Rocket Report: Europe splashes some cash on launch startups; Pallas-1 nears debut
Rocket Report: Europe splashes some cash on launch startups; Pallas-1 nears debut
火箭报告：欧洲向发射初创公司注资；Pallas-1 即将首飞
Welcome to Edition 9.08 of the Rocket Report! Some major news this week from the state of Louisiana, previously associated with space due to NASA’s aging Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. Now the state has a chance to become the epicenter of SpaceX’s Starship program as the company plans to invest up to $100 billion to construct factories and multiple launch pads for the super heavy lift rocket. It would utterly transform coastal Louisiana. 欢迎阅读第 9.08 期《火箭报告》！本周路易斯安那州传来重大新闻，该州此前因靠近新奥尔良的 NASA 老旧米丘德装配厂（Michoud Assembly Facility）而与航天业结缘。如今，该州有望成为 SpaceX 星舰（Starship）项目的中心，因为该公司计划投资高达 1000 亿美元，用于建造工厂和多个超重型运载火箭发射台。这将彻底改变路易斯安那州的沿海地区。
ESA announces big launch challenge contracts. The European Space Agency said Thursday it signed contracts with a handful of European launch startups to help them continue development of their vehicles. “The European Launcher Challenge is ESA’s initiative to expand European launch service supply and ensure more robustness in Europe’s access to space,” the space agency said of the award, which supports the development and operation of small launch vehicles in Europe. For some of these firms, the funding will provide a key lifeline. 欧洲航天局（ESA）宣布签署大型发射挑战合同。欧洲航天局周四表示，已与多家欧洲发射初创公司签署合同，以帮助它们继续研发运载火箭。“欧洲发射挑战赛是 ESA 为扩大欧洲发射服务供应并确保欧洲进入太空能力更具韧性而采取的举措，”该机构在谈到此次拨款时表示，此举旨在支持欧洲小型运载火箭的开发和运营。对于其中一些公司而言，这笔资金将提供关键的生命线。
And the winners are … Rocket Factory Augsburg, based in Germany and developing the RFA One rocket, received 186.9 million euros and is mainly funded by Germany, with a contribution by the United Kingdom. PLD Space, based in Spain and developing the Miura 5 rocket, received 158.9 million euros and is mainly funded by Spain with a contribution by Germany. Isar Aerospace, based in Germany and developing the Spectrum launcher, received 197.8 million euros and is mainly funded by Germany, with contributions by Austria and Norway. Another contract award process with MaiaSpace is nearing completion, the agency said. 获奖者包括……总部位于德国、正在开发 RFA One 火箭的 Rocket Factory Augsburg 公司获得了 1.869 亿欧元，主要由德国资助，英国也有所贡献。总部位于西班牙、正在开发 Miura 5 火箭的 PLD Space 公司获得了 1.589 亿欧元，主要由西班牙资助，德国也有所贡献。总部位于德国、正在开发 Spectrum 运载火箭的 Isar Aerospace 公司获得了 1.978 亿欧元，主要由德国资助，奥地利和挪威也有所贡献。该机构表示，与 MaiaSpace 的另一项合同授予程序也即将完成。
Skyroot is great, but India needs more. Jatan Mehta writes some of the most insightful articles about India’s space program, and we wanted to highlight his six-part series on what he calls “India’s launch vehicle crisis.” Part six of this series was published on Sunday, and it explains why, despite the recent success of Skyroot and its Vikram-1 rocket, India’s growing gap in orbital launch capacity will remain unresolved. “Even if we hope and assume that the thousand-plus people of Skyroot bag a commendable place in the small-lift launch market, that does not in itself solve India’s space access crisis,” Mehta writes. Skyroot 很棒，但印度需要更多。Jatan Mehta 撰写了一些关于印度航天计划的最具洞察力的文章，我们想重点介绍他关于所谓“印度运载火箭危机”的六部分系列报道。该系列的第六部分于周日发布，解释了为什么尽管 Skyroot 及其 Vikram-1 火箭近期取得了成功，但印度在轨道发射能力方面日益扩大的差距仍将无法解决。Mehta 写道：“即使我们希望并假设 Skyroot 的一千多名员工能在小型运载火箭市场占据一席之地，但这本身并不能解决印度的太空准入危机。”
India’s government needs to be proactive … He notes that the country faces major constraints in spaceports, suppliers, and especially medium- and heavy-lift rockets. “Skyroot’s success with the first flight of Vikram-1 is only the least worst case scenario for India’s launch vehicle crisis,” Mehta says. “It’s not at the peak alongside people’s emotions but at the bare minimum level to cater to but a fraction of India’s needs in space.” 印度政府需要采取主动……他指出，该国在航天港、供应商，尤其是中重型运载火箭方面面临重大制约。Mehta 说：“Skyroot 凭借 Vikram-1 的首次飞行取得的成功，只是印度运载火箭危机中‘最不坏’的情况。它并没有达到人们情绪所期待的巅峰，而仅仅是满足印度太空需求的一小部分所需的最低限度。”
Japanese startup wins launch contract. A Japanese radar-imaging startup has signed an agreement to launch its first demonstration satellite on Space One’s Kairos rocket, Space News reports. Space One and Sarmony announced on August 25 that they signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the launch of Sarmony’s first SAR DiskSat spacecraft on a Kairos rocket in 2028. 日本初创公司赢得发射合同。据《太空新闻》报道，一家日本雷达成像初创公司已签署协议，将使用 Space One 公司的 Kairos 火箭发射其首颗演示卫星。Space One 和 Sarmony 于 8 月 25 日宣布，双方签署了一份谅解备忘录，计划于 2028 年使用 Kairos 火箭发射 Sarmony 的首颗 SAR DiskSat 航天器。
A bold choice … Kairos has launched three times to date, in each case failing to reach orbit. On the most recent launch in March, the vehicle broke apart a little more than a minute after liftoff. A Space One representative said the company is completing the investigation into the failure and plans to release more details soon. The company has not announced a schedule for the next Kairos launch. 大胆的选择……Kairos 火箭迄今已发射三次，均未能进入轨道。在最近一次 3 月份的发射中，火箭在升空一分多钟后解体。Space One 的一位代表表示，公司正在完成对故障的调查，并计划很快发布更多细节。该公司尚未公布下一次 Kairos 发射的时间表。
Falcon 9 Starlink launches from Florida end. It’s the end of an era in Florida, Ars reports. A Falcon 9 launch early Tuesday was the last planned Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral until SpaceX begins flying Starship missions from Florida, according to Kiko Dontchev, the company’s vice president of launch. “From here on, Starlink missions out of Florida will fly on Starship,” Dontchev said. “The West Coast team will continue regularly launching Starlink from Vandenberg.” 猎鹰 9 号在佛罗里达州的星链发射任务结束。据 Ars 报道，佛罗里达州的一个时代结束了。据 SpaceX 发射副总裁 Kiko Dontchev 称，周二早些时候的猎鹰 9 号发射是卡纳维拉尔角最后一次计划内的星链任务，直到 SpaceX 开始从佛罗里达州执行星舰任务为止。“从现在起，从佛罗里达州出发的星链任务将由星舰执行，”Dontchev 说。“西海岸团队将继续定期从范登堡发射星链卫星。”
A real workhorse … SpaceX launched around 260 Starlink missions on Falcon 9 from Florida, but all future Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches from Florida will carry external customer payloads. The next one is scheduled for August 30, when a Falcon Heavy rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center with NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Officials eventually plan to phase out the Falcon 9 in favor of Starship, at least for commercial missions, raising concerns among SpaceX customers about the availability of reliable launch services after 2028. 真正的“工作马”……SpaceX 在佛罗里达州通过猎鹰 9 号发射了约 260 次星链任务，但未来所有从佛罗里达州出发的猎鹰 9 号和猎鹰重型火箭发射都将搭载外部客户的载荷。下一次发射定于 8 月 30 日，届时一枚猎鹰重型火箭将从肯尼迪航天中心的 39A 发射台升空，搭载 NASA 的南希·格蕾丝·罗曼太空望远镜。官员们最终计划逐步淘汰猎鹰 9 号，转而使用星舰，至少在商业任务中是这样，这引起了 SpaceX 客户对 2028 年后可靠发射服务可用性的担忧。
Pallas-1 rocket nears debut. Chinese commercial firm Galactic Energy is ready for a first orbital launch attempt with its Pallas-1 liquid propellant launch vehicle, Space News reports. Newly published airspace warnings now indicate a launch window of between 9:52 pm ET on August 31 and 12:09 am ET on September 1 (01:52–04:09 UTC, September 1). While the rocket is designed for reusability, no recovery attempt of the first stage is expected for the first flight. No payloads have so far been announced ahead of launch. Pallas-1 火箭即将首飞。据《太空新闻》报道，中国商业航天公司星河动力（Galactic Energy）已准备好对其 Pallas-1 液体运载火箭进行首次轨道发射尝试。最新发布的空域警告显示，发射窗口期为美国东部时间 8 月 31 日晚上 9:52 至 9 月 1 日凌晨 12:09（协调世界时 9 月 1 日 01:52–04:09）。虽然该火箭设计为可重复使用，但预计首次飞行不会进行一级回收尝试。目前尚未公布发射前的载荷信息。
Solidly a medium-lift vehicle … Pallas-1 is Galactic Energy’s two-stage liquid launch vehicle, with an optional Eros upper stage for extended missions. It has a 3.35 meter-diameter body, a 4.2 meter-diameter fairing, a liftoff mass of 283 tons. 稳固的中型运载火箭……Pallas-1 是星河动力的两级液体运载火箭，并配有可选的 Eros 上级以执行扩展任务。它拥有 3.35 米直径的箭体、4.2 米直径的整流罩，起飞质量为 283 吨。