Weekly Dose of Space (9/2-15/2)

Welcome back to Weekly Dose of Space! This week had four launches taking place with all of them carrying satellites for mega-constellations. News from the week had Firefly entering lunar orbit, China's internet constellation operators expanding abroad, and Blue Origin cutting a significant chunk of its workforce. As always, we'll also look ahead to what the worldwide launch schedule might look like next week.

SpaceX

This week at Starbase began on February 9th when the launch site tank farm was spotted spooling up and loading liquid methane and liquid oxygen into Booster 15. A few hours later Booster 15 performed a thirty-three-engine static fire, lighting all of its Raptor engines for a few seconds.

Late on the 9th and in the early hours of the 10th, Ship 34 was rolled out from the production site to the Massey's test site to complete its pre-flight testing. At the same time, Booster 15 was lifted off of the Orbital Launch Mount. At midday, Booster 15 was moved from the launch site to the production site.

Toward sunset on February 11th, Ship 34 was spotted being loaded with liquid methane and liquid oxygen. Lighting up the night at Massey's, Ship 34 performed a fifty-seven-second long static fire lighting it three sea-level and three vacuum Raptor engines.

Following its successful static fire, Ship 34 returned to the production site from the Massey's test site late on February 12th. On the 13th, the launch tower was spotted performing tests of the Ship's quick disconnect arm and the catch arms landing rails.

Launches This Week

February 11th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 11-10

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 4E, in California, carrying twenty-three Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. The booster supporting this launch was B1071, making its twenty-third flight and landing on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' downrange.

February 11th - Long March 8A with GuoWang Group 02

The first Long March 8A blasted off from LC-201 at the Wenchang Space Launch Center, in China's southern Hainan Province, carrying the second batch of satellites for the GuoWang satellite internet mega-constellation into low Earth orbit. This batch of satellites is believed to have consisted of nine satellites, bringing the constellation up to nineteen satellites of a planned 13,000 by the 2030s.

February 11th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 12-18

A Falcon 9 blasted off from Space Launch Complex 40, in Florida, carrying twenty-one Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. Booster B1077 supported this launch for its eighteenth flight, with a landing downrange on the drone ship 'Just Read The Instructions'.

February 15th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 12-8

Twenty-one more Starlink satellites were delivered to low Earth orbit atop of a Falcon 9 flying from Space Launch Complex 40. B1067 supported this launch for its twenty-sixth flight, landing on the drone ship 'A Shortfall of Gravitas' downrange afterward.

In Other Space News

Firefly enters lunar orbit!

As part of Blue Ghost's first mission, Firefly Aerospace has entered lunar orbit with the lunar lander ahead of a landing set to take place as early as March 2nd. A few days ago the lander performed its trans-lunar trajectory burn and on February 14th entered lunar orbit.

Now in lunar orbit, Blue Ghost will further refine its orbit, undergo systems checks, and monitor its various payloads before committing to a descent to the surface. Details about Blue Ghost and its payloads are available here.

Blue Origin cuts 10% of its workforce

On February 13th, Dave Limp, Chief Executive Officer of Blue Origin, notified employees of layoffs effecting approximately ten percent of the company's workforce. In an email obtained by SpaceNews and Ars Technica, Dave Limp stated:

"We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed," – "It also became clear that the makeup of our organization must change to ensure our roles are best aligned with executing these priorities. Sadly, this resulted in eliminating some positions in engineering, R&D, and program/project management and thinning out our layers of management"

These layoffs to various parts of Blue Origin have come just one month after New Glenn's debut mission, along with plans to ramp up the vehicle's launch cadence. Blue is still expecting to hire hundreds of people this year to refine launch and manufacturing operations, as stated by Limp in the layoff email.

In late 2023 Dave Limp was brought in as the new Chief Executive Officer at Blue Origin to oversee a more decisive and competitive launch company after years of development work.

China's satellite services expand across ASEAN nations

Recently two satellite constellation operators from China have signed agreements with members of the ASEAN economic union. These agreements were between Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co Ltd and Malaysia's MEASAT as well as GalaxySpace and Thailand's True Corporation.

On February 6th MEASAT and Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co Ltd, the operator of the Qianfan constellation signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two companies. The memorandum is aimed at collaboration and bringing the Qianfan constellations services to Malaysia and possibly further abroad thanks to MEASAT's existing services. Speaking after the signing MEASAT’s Chief Operating Officer Yau Chyong Lim stated:

“We firmly believe in a multi-orbit satellite network to achieve progress in society and are pleased to have the opportunity to integrate the capabilities of Spacesail’s [Qianfan] megaconstellation with MEASAT’s fleet of Geostationary Orbit satellites. In regions where MEASAT operates, satellites have immense potential in further bridging the digital divide and overcoming geographical challenges.”

This week on February 12th, GalaxySpace and True Corporation also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on low Earth orbit satellite communications technology, direct-to-device communications, and space-based network solutions. GalaxySpace currently has twelve satellites in orbit with plans to operate a hundreds strong satellite communications and internet network. Manat Manavutiveth of True Corporation said the following on the signing between the two companies:

"Low-orbit satellite internet represents a significant leap forward in global communications, poised to drive transformative changes in socio-economic development both in Thailand and worldwide," — "We are thrilled that this collaboration will bring cutting-edge innovative technologies to Thai consumers."

What to Expect Next Week

Starbase

SpaceX is currently preparing for Starship-Super Heavy's eighth flight test, utilizing Ship 34 and Booster 15. Both vehicles have completed static fires and cryogenic testing needed before flight.

February 17th - Falcon 9 with NROL-57

A Falcon 9 is expected to liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E heading to low Earth orbit with a batch of Starshield satellites, which is the military version of Starlink.

February 18th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 10-12

A batch of Starlink satellites is expected to head to low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 atop of a Falcon 9.

February 18th - Electron for 'Fasten Your Space Belts'

Rocket Lab is planning to launch an Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1B, on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand, carrying a commercial imaging satellite for BlackSky Technology.

February 20th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 15-1

Another Falcon 9 is expected to launch from Space Launch Complex 4E carrying a batch of Starlink satellites.

February 21st - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 12-14

Another batch of Starlink satellites are planned to head to low Earth orbit atop of a Falcon 9 launching from Space Launch Complex 40.