Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Welcome to Rocket Report version 8.37! NASA is still coming off the highs of the Artemis II mission, the first human landing on the moon since 1972. What a great mission this is! Attention now turns to completing the development of the lander to deliver astronauts to the lunar surface. In addition, we recorded the latest progress of NASA’s two lunar lander contractors, SpaceX and Blue Origin, in this week’s rocket report.
As always, we Reader contributions are welcome. If you don’t want to miss an issue, please use the box below to subscribe (the form will not appear on the AMP-enabled version of the site). Each report will include information on small, medium and heavy rockets, as well as a quick look ahead to the next three launches on the calendar.
Moon landing from the final frontier. Israeli space launch company Moonshot Space will place its first electromagnetic accelerator in Fairbanks, Alaska, under a memorandum of understanding signed with spaceport operator Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC) at a space symposium. Aviation Weekly and Space Technology Reports. Moonshot, which emerged from stealth mode in December and raised $12 million in funding, is developing a high-power electromagnetic launch system to propel payloads and carry cargo into space at hypersonic speeds using electricity instead of chemical fuels. The Times of Israel reports.
Prefer bold people... “This agreement reflects AAC’s commitment to pioneering innovation on the last frontier,” said AAC CEO John Oberst. “We are working hard to align the infrastructure, partnerships and regulatory pathways to support the next generation of space access with forward-thinking companies like Moonshot Space.” Shahar Bahiri, Moonshot’s chief operating officer and co-founder, acknowledged that the company’s vision is “extremely brave” and that spaceport operators taking it on board are not taking it for granted.” Moonshot The approach is truly unusual. Even if the company gets the technology to work, the kinetic launch method comes with the drawback of extreme acceleration that could damage or destroy normal satellites. Instead, Moonshot envisions launching raw materials into orbit for in-space manufacturing.
