Rocket Lab Signs First Neutron Launch Customer (spacenews.com) 5
Rocket Lab says it has signed the first customer for its Neutron launch vehicle, with a launch planned for mid-2025. SpaceNews reports: The company announced Nov. 12 that it signed a contract with an undisclosed "commercial satellite constellation operator" for two launches of Neutron, one in mid-2026 and the other in 2027, a deal that could lead to additional launches for the same customer. "We see this agreement as an important opportunity that signifies the beginning of a productive collaboration that could see Neutron deploy this particular customer's entire constellation," Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, said in an earnings call Nov. 12 to discuss the company's third quarter financial results. [...]
Beck said Rocket Lab is "deep into the qualification testing" of flight hardware, including vehicle structures and the Archimedes engine, which was hotfired for the first time in August at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. "Our engine test cadence in Mississippi has doubled over the quarter, and we've bought multiple engines to the test stand," he said. Neutron is a key part of the company's ambitions to deploy its own constellation, something that Beck has hinted at in some previous earnings calls. His presentation called that constellation the third pillar for Rocket Lab, after launch services and spacecraft production, both of which support the constellation.
"We're not ready to reveal details on what this constellation or application may be," he said, "but I think it's important to understand the strong foundation we've built up across launch and space systems to enable it in due course." That includes Neutron, with Beck citing SpaceX's use of Falcon 9 to deploy its Starlink constellation. "Everything is irrelevant without a reusable high cadence launch. So, Neutron is really the key to unlocking that."
Beck said Rocket Lab is "deep into the qualification testing" of flight hardware, including vehicle structures and the Archimedes engine, which was hotfired for the first time in August at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. "Our engine test cadence in Mississippi has doubled over the quarter, and we've bought multiple engines to the test stand," he said. Neutron is a key part of the company's ambitions to deploy its own constellation, something that Beck has hinted at in some previous earnings calls. His presentation called that constellation the third pillar for Rocket Lab, after launch services and spacecraft production, both of which support the constellation.
"We're not ready to reveal details on what this constellation or application may be," he said, "but I think it's important to understand the strong foundation we've built up across launch and space systems to enable it in due course." That includes Neutron, with Beck citing SpaceX's use of Falcon 9 to deploy its Starlink constellation. "Everything is irrelevant without a reusable high cadence launch. So, Neutron is really the key to unlocking that."
We also need a real space station soon (Score:2)
By this I mean one that rotates so there's a crew habitat and a place to work with simulated gravity, a von Braun space wheel, the station has to be extensive, the side effects of Coriolis force needs to be managed.
In theory, the station could be configured to simulate the gravitational acceleration of Earth (9.81 m/s2), allowing for human long stays in space without the drawbacks of microgravity. ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Rotation puts extra stress on the station though, so it's not ideal for long term integrity. It also makes maintaining it a bit of a pain, because you either have to work in gravity or halt the rotation temporarily. Docking becomes more difficult too.
Then there's the question of what you would actually do up there. One of the nice things about the ISS is you can do micro gravity experiments. What are you going to do on a station with gravity? Things like telescopes don't work as well with rotation compared
Re: (Score:2)
By this I mean one that rotates so there's a crew habitat and a place to work with simulated gravity,
Why?
The whole point of going into Earth orbit is for the microgravity. If you need 1-g to do what you want to do: you have 1-g on the surface of the Earth.
Neutron propulsion (Score:2)
While you could use high velocity neutrons to propel a spacecraft, its not something you'd want near a inhabited planet.