ABL Space Systems, a startup building low-cost launch vehicles for small satellites, announced that it raised over $90 million and plans to launch its first orbital mission by the first quarter of next year.
The El Segundo-based company secured $44.5 million in Air Force contracts and another $49 million in private funds led by Ethan Batraski at Venrock with participation from New Science Ventures, Lynett Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures.
<p>Their launch vehicle, the RS1 aims to carry up to 1,350 kg into low Earth orbit — around 200 kilometer above the Earth. Early testing has been successful with the vehicle's performance hitting all its targets, the company said. </p><p>"We've completed hundreds of engine, stage, and ground system tests across multiple deployments to unimproved sites. All were performed on generator power with fully self-sufficient systems," said Dan Piemont, ABL founder and CFO. </p><p>The company's GSO system, which it uses to launch the RS1, is marketed as an easy way to launch satellites on-demand. That system employs shipping containers and a concrete pad to set up a launch. The simple infrastructure cuts down on the need for the large teams employed by traditional satellite companies. </p><p>ABL is among a number of U.S. rocket builders like Long Beach-based Rocket Lab and Hawthorne-based SpaceX that are competing in the growing small satellite market.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMTQ2My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODk3NjYxM30.71rwtDiSzk6bu4Y0g4BH5Hj7PEn0BxYLZVrT7-MS_kU/image.jpg?width=980" id="a7ade" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f61a5264ebc27ea1d9f1a2cc56c1d145" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
</p><p>As the company ramps up toward their launch, it has expanded its footprint leasing additional propulsion test facilities at Mojave Air and Space Port and moved its operations into a 60,000 square foot production facility in El Segundo.<br/></p><p>The RS1 satellite launch vehicle team, now made up of 80 engineers, designers and production experts. </p><p>The price tag for a launch is $12 million. </p><p>ABL founder and Chief Financial Officer Dan Piemont said these "large capacity, fit-for-purpose resilient launch system" offer commercial and government customers "value." </p><p>The company shut down during the first month of the pandemic slowing down production and testing, but it resumed operations shortly after.</p>
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Virgin Galactic has taken the wraps off a concept for an airplane capable of flying three times the speed of sound, to be developed with support from Boeing and Rolls-Royce.
The project would be distinct from Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo suborbital space plane program, which is closing in on the start of commercial operations at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
<p>Today's announcement follows through on the company's heightened focus on high-speed aircraft development, which is backed by a <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/boeing-invest-20m-virgin-galactic-marking-milestone-team-commercial-space/" target="_blank">$20 million investment from Boeing HorizonX</a> and supported by a <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/boon-boeing-virgin-galactic-strikes-deal-nasa-work-supersonic-rocket-travel/" target="_blank">deal with NASA</a> to collaborate on supersonic projects.</p><p>Such an initiative seems likely to pit Virgin Galactic against aerospace industry players that have a head start in the race to revive supersonic travel — ranging from <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/spacex-elon-musk-starship/" target="_blank">SpaceX</a> and <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2018/nasa-supersonic-low-boom-lockheed/" target="_blank">Lockheed Martin</a> to <a href="https://boomsupersonic.com/" target="_blank">Boom Supersonic</a>, a startup that Virgin Galactic partnered with years ago.</p><p>Virgin Galactic says it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Rolls-Royce for the development of the plane's engine propulsion system, has put the design through a mission concept review in cooperation with NASA representatives, and is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to lay out a certification framework for the plane.</p><p>George Whitesides, who recently transitioned from CEO to a new position known as chief space officer to work on new projects, said the company has made "great progress so far" on the concept.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMTA4OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTY4Nzg3Mn0.H3zTv_JCW5VMtRv42ADXomHWbg15MUwKj5mXpuaGKFA/image.jpg?width=980" id="ca443" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="750e628974098310af80d419d4d42781" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Mach 3 Aircraft Design </small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Courtesy of Virgin Galactic </small></p><p>"We are excited to complete the mission concept review and unveil this initial design concept of a high-speed aircraft, which we envision as blending safe and reliable commercial travel with an unrivaled customer experience," Whitesides <a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/articles/virgin-galactic-unveils-mach-3-aircraft-design-for-high-speed-travel-and-signs-memorandum-of-understanding-with-rolls-royce/" target="_blank">said in a news release</a>.<br/></p><p>The basic parameters of the design call for a Mach 3 delta-wing aircraft that would have the capacity to fly nine to 19 people at an altitude above 60,000 feet. Virgin Galactic could provide customized cabin layouts to address customer needs, including business-class or first-class seating.</p><p>The plane would be designed to use existing airport infrastructure and lead the way in the use of sustainable aviation fuel.</p><p>The company provided no timetable for development. Nevertheless, the stock market's initial reaction to the news was positive — boosting <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%24spce" target="_blank">Virgin Galactic's share price</a> in early trading today.</p><p>Commercial supersonic travel faded away in 2003 with the retirement of the British-French Concorde, due to concerns about cost and sonic-boom restrictions. In recent years, NASA and a variety of aerospace ventures have been looking into "quiet-boom" technologies that might make supersonic flight more palatable (and satisfy regulators).</p><p>NASA has partnered with Lockheed Martin to build a test aircraft known as the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-x-59-quiet-supersonic-research-aircraft-cleared-for-final-assembly" target="_blank">X-59 QueSST</a>, or Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator. The X-59's first flight is due in the 2021-2022 time frame.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMTA4Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwODU0MDg0OX0.alWN0HC_kR651v7qLqZRxlFED6qSOqKjj19zBBiFJGI/image.jpg?width=980" id="de6ff" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="65709157dab548d5b6f9bb77e63ca382" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Mach 3 Aircraft Design </small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Courtesy of Virgin Galactic </small></p><p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://cosmiclog.com/tag/aerion/" target="_blank">Aerion Supersonic</a>, <a href="https://cosmiclog.com/tag/boom-technology/" target="_blank">Boom Supersonic</a> and <a href="https://cosmiclog.com/tag/spike-aerospace/" target="_blank">Spike Aerospace</a> are among a new crop of supersonic startups hoping to field planes and win FAA certification in the years ahead.<br/></p><p>Back in 2016, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson said <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2016/boom-moves-ahead-supersonic-plane-project-help-virgin-galactic/" target="_blank">his company would assist Boom</a> with engineering, design, manufacturing, flight testing and operations — and would take a purchase option on the first 10 airframes. Today's announcement suggests that Virgin Galactic is now moving in a different direction.</p><p>For what it's worth, Boom is due to <a href="https://boomsupersonic.com/xb-1" target="_blank">roll out its prototype XB-1 supersonic jet in October</a>.</p><p>Some wondered whether Virgin Galactic will be arriving too late to the supersonic soiree, or whether its plans for a high-speed aircraft were sufficiently realistic.</p><p>"Had to recheck the date on the calendar. Nope, not April 1," Aviation Week's <a href="https://twitter.com/TheDEWLine/status/1290250158907645958" target="_blank">Steve Trimble tweeted</a>.</p><p>Mars Society President Robert Zubrin, meanwhile, <a href="https://twitter.com/robert_zubrin/status/1290259547311837185" target="_blank">tweeted an illustration showing SpaceX's planned Starship super-rocket</a> and wrote, "Mach 3 won't cut it. The competition will be doing Mach 25."</p><p>If Virgin Galactic's supersonic airplane turns out to be vaporware, at least it's cool-looking vaporware.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMTA3MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0Njc2MjUwN30.QScTgms3PlkvKyhf22KotQgRNKIlFCieYs4cXi0xgZs/image.jpg?width=980" id="78671" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7bb5cdf53a5b91e3ae99a43a07602a85" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..."> Mach 3 Aircraft Design for High Speed Travel</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Courtesy of Virgin Galactic </small></p><p><em><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/virgin-galactic-unveils-supersonic-airplane-concept-boeing-rolls-royce-supporters/" target="_blank">This story first appeared on GeekWire.</a></em><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/virgin-galactic-unveils-supersonic-airplane-concept-boeing-rolls-royce-supporters/"></a><br/></p>
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With the fiery flash of a rocket launch, NASA's Perseverance rover headed out today for what's expected to be a decade-long campaign to store up and bring back Martian samples that may hold evidence of alien life.
United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 7:50 a.m. ET (4:50 a.m. PT), sending the rover into space for a seven-month cruise to Mars.
<p>Access to the area surrounding the launch pad was restricted due to the pandemic, but hundreds of thousands of people watched the liftoff via streaming video. And as if the pandemic wasn't enough of a challenge, in the minutes before launch, a <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/?currentFeatureId=ci39322287&extent=9.18887,-142.11914&extent=59.31077,-47.90039" target="_blank">magnitude-4.2 earthquake</a> rattled through NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., where the rover mission is managed.</p><p>Mission managers said the complications had no effect on the countdown.</p><p>"This is all about perseverance," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during the buildup to liftoff. "Going to Mars is all about persevering in general. Doing it now is more persevering than ever before."</p><p>An hour after launch, Perseverance's spacecraft separated from the Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage and flew outward to the Red Planet. NASA said the signal from the spacecraft was initially<a href="https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere/status/1288848763277029377" target="_blank"> "too loud for the antennas on Earth."</a> But in the midst of a post-launch news briefing, deputy project manager Matt Wallace reported that the operations team was eventually able to lock onto the signal properly.</p><p>Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said such adjustments came with the territory. "You want to be a rocket scientist, this is what you do. … You have to have a little bit of nerves if you're in this business," he said.</p><p>Adam Steltzner, the mission's chief engineer at JPL, said he expected in-space operations to settle into a routine. "I'm looking forward to, ideally, a very quiet and boring cruise to Mars, as we prepare for the never-boring and always stressful entry, descent and landing on the 18th of February," he said on NASA TV.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Mars 2020 launch</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-UKgePczbY&feature=emb_title" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>Like its older cousin, NASA's Curiosity rover, Perseverance will land with the aid of parachutes and a retrorocket-equipped descent stage. A "Sky Crane" will lower the 1-ton rover to the surface of Jezero Crater, and then the descent stage will blast itself away from the landing site.<br></p><p>The six-wheeled, nuclear-powered robot is designed for a primary mission lasting at least one Martian year, which is the equivalent of nearly two Earth years. But if Perseverance follows Curiosity's example, it could be on the job for far longer.</p><p>Perseverance bears a strong resemblance to Curiosity, in that they're built on the same basic chassis with a similar-looking camera mast and robotic arm. NASA and its collaborators have added some new twists, however.</p><p>A mini-helicopter called Ingenuity is tucked under Perseverance's belly and will be deployed for unprecedented test flights after the landing. Another experiment called <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/instruments/moxie/" target="_blank">MOXIE</a> will test a technique for turning the carbon dioxide in Mars' thin atmosphere to oxygen. That trick will come in handy if and when NASA sends astronauts on extended trips to Mars as is planned in the 2030s.</p><p>The biggest difference between Curiosity and Perseverance is that the new rover's scientific instruments are fine-tuned to look for signs of life on the microscopic scale.</p><p>A laser-equipped camera system called SuperCam can detect organic compounds in rocks and soils from a distance of more than 20 feet. Two close-up imaging systems, <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/instruments/sherloc/" target="_blank">SHERLOC</a> and <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/instruments/pixl/" target="_blank">PIXL</a>, can theoretically make out the structural and chemical signs of fossilized microbes. And a radar imager called <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/instruments/rimfax/" target="_blank">RIMFAX</a> can map subsurface structure at a resolution of inches, to depths as deep as 30 feet.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Mission Overview: NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qqsMjy8Rx0&feature=emb_title" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>The <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2018/nasa-mars-jezero-crater-2020-rover/" target="_blank">target landing site in Jezero Crater</a> is thought to have been a river delta in ancient times, and it was chosen in hopes that the minerals in Martian rock would preserve fossils — or at least the chemical evidence of biological processes.<br></p><p>It's unlikely that Perseverance will find indisputable evidence of life on Mars. Debates about Martian life detection tend to end inconclusively, whether we're talking about the <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/47031923/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/viking-robots-found-life-mars-scientists-say/" target="_blank">Viking lander missions of the 1970s</a> or <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/tiny-blobs-tunnels-meteorite-revive-debate-over-life-mars-n38431" target="_blank">suggestions of "nanofossils" in Martian meteorites</a> that fell to Earth. But this mission has a long-term strategy for settling such debates.</p><p>Perseverance is designed to drill out and save dozens of promising core samples for later pickup. The current plan, which is still under development by NASA and the European Space Agency, calls for sending out a <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/missions/mars-sample-return/" target="_blank">NASA lander</a> and a <a href="https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2020/06/airbus-wins-next-study-contract-for-martian-sample-fetch-rover.html" target="_blank">European-built rover in 2026</a>. That rover would fetch the samples and put them into a capsule, which would in turn be loaded onto a <a href="https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/04/20/nasa-narrows-design-for-rocket-to-launch-samples-off-of-mars/" target="_blank">mini-rocket</a> and launched into Martian orbit.</p><p>"It's kind of an interplanetary relay race we're doing," David Parker, ESA's director of human and robotic spaceflight, explained during a pre-launch briefing.</p><p><a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2019/05/Earth_Return_Orbiter" target="_blank">Yet another spacecraft</a> would take a trip to Martian orbit, capture the capsule and bring the samples back to Earth for study in 2031. That would mark the first opportunity to examine fresh samples from Mars with the best instruments that scientists have at their disposal — and the best opportunity to answer the age-old question about life on Mars..</p><p>"I do believe that the ultimate proof and the ultimate analyses that are really critical to that question, at the level of standard that we need to answer this, will come from laboratory analysis on Earth," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "So I believe this will be a process that will extend over 10 years or so, where evidence is mounting from remote sensing and in-situ measurements up there, but then really culminating in bringing these samples back."</p><p>More morsels about the Mars mission:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Both Perseverance and Ingenuity were named by students who participated in essay contests — and as a reward, Virginia seventh-grader Alex Mather <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/perseverance-nasa-reveals-name-next-mars-rover-suggested-seventh-grader/" target="_blank">(who named the rover)</a> and Alabama high-school junior Vaneeza Rupani <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/nasa-takes-high-school-students-suggestion-gives-mars-helicopter-new-name-ingenuity/" target="_blank">(who named the helicopter)</a> are <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/excited-to-be-here-students-who-named-nasa-rover-and-helicopter-arrive-at-ksc-to-view-launch/ar-BB17ienb" target="_blank">attending the launch</a> with their families at NASA's invitation.</li><li>Speaking of names, Perseverance is carrying three stamp-sized chips that bear the micro-etched names of<a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8634/109-million-names-now-aboard-nasas-perseverance-mars-rover/" target="_blank"> nearly 11 million people</a> who responded to NASA's online "Send Your Name to Mars" campaign.<a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/mars2020/" target="_blank"> The campaign has been revived</a> to collect more names to be sent aboard the next Mars probe.</li><li>Perseverance is also carrying a <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/nasas-perseverance-rover-will-go-mars-monument-covid-19-medical-teams/" target="_blank">3-by-5-inch plaque that pays tribute to healthcare workers</a> and their work to quell the coronavirus pandemic. The <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA23921" target="_blank">COVID-19 Perseverance Plate</a> bears the serpent-and-staff symbol of the medical profession, topped by planet Earth.</li><li>The spacecraft is <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/microphones/" target="_blank">equipped with microphones</a> that scientists hope will pick up the sounds associated with Perseverance's descent and landing, as well as the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7591" target="_blank">zapping sounds created by the SuperCam's laser blasts</a>. Perseverance is the third Mars probe to carry a microphone, but <a href="https://www.planetary.org/sci-tech/mars-microphones" target="_blank">setbacks prevented the microphones from being used</a> during the two earlier missions (Mars Polar Lander in 1999 and Phoenix Mars Lander in 2008).</li><li>Perseverance is the last of three Mars missions to take advantage of this month's favorable launch opportunity — an opportunity that comes around only once every 26 months, due to the relative orbital positions of Earth and Mars. The other two are the <a href="https://cosmiclog.com/2020/07/19/hope-rises-emirates-first-mars-probe-lifts-off-from-japan/" target="_blank">United Arab Emirates' Hope orbiter mission</a>, and <a href="https://cosmiclog.com/2020/07/22/china-launches-mars-probe-amid-big-questions/" target="_blank">China's Tianwen-1 mission</a>, which involves an orbiter, lander and rover.</li></ul><div></div><div><em>This story <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/liftoff-nasas-perseverance-rover-begins-odyssey-seek-traces-life-mars/" target="_blank">first appeared on GeekWire</a>.</em></div>
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