SpaceX

Spacex has always been 10 years ahead of the competition. The problem is that in China that law no longer applies

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The Falcon 9 rocket has turned 15 this week. In December they will do 10 years of their first landing. Eight ago that was first reused. More than 400 reusations later, Spacex still has no competition. But the competition will not arrive staggered, it will arrive suddenly and will do so from China. The Boyante China Space Industry He is living an authentic effervescence in the development of reusable rockets. Operations? Even none, but far from being projects on paper, there are already several companies that have successfully completed vertical take -off and landing tests with prototypes that mix technologies inspired by Falcon 9 with more modern ones, anticipating the entry into Starship service. These advances, which remind the first days of the Grasshopper and Starhopper Spacex prototypes, are not only aimed at deploying mega-constellations of Chinese satellites, but also to compete in the global release market. Assembly of astrophysic Daniel Marín (Eureka) with Chinese VTVL prototypes Space Epoch: This relatively young company (founded in 2019), hit the table on May 28, 2025. Its VTVL Yuanxingzhe 1 (YXZ-1) prototype, 4.2 meters in diameter and made of stainless steel, made a leap of 2.5 kilometers high, threatening controlled in the sea. According to Eureka, it was The first Chinese VTVL prototype to make controlled amelizer: He had no landing train and was designed to perch and sink slowly, a strategy that Space Epoch plans for recovery From the first stage of its orbital rocket Yuanxingzhe 1. Once operational, this rocket intends to place more than 10 tons in low orbit. The prototype is propelled by a longyun Ly-70 engine of methane and liquid oxygen. Landspace: One of the most advanced private, Landspace is developing the Zhuque-3a two -stage rocket of methane and liquid oxygen built in stainless steel, with a height of 76.6 meters, comparable to Falcon 9. Its VTVL prototype performed An impressive 10 -kilometer altitude In September 2024 (Eureka mentioned a second jump of the ZQ-3 VTVL-1 at this point on September 11, while other sources point to the end of August for a similar milestone). This flight included the first realer in flight of an engine during the descent in China, landing successfully. Landspace aspires to a first orbital launch of Zhuque-3 in 2025, with recovery of the first stage by 2026. ISPACE: Another private pioneer, Ispace, is working on its reusable Hyperbola-3 rocket. To do this, his Hyperbola-2y (SQX-2Y) test vehicle completed several VTVL jumps at the end of 2023: one of 178 meters in November and another of 343 meters in Decemberboth with successful landings. These trials were crucial to validate the technology of their Metallox engines and guidance systems. ISPACE plans the first flight of Hyperbola-3 by 2025 and the recovery of its first stage in 2026. Deep Blue Aerospace: This Nanjing-based company develops the Nebula-1 (Xingyun-1), a fluid oxygen rocket and oxygen. Already in May 2022, its demonstrator VTVL completed a 1 kilometer jump with successful landing. In September 2024, a major prototype tried a jump with greater altitude (between 5 and 10 km), But he suffered a hard landing due to a problem with thrust controlalthough the company considered that many objectives of the essay were met. Deep Blue Aerospace also has the Nebula-2 in its plans, a Heavy Class-class launcher 9. Sast (Shanghai Academy of SpaceFlight Technology): This state entity, part of CASC (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation), is leading government effort in reusable rockets. Its VTVL prototype, sometimes called Longxing 1 and associated with the future CZ-12A or CZ-12R (a reusable version of the CZ-12), has also made remarkable jumps. On June 23, 2024, this prototype, propelled by three longyun Ly-70 engines (the same as Space Epoch), reached 12 kilometers of altitude on a test flight from Jiuquan. Subsequently, on January 19, 2025, a second prototype tried an even more ambitious leap of 75 kilometers from Haiyang, but was lost during the flight. Galactic Energy: Known for its CERES-1 rocket, Galactic Energy is developing pallas-1, a fluid oxygen rocket and oxygen with a first reusable stage. Although he has not yet made a VTVL jump with a full rocket prototype, In August 2023 he carried out a vertical landing test using a reaction motor proof vehicle (nicknamed “Firebird”) to validate control algorithms. They expect the first orbital launch of Pallas-1 (in disposable mode) between the late 2025 and early 2026. Linkspace: It was the first Chinese private company to focus on reusable rockets. Already in August 2019, its RLV-T5 prototype made a 300-meter leap with successful landing, a pioneering milestone for Chinese startups. Although its subsequent progress has been slower compared to its competitors, its initial role was fundamental. Space Pioneer: This company is developing the Tianlong-3, a Falcon 9 class launcher designed from the beginning for reuse. Although he has not yet performed a VTVL test, the company has advanced in the construction and proof of the Tianhuo-12 engines and the first stage of the rocket. Its first orbital launch is expected between 2024 and 2025 (without attempted recovery on the first flight), closely followed by VTVL landing tests. Vertical landings ‘Made in China’ The list does not end there, which draws a trend: China not only wants to match Spacex’s reuse capacity, but is cultivating a robust ecosystem to compete directly with Elon Musk’s company. The objectives: reduce launch costs, increase cadence for the deployment of new mega-constellations (Like Guowang, the Chinese answer to Starlink) and, ultimately, cut distances with the company that is launching 80% of the total mass that is put into orbit. So, although Spacex remains the indisputable reference in the reuse of orbital rockets, the question is no longer whether it will have a serious rival in China, but which of this growing legion of contenders, in addition to the CASC itself, will be the first to consistently replicate the feat of landing and reuse orbital rockets as something routine. The race is in full swing, and landing platforms on land and sea … Read more

In case the chips war did not have enough contestants, a new company has joined the race: Spacex

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Spacex does everything big. Last year he opened in Bastrop, a small town in Texas (USA), The manufacturing plant of largest printed circuit plates in the country. The company of the company led by Elon Musk consists in producing all components, or, at least, most of them, involved in the manufacture of their satellites For the Starlink Network. This strategy will allow Spacex to save costs and reduce its dependence on the distribution chain. However, this is just the beginning of the path you will travel. And is that, according to Digitimes Asiathis company plans to expand its Bastrop facilities with the purpose of tuning the equipment you need to package semiconductors. Before moving forward we are interested in reviewing what the two concepts are in which we have just inquired. A printed circuit plate or PCB for its English denomination (Printed Circuit Board) It is a sheet manufactured in an insulating material, such as fiberglass, which contains on its surface the copper tracks through which electricity will circulate in an integrated circuit or electronic component. On the other hand, Chips packaging It is the process that seeks to protect the integrated circuit by introducing it into an encapsulated or protective housing. In addition, it incorporates the necessary connections to install it into a printed circuit plate and allow it to communicate with other electronic components. Spacex’s irruption in the integrated circuit industry is underway The administration led by Donald Trump has proposed to develop the semiconductor industry as much as necessary for the US to not depend on any other country. Currently this nation Buy 92% from its avant -garde semiconductors to TSMC in Taiwan. And the US government intends to manufacture 28% of avant -garde chips of the planet in 2032 considering as advanced integrated circuits those produced with a more sophisticated integration technology than that of 10 Nm. Currently the chips that Spacex uses are packaged by stmicroelectronics and innolux The steps that Spacex is taking support the strategy that the US government is deploying, but, as I mentioned a few lines above, first of all they pursue save costs and minimize its current dependence on the distribution chain. At the moment Most of the chips That this company from Elon Musk uses in the manufacture of its satellites are packaged by the Franco-Cabalian company Stmicroelectronics and the Taiwanese innolux. Presumably when the expansion of the Bastrop Plant is a list of the packaging will be commissioned by Spacex itself. From that moment on, this company will manufacture its own PCB and package its integrated circuits, so its next logical movement will be in all likelihood to build a semiconductor manufacturing plant. The SpaceX satellite network currently brings together about 7,700 devices in orbit, and this company intends to launch over the next few years 32,000 more satellites with the purpose of giving coverage to the entire planet. In addition, some of these satellites are used by the US government, so controlling the entire production chain of these devices will allow Spacex to optimize the performance of their business and guarantee the safety and integrity of its satellite network. More information | Digitimes Asia In Xataka | China has the CPU ARM for faster servers on the planet. It is from Alibaba and its performance is supported by IEEE

Starlink’s growth is so brutal that Spacex is one year after overcoming NASA’s annual budget

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Elon Musk became the richest man in the world thanks to Tesla, but his new golden egg chicken It’s called Starlink. The tycoon has given credibility to something that It had been commenting Since the White House announced NASA’s historic cuts: Spacex’s income is one year after overcoming the annual budget of the planet’s largest space agency. More money than NASA. Elon Musk He just put the data On the table: “Spacex’s income for its commercial activities in space will exceed NASA’s total budget next year.” Spacex is a private company controlled by Musk itself, so it is not obliged to publicly present its results. However, we now know that it plans to enter 15.5 billion dollars in 2025. If approved in Congress, NASA’s annual budget for 2026 will be 18.8 billion dollars, 24% less than the previous year. The whole mountain is Starlink. Spacex receives NASA money to transport astronauts to the International Space Station or develop space programs such as the lunar Starship, but in 2025, that transaction has been “only” 1.1 billion dollars. Most of what Spacex earns comes from Starlink, although the amount of NASA contracts will rise to 1,747 million dollars in 2026, adding the Moon To Mars program. Starlink has more than 5 million customers, a figure that has been duplicating from year to year. The bulk of the business are residential customers, but satellite Internet service has been diversifying with agreements in the maritime sector (mercantile vessels and cruises), the aviation sector (Chárter operators and commercial airlines), the operators (Direct-to-Cell) and the government sector (especially The Starshield constellation of the number). The perpetual movement machine. Starlink’s success would not be possible without Spacex’s launching capacitywhich continues to be beating reuse records with its Falcon 9. The company celebrated its 500 mission last night. The propeller that has taken and landed the most times has done it 28 times, 17 of them to put Starlink satellites in orbit. The integration of the company is totally vertical. Spacex manufactures rockets, satellites and terminals. And innovation is constant. At the end of May, a Falcon 9 deployed 29 Starlink v2 mini optimized satellites225 kg lighter than previous versions and with a bandwidth of 96 Gbps. How much Spacex is worth. With more than 7,000 active satellites in orbit, an incomparable number of any other constellation, Starlink has triggered the assessment of Spacex at stratospheric levels. The most recent valuation is 350,000 million dollars, which makes it the company not quoted in the largest stock market in the United States. Taking into account that Spacex Starlink’s benefits reinvested on the Starship programIt is worth asking who will lead the space exploration of the United States in the coming years, if NASA or Elon Musk’s company. Image | Spacex In Xataka | Spacex has launched 8,000 Starlink satellites in five years, but they are not enough. And we are beginning to understand why

Starbase residents voted to be the city of Spacex. Now a letter has reached the right to their property

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In May, the residents of the small community that surrounded the SpaceX headquarters in Boca Chica, southeast of Texas, carried out A historical vote. An overwhelming mass was done in favor of constituting the city of Starbase, which most or less became that Elon Musk’s company became “almost” owner of the enclave, with levels of autonomy Never seen until now. That’s why, The letter That has just arrived at residents has been a surprise. Urban experiment. The transformation of the former Texano of Boca Chica village in the corporate city of Starbase represents much more than a simple name change. Conceived as the epicenter of Spacex’s space operations and, as we said, vmostly For a large -compound population for company employees, Starbase has now moved to a new phase of territorial reorganization. The problem. Than a disseminated memorandum by him city ​​administratorKent Myers, warns many residents who could “lose the right to continue using their property for current use” due to a rezoning proposal that will be debated on June 23. He Document is explicit: Those who have land in the affected area could be forced to modify or abandon them if they do not conform to the new urban plan. The city plans to become a mixed area of ​​residences, offices and services, although in practice the development model is almost exclusively oriented to support the Spacex expansion and its launch facilities. City-business. They counted in Fortune That the Starbase Urban Project recovers, with technologically sophisticated, but politically disturbing features, the model of the old ones “Company Towns“North American: cities where the owner company was also the employer, regulator and in many sovereign spaces of space. In fact, the current mayor, Robert Peden12 -year -old veteran in Spacex, and the majority of the electorate It is composed of company workers. This structure creates a fusion between civil governance and corporate objectives, where the public interest is subordinated to the industrial plan of a single entity. In this context, key decisions such as rezoning, mobility restrictions or access to common goods such as beaches are no longer settled in a Public Square open, but within the perimeter of a private logic protected by local legal structures. Public space restriction. One of the most visible consequences of Spacex’s advance in Starbase has been the progressive Restriction of access to Boca Chica Beacha coastal strip of great environmental and spiritual value, especially for the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe. With the argument of guaranteeing security during the releases, the restrictions have been multiplied, and recently the Texas Senate approved legislation which allows local authorities to close the beach during the week and limit their use during weekends. Ecological organizations They have denounced That, under the security pretext, a “system designed to give them a de facto private beach is consolidating.” The appropriation of a public good for corporate purposes awakens criticism and calls into question the compatibility between economic investment promises and collective rights. Global implications. It is the last of the legs that appears with the drift that is taking the case of Starbase. Its consolidation not only constitutes a local experiment, but also A possible model For future business colonies with functional sovereignty aspirations. Fortune explained that if a coastal settlement can be transformed into A corporate municipality With the right to issue land use, condition the permanence of non -affiliated residents and manage public infrastructure Like a beachdoors are also opened to an advanced form of territorial privatization. In a world where megacorporations such as Spacex, Tesla or X (yes, all of Musk) concentrate each time More economic power And symbolic, Starbase could serve General trial For similar projects in other regions with lax regulations. If you want also and put to think about Musk keyif the promise is that these cities are platforms for interplanetary expansion, the Texan experience suggests that, before conquering Mars, the conquest can begin with the political geography of the Earth. Image | Alexander Hatley In Xataka | Texas has a new city. Until a few days ago, it was only Spacex’s base in Boca Chica In Xataka | Leaving California is just the first step: Spacex has started the procedures to create an independent city in Texas

The two are from Spacex

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On March 30, 2017, Spacex launched the European Ses-10 satellite with a rocket that had previously flown and landed with its own engines. It was the first time something similar happened, and it was a transcendental moment in history which has chealed access to space, leading to the megaconstellation of Starlink satellites. Eight years later, there is a second rocket capable of doing the same. The striking thing is that it also belongs to Spacex. From Falcon 9 to Starship. Since that historical moment of 2017, the early stages of the Falcon 9 rocket of Spacex have landed 434 times, taking off again 404 occasions. The propeller that has fly more times has the b1067 serial number. Last May 13 He successfully completed Its mission number 28. 17 of them have been launches of Starlink satellites. Unlike Falcon 9, The gigantic rocket starship It is designed to be totally reusable, but for now it has only demonstrated this capacity for its first stage, the Super Heavy propeller. It is just the second orbital rocket that, eight years after that transcendental mission of Falcon 9, has fly again after a propulsive landing. Goodbye Booster 14, you have made history. The first Super Heavy to reuse has been Booster 14, which first took off on January 16 as part of the Starship Test Flight 7. The 70 -meter high rocket stage returned to the launch tower after separating from the ship, maneuvering with its engines until they were caught by the arms of the tower itself. This May 27, after a restoration process, has flown for the second and last time during the Ninth Starship test flight. Its 33 engines worked perfectly in takeoff, despite the fact that 29 of them were used. Spacex did not plan to reuse the propeller a third time, and took the opportunity to test a new maneuver of stages separation, which went well, and a more aggressive attack angle in the descent, which came out regular. The rocket exploded after re -desencing 12 engines to stop on the Gulf of Mexico. Why it is an important milestone. Although Starship’s ninth mission did not achieve its objectives, the reuse of the super heavy is one more milestone in the program. Such a large rocket had never been reused, in the whole history of space flights, which brings us closer to a new cheaper of satellite throws, since Starship can put in orbit much more more load than a falcon 9 (when Spacex manages to fix the door). Of course, while the complete reuse of the propeller now seems a matter of time, the reuse of the ship remains a challenge for Spacex. The company has to continue it to the design of its thermal shield before it can also catch the starship with the tower. It is something that Spacex hoped to get on flight 10, but now he will have to wait. Special mention for Jeff Bezos. The first stage of Falcon 9 and the first stage of Starship, that is, the Super Heavy propeller, are the only “orbital rockets” with “propulsive landing” in reusing successfully. These dimensions are necessary because the first rocket capable of landing with its own engine that flew twice Little New Shepard from Blue Origin. It is a suborbital rocket, without the capacity to launch load to the terrestrial orbit. In addition to A patent struggle That Jeff Bezos with Elon Musk enhancing, Bezos was responsible for promoting that his rocket had been the first, congratulating Spacex in 2017 to achieve the “second suborbital rocket with reuse capacity”, referring to the fact that, although the Falcon 9 is orbital, its first stage does not reach the orbit before launching the second. Time has played against Blue Origin, whose orbital new Glenn obital debuted with years of delay and without having yet demonstrated its ability to land. The Rocket Lab company also deserves a separate mention, which “fish” its electron rockets in the sea after soft ametering with parachutes. NASA also used parachute to Recover solid accelerators rockets of the space ferry. But none of these technologies is comparable to the rapid and total recovery that Spacex seeks with Starship. Image | Spacex In Xataka | The race to become the “China Spacex”: who is who in their private space releases sector

Elon Musk asked Apple for 5,000 million for exclusive access to Spacex, according to The Information. They had 72 hours to answer

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The iPhone have been offering emergency satellite calls Since 2022, but in reality his ambition in that field began much earlier and went much further. Now we have known that there was a peak in that project. One in which Elon Musk offered an exclusive treatment to Apple, but that the company ended up rejecting. Exclusive access to Spacex. According to The Informationin 2022 Elon Musk learned that Apple I was going to launch a satellite connection service with iPhone 14and then contacted those responsible to make them a proposal. He offered Apple to have exclusive access to Spacex to offer satellite connectivity for 18 months if the company paid 5,000 million initial dollars. After that period, Apple could pay $ 1 billion a year for the service provided by Starlink. You have 72 hours. Elon Musk gave Apple only 72 hours to make a decision, and in fact threatened the company with launching their own service for the iPhone that would make the competition. The tycoon played with better letters: it already had a constellation of operational satellites and the technology necessary to do precisely what Apple had projected. Well, no. Apple ended up rejecting Musk’s offer. Of course: announced the support of SOS satellite emergency callsbut thanks to an alliance With GlobalStar. On the other hand, Elon fulfilled his threat: two weeks before the iPhone 14, Spacex were launched announced an agreement With the T-Mobile operator that allowed smartphones users to send and receive messages in areas without mobile coverage. Project Eagle. Apple’s ambition in this area was started before. In 2015 the engineers of the company They started working in Project Eaglean initiative that would create a satellite network with thousands of satellites to provide broadband Internet not only to iPhone, but also households. It was basically Apple’s Starlink. To carry out that Apple proposal allied with Boeing, and the deployment was scheduled for 2019. But he doesn’t want to be an operator. This project ended up canceling in 2016. In The Information it indicates how Apple spent 36 million dollars in the initial tests of Project Eagle, but there were two major problems that led to their cancellation. The first, doubts about economic viability. The second, even more important, that of fear about that launch could affect the crucial relationships that Apple maintains with telephone operators. AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile-like many others in the rest of the world-could be affected if the company offered this type of service. Apple still does not collect emergency calls. The company continues to offer the SOS satellite emergency call service in the iPhone, but the funny thing is that Still without charging for them. Some analysts believe that Apple fears that if you charge for the service you have to be subject to government regulations that affect operators. Moreover: some employees and managers of the company begin to question the viability of the long -term project. And meanwhile, Starlink extends its claws. What Apple prefers not to do is doing it big elon Musk. A year ago Spacex launched the First set of Starlink satellites with direct connection For smartphones. Today, the Starlink Direct To Cell constellation (DTC) is ready to start Offer LTE coverage from space. It is just an initial offer in beta phase, but still has 10 times more reach that the coverage of any other satellite operator with the same objective. Spacex’s absolute dominance is the great engine of a proposal that can make Starlink, that is already profitableeven more. Image | Fortune Ceo Initiative | Starlink | World Economic Forum In Xataka | The ‘satphones’ are a niche, but the phones with satellite calls will end everywhere

Starship has arrived in space, then has lost control. Spacex is costing horrors to get out of the bump

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Long faces once again in Spacex, despite the advances that Starship’s ninth flight has achieved with respect to its predecessors. And the thing has ended badly for the ship anyway. First Super Heavy. The highest rocket in the world took off seven minutes late at 18:37 of May 27, local time in Starbase. The takeoff was perfect, with 33 of the 33 Raptor engines roaring at the same time, which marks the first reuse of a super heavy propeller. Booster 14 had first flown on flight 7. Although they were restored between Misiones, 29 of their 33 Raptor engines were second hand. One of them, on 314, has taken off today for the third and last time, moving forward in the rapid reuse objective of the two starship stages. Raptor 2 Restored Motors for Flight 9, including 314 with the reference to the PI number Disintegrated in full return. Two and a half minutes after takeoff, the ship turned on its six engines and separated from the propeller. Spacex has tried for the first time a super heavy turn in a controlled direction to save fuel. It has gone well. Next, Booster 14 initiated a more aggressive return sequence, with a higher angle of attack. Six and a half minutes after takeoff, when the propeller had to turn on its engines, it exploded in the air. Due to the experiments in the return maneuver, an explosion was not out of the pools, but it was the worst scenario in this flight phase. The data that Spacex has collected will help to avoid being repeated. Starship has reached space. Meanwhile, the upper stage of the rocket, the Starship 35 ship, continued its trip, reaching for the first time in three attempts a suborbital trajectory that would take it from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. Although the failure streak of the two previous missions has broken (7 due to a harmonic response that caused propellant leaks and 8 for a hardware failure in a Raptor engine), the ship ended up failing anyway. It is the third prototype of the second generation of Starship. All have failed. Starlink satellite models (center) that were left without going out for the gate (right) The gate has not opened. One of the objectives of this flight was the deployment of eight new generation Starlink satellite models, which would have meant the first time Starship released a useful load. Scheduled for about 18 and a half minutes after takeoff, the test could not be carried out because the cargo bay gate, a mechanism that Spacex knows as “fish dispenser”, did not finish opening, forcing the attempt to leave, as happened on flight 3 of Starship. The ship has lost control. The other similarity of flight 9 with flight 3 is that Starship lost control 30 minutes after launch. The ship began to rotate uncontrolled after Spacex detected a leak in some of the fuel tank systems, many of which are used for the attitude control of the vehicle. As on flight 3, Spacex had to cancel another of the important experiments of this mission: the redempted of one of the Raptor engines in the space flight. But the worst of the failure was not to prove, once again, the improvements and experiments related to the thermal shield and the new ailerons of the ship. Spacex lost contact with Starship 35 during the reentry, thus ending a mission with more shadows than lights. The third second generation starship It has ended like its two predecessors: disintegrating.

Spacex has finally made public why the last Starship exploded. All rumors were wrong

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White and in bottle? Milk. Two Consecutive starships that exploit In the same flight phase, practically in the same minute, in similar ways? Anyone would say that there was a common cause, but it was not so. Context. Spacex has shed light on the explosive loss of Starship During his eighth test flight on March 6. After successfully capturing the Super Heavy propeller, all expectations were set on the ship, which in the previous launch had failed during the ascent phase. After a successful separation and before reaching the necessary altitude to turn off, Spacex detected a flash near one of the central engines of the ship, followed by an “energy event” that made the engine disappear. Shortly after, two other central engines and one of the outer vacuum engines went out, which caused the ship to lose control nine and a half minutes after takeoff. The Starship 34 He disintegrated About the Caribbean. They were not the vibrations. After two consecutive explosions, everyone assumed that the problem had been the same. On flight 7, Starship 33 was lost eight minutes and 20 seconds after takeoff Because of stronger vibrations than expected, that had caused leaks of liquid oxygen and a fire In a non -pressurized area of ​​the lower part of the ship, which Spacex calls the “stern attic”. But it has not been so. “Although the ruling manifested himself at a point similar to that of the seventh flight, it is worth noting that they are clearly different,” Spacex wrote in a recent statement. “The mitigations implemented after flight 7 to solve the problems of harmonic response and flammability of the ship operated by design as planned,” added the company. What arose was a new problem. What happened on flight 8. According to the Spacex statement, the most likely cause of the loss of the ship during the eighth flight was “a hardware failure in one of the central raptor engines of the upper stage of the rocket, which resulted in a mixture and ignition not deliberate of propellents.” In essence, a engine component failed, causing a fuel leak and mixture (liquid methane) with oxidant (liquid oxygen). The consequent explosion destroyed the engine and committed the survival of the ship. Both problems originated in the lower part or stern of Starship, but the failure of flight 7 occurred in the “attic”, and that of flight 8 in the “basement”, the motor bay. All ready for flight 9. To address this new ruling for the ninth flight, Spacex has implemented reinforcements in key starship 35 joints, a new nitrogen purge system and improvements in the propellant drainage system. Later, he plans to introduce the new generation of Raptor 3 engines, with a complete redesign that addresses this type of problem. If there are no more delays, The ninth flight will take off this Tuesday, May 27 At 18:30, local time in Starbase (1:30 on Wednesday in Spain). It will be The first to reuse a super heavy propeller; Specifically, Booster 14, which flew in the seventh mission. The ship, on the other hand, will try again the objectives not achieved on flights 7 and 8, such as the deployment of eight Starlink satellit simulators and multiple reentry experiments. Image | Spacex In Xataka | “ELON, please, come back”: a week after the ninth launch of Starship, something is not going well at SpaceX headquarters

Spacex has been scratching his head for 11 weeks to relaunch Starship. Now he finally has green light to fly again

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After two consecutive explosions At the beginning of the year, Spacex has received permission from the US government for the ninth Starship test flight, which has just been announced for the night of Tuesday, May 27. The company has detailed the changes in the ship and the causes of the previous failure. To the third is the defeated? Starbase technicians have been working frantically to implement improvements in the prototype that will fly in the ninth proof mission of the Starship program. This attempt comes after two consecutive failures of a new version of the ship, known as Starship Block 2. Spacex has completed countless earth tests. After advancing in the investigation of the previous flight and with the authorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in hand, everything is ready for the world’s largest rocket to surf the skies again. If there are no setbacks, the launch window will open on Tuesday, May 27 at 18:30, local time of Texas (01:30 in the morning of Wednesday 28 on Spanish peninsular hours). Problem solved. In the two previous flights, which took place in January and March, Starship had a premature and explosive ending: the upper stage engines went out ahead, the ship lost control and ended up disintegrating itself into the upper atmosphere, spreading their remains near the Bahamas and the Turkish Islands and Caicos. A hard blow for Spacex, which had requested permission for 25 Starship test flights per year. The January flight investigation, supervised by the FAA, determined that the flight failure had originated from a liquid oxygen escape and the consequent fire in the ship’s motor compartment, caused by more intense vibrations than expected. Although Spacex made adjustments for the March flight, the ship failed again, giving rise to endless rumors about a design error In Starship version 2, slightly higher and with a new fuel feed system. The findings of the investigation, newly publishedThey reveal that the second incident was not related to the first, and that the vibrations problem had been solved before flight 8. What failed on the flight. According to the March flight investigation, supervised by the FAA, the most likely cause of the loss of the ship was a hardware failure in one of its three central raptor engines. The ruling caused an accidental mixture and ignition, which caused an explosion. Immediately after the explosion, the other two central engines and a vacuum raptor engine went out, causing Starship to lose control again. Spacex believes that the flight termination system was activated after he lost communications with the ship, ensuring its disintegration. The improvements. Since the vibrations problem had already been solved with the implemented mitigations for flight 8, Spacex has now focused on the upper stage of the upper Starship stage, which have received reinforcements in key joints, a new system of nitrogen purge and improvements in the propellente drainage system. It is a temporary solution that will cease to be necessary after the introduction of the raptor 3 engine, which has a more minimalist design with the integration of several components and includes reliability improvements to address this type of failures. Anyway, the FAA takes for good changes in the Raptor 2, highlighting that Spacex “has satisfactorily approached the causes of the mishap of flight 8”. Tuning. A few days ago, the company successfully completed a long -lasting static ignition of the six starship 35 engines, the prototype that it will use in the ninth flight. This test has been an important stumbling block for flight 9 because the ship needed several attempts to complete it. In a first attempt in early May, one of the engines issued a strong flash and part of its material came out. After the successful ignition, the Ship 35 returned to production facilities for final preparations; Presumably, the load of Starlink satellites and touch -up models in their thermal shield. How will flight 9 be. The flight profile of the next week will be very similar to that of failed attempts, but with several important milestones. The super heavy rocket that will boost the ship, the booster 14, will be The first to be reused After its previous January flight, in which it rose to the edge of the space, separated from the Starship ship and returned to the launch platform to be trapped in the air through its mechanical arms. 29 of the 33 propeller engines are “second -hand”, although they were performed exhaustive inspections and only one -use components were replaced (such as the ablative thermal shield). Of course, this time it will not be recovered: the booster 14 will maneuver directly on the sea to Try a flight profile More risky, with a quick turn after the separation of stages, a more aggressive angle in the descent and a deliberately off motor in the spareness maneuver. As for the Starship 35. The ship, on the other hand, will reach more than 160 kilometers of altitude and will demonstrate for the first time the load deployment, launching eight Starlink simulators with its system inspired by the caramels dispensers of fish. An hour after takeoff, it will resent the Indian Ocean to perform controlled ametering. Beyond overcoming the above problems, one of the pending objectives is to prove the improved thermal shield of the Starship Block 2, which will be crucial to reuse the ship. The previous failures prevented the rocket from reaching the point where this shield comes into play: the reentry. Spacex has eliminated a significant number of thermal tiles to test vulnerable areas. On flight 9 will try new metal tiles (One of them with active refrigeration) and new capture accessories for future landings. The new alerons of the ship will also be tested during the reentry. The planes will be further this time. Despite the vote of confidence in Spacex, FAA has imposed some conditions, as the expansion of aerial exclusion zonesboth in the United States and in other countries. The danger zone for aircraft will be extended … Read more

Blue Origin now has a golden opportunity to advance Spacex on trips to the moon. And he is taking advantage of it

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The Lunar exploration panorama has changed with the new US administration. Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos space company, is strategically positioning to capitalize on the recent turbulence of the NASA Artemis program. Short. With Boeing and Lockheed Martin outside the future lunar missions after the Cancellation of the SLS Rocket and the Orion shiptwo companies are the clear favorite to reconfigure the NASA Artemis program. Although Spacex has led the commercial narrative so far, its focus centered on Mars and the Technological developments of competition They could offer Blue originated a window to, if not advance, at least equate forces in the race towards our natural satellite. First flight this year. John Couluris, the leader of Blue Origin’s lunar efforts, has revealed New details about architecture and The road map From the company’s missions to the moon. In a presentation of the Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative Conference, Couluris said Blue Origin planned to do A demonstration flight without crew from its lunar module Blue Moon Mark I to the South Pole of the Moon before the end of the year. Blue Moon Mark I. Blue Origin’s first lunar module was designed to launch aboard the new Glenn rocket. Driven by a single be-7 engine of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, can transport up to 3.9 tons of load anywhere in the lunar surface with a precision in the alun of less than 100 meters, according to Blue Origin. The Mark I will not only serve as a test bench for technologies of the future Blue Moon Mark II ship, Yes with the ability to carry astronautsbut it will transport commercial and NASA useful charges to the Moon, including an experiment to measure the impact of the BE-7 engine on the lunar surface. Blue Moon Mark II. Blue’s true bet for dominating trips to the Moon is its Blue Moon Mark II, capable of taking four astronauts or between 20 and 30 tons of load to the Moon, depending on whether it is the reusable or disposable version. Here the newly announced Cislunar Transporter comes into play, a key piece that improves Blue Origin’s strategy with that of Spacex and its gigantic Starship ship. This vehicle, also driven by BE-7 engines, is designed to transport up to 100 tons of load from the low terrestrial orbit to a lunar orbit. Cislunar Transporter. Blue Origin’s lunar architecture begins with a New Glenn rocket by placing the transport in the low terrestrial orbit. Additional rocket launches would take advantage of the upper stage of the New Glenn to fill the liquid hydrogen and oxygen tug tanks. Once full, the Transporter southern would travel to an almost rectilinear halo (NRHO) next to the moon. The Blue Moon Mark II lunar module, thrown into another New Glenn, would go to that same orbit, where it would be attached to the transport to recharge its tanks, obtaining the necessary fuel to alunize and return to the NRHO. Simpler than Starship. Blue Origin’s architecture is easier than the HLS system of Spacex, in which a starship stays in terrestrial orbit and has to be coupled with several starship-cysterna (a maximum of eight, a maximum of eight, a maximum of eight, According to Elon Musk) Before recovering enough fuel to travel to the moon. On the other hand, Blue Origin is moving forward in the storage technology of cryogenic propellants without evaporation (“Zero Boil-Off”) that he hopes to demonstrate in June 2025 to solve one of the main problems of liquid fuels in long-term missions. An opportunity. These Blue Origin advances charge special relevance to the drastic cuts proposed for NASA. The 2026 budgets propose the cancellation of the SLS rocket and the Orion ship after the Artemis III mission, scheduled for 2027, which will use a Spacex starship to transport astronauts from the lunar orbit to the satellite surface. This dismantling of the Artemisa program As we know it leaves a vacuum that the White House intends to fill with rockets and commercial ships that allow more ambitious subsequent lunar missions. Although Spacex with Starship is an obvious candidate, Blue Origin is making it difficult. Images | Blue Origin In Xataka | The last eeuu slap to Europe has sounded up to space: NASA has just left ESA with Artemis

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