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WG3K > ANS 18.02.24 02:00z 80 Lines 4353 Bytes #999 (0) @ AMSAT
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Subj: Small Launch Companies Seek Niches to Compete With SpaceX Ri
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Small launch vehicle developers are working to carve out niches in a market
for smallsat launches that is increasingly dominated by SpaceXâ€Ös
Transporter rideshare missions.
The Transporter missions, which fill a Falcon 9 often with more than 100
smallsats, offer per-kilogram prices significantly below dedicated small
launch vehicles. SpaceX has seen high demand for those missions and
announced plans last year for a related line of missions called Bandwagon
that will go to mid-inclination orbits.
“The Transporter program was created a few years ago with, in my opinion,
the sole purpose of trying to kill new entrants like us,” said Sandy
Tirtey, director of global commercial launch services at Rocket Lab, during
a panel at the SmallSat Symposium in Mountain View, Calif. on Feb. 7. “Yet,
we are still flying because we offer something unique.”
That uniqueness, he argued, is the ability to fly missions to specific
orbits not served by Transporter rideshare missions. An example is Rocket
Labâ€Ös next Electron launch, which will place into orbit the ADRAS-J
inspector satellite for Astroscale. That mission requires a specific,
precise orbit so that ADRAS-J can rendezvous with a derelict Japanese upper
stage.
*A Rocket Lab Electron launched four smallsats for NorthStar Earth and
Space Jan. 31. Credit: Rocket Lab*
“Electron is really the only vehicle capable of delivering such a complex
mission on an expedited timeline,” Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket
Lab, said in a Feb. 7 statement about the launch, scheduled for Feb. 19
(New Zealand time). Rocket Lab said the specific launch time will be
determined just a day before launch, with a near-instantaneous launch
window.
“Most of the missions that we fly are enabled by the fact that we offer
dedicated services,” Tirtey said, citing the upcoming ADRAS-J launch.
“There is no way you could do this on a rideshare.”
Other panelists said they are targeting customers with specific
requirements or needs that make them less price-sensitive than those who
opt for the less expensive Transporter launches. That includes dedicated
orbits and high reliability, said Pablo Gallego, senior vice president of
sales and customers at Spanish launch company PLD Space. “We are offering a
premium service for the ones that are willing to pay.”
That argument, though, is in danger of being undercut by the combination of
rideshare launches and orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs), which can take
satellites to their desired orbit after being deployed from a Transporter
or similar launch. Several companies are offering such vehicles and using
them on Transporter launches.
While that combination may still be less expensive than dedicated launches,
it still doesnâ€Öt offer sufficient flexibility, launch providers argued. “We
are excited to partner with a lot of OTV providers in providing that
service to our customers, but it comes down to performance and how quickly
you can get there,” said Robert Sproles, chief technology officer of launch
services company Exolaunch. “If it takes you multiple months on orbit to
get to that final destination, thereâ€Ös a strong argument to be made to
going dedicated.”
Tirtey said that maneuvers that require plane changes can take months to
complete, adding that current OTV providers have yet to demonstrate the
ability to perform such complex maneuvers. “It could be useful, but you
canâ€Öt expect a revolution because of physics.”
However, on another panel at the conference Feb. 6, industry officials said
they see challenges for small launch vehicles coming from SpaceXâ€Ös
Starship, which promises much greater performance at significantly lower
prices. “If youâ€Öre a smallsat company, your business model should be
looking forward to the model of the Starship rideshare,” a scaled-up
version of Falcon 9 rideshare, said Abhishek Tripathi, director of mission
operations at the University of California Berkeleyâ€Ös Space Sciences Lab
and who previously worked at SpaceX.
He said that the introduction of Starship could change how spacecraft are
designed, allowing the use of heavier but cheaper materials and components.
“You can throw mass and power and volume at your problem and thereby scale
up your satellite bus and still be cheap.”
[ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information]
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