План британских космических пусков

[Salo]

https://tass.ru/kosmos/16047669

ЛОНДОН, 13 октября. /ТАСС/. Первый запуск ракеты-носителя Skylark L британского производителя космической техники Skyrora с полигона на полуострове Лаунганес в Исландии закончился в четверг падением аппарата в море. Об этом сообщает вещательная корпорация Би-би-си.
Запуск Skylark L осуществлялся в целях тестирования систем ракеты и пусковых процедур. Изначально планировалось поднять 11-метровый аппарат на высоту более чем 100 км над уровнем моря, однако из-за технической проблемы он упал в воду примерно в 500 м от пусковой площадки почти сразу после старта, поясняет Би-би-си.
Как сообщают представители компании, "это не нарушило никаких планов". Skyrora намерена запустить в 2023 году полноценную 23-метровую ракету-носитель Skyrora XL с космодрома Саксаворд, который в настоящее время сооружается на Шетландских островах у берегов Шотландии.
"Хотя этот запуск прошел не совсем так, как мы ожидали, это был ценный опыт", - резюмировал основатель и генеральный директор Skyrora Владимир Левыкин.

Skylark L - "зондирующая ракета" (ракетный зонд), работающая на керосине и перекиси водорода. Она предназначена для того, чтобы поднимать научные грузы на достаточную высоту на несколько минут для проведения экспериментов в условиях невесомости. Ракета не предназначена для достаточно высокого и быстрого подъема, поэтому ее называют суборбитальной.

[Salo]

Launched:
Date - Satellite(s) - Rocket - Launch Site (Country) - Time (UTC)

1969.06.28 - Suborbital test - Black Arrow - Woomera (Australia) - 22:58 (Failure)
1970.03.04 - Suborbital test - Black Arrow - Woomera (Australia) - 21:15
1970.09.02 - Orba - Black Arrow - Woomera (Australia) - 00:34 (Failure)
1971.10.28 - Prospero - Black Arrow - Woomera (Australia) - 04:09
2023.01.09 - "Start Me Up": AMBER 1 (IOD-AMBER, IOD 3), AMAN, CIRCE 1, CIRCE 2, Dover, ForgeStar-0, Prometheus 2A, Prometheus 2B, STORK-6 - LauncherOne - Newquay, Boeing 747 "Cosmic Girl" (US, UK) - 23:08 (Failure)

Scheduled:
Date - Satellite(s) - Rocket - Launch Site (Country) - Time (UTC)

2023
NET January - SL-OMV [CubeSat (x6)] - RS1 - SaxaVord Spaceport (UK, US)
H2 - orbital launch - Skyrora XL - SaxaVord Spaceport (UK, Ukraine)
TBD - QKDSat 1 (Arqit) - LauncherOne - RW12/30, Newquay, Boeing 747 "Cosmic Girl" (US, UK)
Late 2022  TBD - TBD - Prime (Orbex) - SaxaVord Spaceport (US, UK)
TBD - Faraday-2b - Prime (Orbex) - Sutherland spaceport
TBD - TBD - Prime (Orbex) - Sutherland spaceport

Unclear:
NET 2023 - TBD - Skylon - TBD (UK)
NET 2023 - QKDSat 2 (Arqit) - LauncherOne - RW12/30, Newquay, Boeing 747 "Cosmic Girl" (US, UK)
NET 2023 - Arqit sat - LauncherOne - RW12/30, Newquay, Boeing 747 "Cosmic Girl" (US, UK)
NET 2023 - Arqit sat - LauncherOne - RW12/30, Newquay, Boeing 747 "Cosmic Girl" (US, UK)
NET 2023 - Arqit sat - LauncherOne - RW12/30, Newquay, Boeing 747 "Cosmic Girl" (US, UK)
TBD - TBD - Prime (Orbex) - Portuguese spaceport, Azores
TBD - TBD - Black Arrow 2 - Space Ship (Horizon Sea Launch)

Rideshare:
NET 2023 - Kernow Sat 1 - LauncherOne - Newquay, Boeing 747 "Cosmic Girl" (US, UK)
NET 2023 - ARTEMIS 1 - LauncherOne - Newquay, Boeing 747 "Cosmic Girl" (US, UK)

Newquay - Cornwall Airport Newquay
SaxaVord Spaceport - Lamba Ness peninsula on Unst, Shetland Islands, Scotland
Sutherland spaceport - A' Mhòine peninsula northwest of Tongue village, Sutherland, Scotland

Acronyms:
QKDSat - Quantum Key Distribution Satellite

Changes on December 9th
Changes on January 10th

[Salo]

https://tass.ru/kosmos/16763781

ЛОНДОН, 10 января. /ТАСС/. Первый в истории запуск космических спутников с территории Великобритании завершился неудачно после того, как ракета-носитель воздушного запуска LauncherOne американской компании Virgin Orbit не смогла вывести аппараты на орбиту. Об этом говорится в распространенном в понедельник вечером сообщении Virgin Orbit.
"Похоже, мы столкнулись с аномалией, которая помешала нам достигнуть орбиты. Мы оцениваем информацию", - сказано в заявлении компании в Twitter. Virgin Orbit добавила, что удалила ранее размещенную публикацию об успешном пуске LauncherOne.
Модифицированный самолет Boeing-747 с закрепленной под левым крылом двухступенчатой ракетой-носителем LauncherOne в понедельник вечером поднялся в воздух с территории аэропорта Ньюки на юго-западе Англии для вывода девяти спутников на околоземную орбиту. Спустя чуть более часа после взлета в намеченной точке над Атлантическом океаном недалеко от побережья ирландских графств Корк и Керри на высоте 10,5 км был выпущена ракета LauncherOne.
Согласно трансляции в эфире британского телеканала Sky News, двигатель первой ступени ракеты включился спустя четыре секунды после сброса и работал положенные три минуты перед тем, как первая ступень отделилась. Впоследствии должна была отсоединиться и вторая ступень ракеты, которая поднимает полезную нагрузку до околоземной орбиты (примерно 550 км), однако этого не произошло. Точные причины неудачного пуска пока не разглашались. Сам Boeing уже успел вернуться в Ньюки, где по-прежнему находились несколько тысяч жителей Великобритании, которые специально приехали в графство Корнуолл, чтобы запечатлеть исторический момент для Соединенного Королевства.

[Salo]

Launched:
Date - Satellite(s) - Rocket - Launch Site (Country) - Time (UTC)

1969.06.28 - Suborbital test - Black Arrow - Woomera (Australia) - 22:58 (Failure)
1970.03.04 - Suborbital test - Black Arrow - Woomera (Australia) - 21:15
1970.09.02 - Orba - Black Arrow - Woomera (Australia) - 00:34 (Failure)
1971.10.28 - Prospero - Black Arrow - Woomera (Australia) - 04:09
2023.01.09 - "Start Me Up": AMBER 1 (IOD-AMBER, IOD 3), AMAN, CIRCE 1, CIRCE 2, Dover, ForgeStar-0, Prometheus 2A, Prometheus 2B, STORK-6 - LauncherOne - Newquay, Boeing 747 "Cosmic Girl" (US, UK) - 23:08 (Failure)

Scheduled:
Date - Satellite(s) - Rocket - Launch Site (Country) - Time (UTC)

2024
NET January 2023  TBD - SL-OMV [CubeSat (x6)] - RS1 - SaxaVord Spaceport (UK, US) (or 2025)

2025
  2023   NET Summer - Faraday-2b - Prime (Orbex) -    Sutherland spaceport   SaxaVord Spaceport (US, UK)
H2 2023  2024   NET H2 - orbital launch - Skyrora XL - SaxaVord Spaceport (UK, Ukraine)
Late - TBD - Zephyr - SaxaVord Spaceport (France)
  2023   TBD - Faraday-2b - Prime (Orbex) - Sutherland spaceport
  NET Fall 2024   TBD - ERMINAZ-1U, ERMINAZ-1V, MARIA-G (HADES-F), QUBIK-5, UNNE-1 (HADES-E) - RFA ONE - SaxaVord Spaceport (UK, US)
  2023   TBD - TBD - Prime (Orbex) - Sutherland spaceport

Unclear:
  2023   TBD - TBD - Skylon - TBD (UK)
TBD - TBD - Prime (Orbex) - Portuguese spaceport, Azores
TBD - TBD - Proxima (Orbex) - SaxaVord Spaceport (UK, US)
TBD - TBD - Black Arrow 2 - Space Ship (Horizon Sea Launch)

Newquay - Cornwall Airport Newquay
SaxaVord Spaceport - Lamba Ness peninsula on Unst, Shetland Islands, Scotland
Sutherland spaceport - A' Mhòine peninsula northwest of Tongue village, Sutherland, Scotland

Acronyms:
QKDSat - Quantum Key Distribution Satellite

Changes on July 24th
Changes on August 6th
Changes on August 20th
Changes on August 22nd
Changes on September 19th
Changes on October 5th
Changes on November 6th
Changes on November 15th
Changes on December 6th

[Salo]

https://twitter.com/rfa_space/status/1825634436794245548 Вы не можете просматривать это вложение.

[Salo]

https://spacenews.com/orbex-working-towards-2025-first-launch/

In an interview during the Farnborough International Airshow in July, Phil Chambers, chief executive of the United Kingdom-based company, said the company was making progress on both its Prime small rocket and launch site at Sutherland Spaceport in northern Scotland.

"We expect the spaceport to be ready in early spring of next year," he said. Vehicle subsystems are going through critical design reviews, with some flight hardware under construction.

"We are shooting for a 2025 launch," he said, but declined to be more specific about a launch date other than to say that the company wanted to avoid a launch in winter because of poor weather conditions. "But I do want it to be 2025."

Matthew Archer, director of launch at the U.K. Space Agency, said in a separate interview at the air show that his agency expected the Sutherland Spaceport to be complete by early next year. The company's first launch, he projected, is "probably about a year or so away."

Once the company starts launching the Prime rocket, Chambers said launches would be limited by the company's ability to produce rockets in its current facilities. "We can probably handmake about three or four a year," he said. "We need to build a factory to scale up."

[Salo]

https://www.flightglobal.com/aerospace/reaction-engines-to-close-as-cutting-edge-sabre-fails-to-advance/160565.article

UK advanced propulsion developer Reaction Engines is to close down after it collapsed into administration having failed to secure additional funding.
Sarah O'Toole, Peter Dickens and Edward Williams of accountancy firm PwC were appointed as joint administrators of the firm on 31 October.
Reaction had proposed multiple applications for its SABRE technology, including a hypersonic transport
Although some employees will be retained to fulfil existing orders and support winding-down operations, 173 of the 208 staff members were immediately made redundant.
An Oxford University spin-out, Reaction has been developing its pioneering hypersonic synergetic air-breathing rocket engine (SABRE) for the last 35 years.
It foresaw widespread applications for the SABRE technology in the defence and civil markets but latterly had also identified near-term uses for its advanced heat-exchangers.
Funding for the company had mainly been from grants and equity raises, with investors including the United Arab Emirates' Strategic Development Fund (SDF) and aerospace primes BAE Systems, Boeing and Rolls-Royce.
SDF's interest – which required government approval – saw it lead a 2023 funding round that raised a total of £40 million ($47.7 million).
BAE Systems backed Reaction in 2015 with a £20.6 million investment, while Boeing and Rolls-Royce came on board as part of a £26.5 million raise in 2018.
PwC says the company had sought to raise additional funds but "unfortunately, these attempts were unsuccessful", leaving the directors with no alternative but to place the firm in administration.
Its most recent accounts, published on 17 December 2023 but covering the period ended 31 December 2022, warned that additional financing would be required by June 2024 "when cash reserves would be depleted".
Revenue for the period stood at £4.7 million and Reaction booked an operating loss of £28.8 million.
BAE Systems, which company records indicate held 1.15 million 'B Ordinary' shares, says: "We recognise this is a difficult time for everyone at Reaction Engines and we're keen to explore potential employment opportunities which may be of interest for those affected."
For its part, Rolls-Royce – which held 625,000 'D Ordinary' shares – says: "We are saddened that Reaction Engines has gone into administration. Our first thoughts are with the company and its employees as it navigates this difficult time."
Neither company offered any comment on their financial interest in Reaction.
It is understood that BAE Systems has, for several years, been looking at multiple avenues to exploit Reaction's technology and still retains an interest in its potential.
Both BAE Systems and Reaction were part of a UK Ministry of Defence framework agreement signed in May 2024 to develop a "sovereign hypersonic strike capability".
Up to 90 organisations were accepted on the framework, allowing them to bid for a share of a total of £1 billion in funding divided across eight lots.
Although Reaction had not secured a customer for its SABRE powerplant, it seemingly had a clearer route to commercialisation of its heat-exchangers.
Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) – another company in which SDF has made a significant investment – had selected Reaction's thermal management technology as the "preferred solution" for its Fresson hydrogen fuel cell powertrain.
Although CAeS says it has "already received sufficient support, parts and information from Reaction Engines" to equip its Britten-Norman BN2 Islander-based demonstrator, it is evaluating alternatives for the production version.
"We are of course engaging with other suppliers who offer advanced heat exchanger products that will provide suitable alternatives," it says.

[Salo]

All RS1 launches are canceled:
https://spacenews.com/abl-space-exits-commercial-launch-market-shifts-focus-to-missile-defense/

https://spacenews.com/skyora-eyes-spring-2025-launch-amid-uk-regulatory-hangups/

Thompson said the company is close to completing tests for the last two of nine engines on Skyrora XL's first stage, adding "we've got an engine test a week going on at the moment."
He said Skyrora is also close to manufacturing Skyrora XL's first stage and is preparing to integrate the engines for a vertical fire test by mid-2025.

[Salo]

https://spacenews.com/orbex-halts-work-on-own-spaceport-shifts-launches-to-saxavord/

WASHINGTON — Small launch vehicle developer Orbex will halt work on its own launch site in northern Scotland and instead use a rival facility in the Shetland Islands.

Orbex announced Dec. 4 that it would "pause" construction of Sutherland Spaceport in Scotland and instead use the SaxaVord Spaceport on the island of Unst in the Shetlands for its Prime launch vehicle.

The move, Orbex said, will free up resources to allow the company to focus on launch vehicle development, including both Prime and a new medium-class vehicle called Proxima.
...
"This decision will help us to reach first launch in 2025 and provides SaxaVord with another customer to further strengthen its commercial proposition. It's a win-win for U.K. and Scottish space," he added.