say true, but previously taboo things out loud.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Starship launch delayed until May<\/strong>. SpaceX\u2019s next Starship test \u200bflight will take place in May and \u200cnot April as previously scheduled, Reuters reports. SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted on social media platform X that the next flight of \u200bStarship\u2019s V3 vehicle was four to \u200bsix weeks away, or in the first \u2060two weeks of May. SpaceX\u2019s \u200bdebut of the V3 Starship iteration has been delayed for months as the company has packed dozens of \u200bupgrades into the vehicle to make \u200bit more reliable and suitable for NASA missions, like \u200clanding \u2060on the moon under the Artemis program.<\/p>\n<p><em>Half a year since previous launch<\/em> \u2026 SpaceX\u2019s previous \u2060Starship test launch, its 11th, occurred in October. The final flight of the V2 version of the rocket, this mission was largely successful. The delay comes as NASA is pushing aggressively to accelerate its Artemis program, which will require either SpaceX\u2019s Starship or Blue Origin\u2019s Blue Moon vehicle to land humans on the Moon. So NASA really needs to see Starship flying frequently.<\/p>\n<h2>Next three launches<\/h2>\n<p><strong>April 11<\/strong>: Falcon 9 | Starlink 17-21 | Vandenberg Space Force Base, California | 02:39 UTC<\/p>\n<p><strong>April 11<\/strong>: Falcon 9 | CRS NG-24 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida | 11:41 UTC<\/p>\n<p><strong>April 14<\/strong>: Kinetica 1 | Unknown Payload | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China | 04:00 UTC<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ars-img-shortcode id-1311255 align-center\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"120\" height=\"120\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/rocket.png\" class=\"center full\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to Edition 8.36 of the Rocket Report! Thank you for your indulgence of our missing the report last week, as we focused on the launch and progress of the Artemis II mission. And we are so thrilled it has been going smoothly, with brilliant imagery of the far side of the Moon. Of course, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9476,21],"class_list":["post-44029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-rocket-report","tag-space"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44029"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}