New Zealand joins the Space Race New Zealand has joined the list of spacefaring nations, courtesy of a US-Kiwi startup called Rocket Lab. Founded in New Zealand by CEO/CTO Peter Beck, the company has spent 12 years developing a launch capability for cubesat-sized payloads up to 150 kg for not many millions of dollars. In May last year, the outfit …
Certainly very cool and I enjoyed watching the launch, but will it be a commercial success? Probably not. The problem a rocket this small faces is that its mass to volume ratio is inherently worse that a larger rocket. As such whilst it does put the payload into orbit its a slow/low orbit and a only with a very light payload. Low orbits don't last too long as atmospheric drag pulls the satellite down quickly. I haven't see the parameters of yesterdays flight but I think it only just got into orbit. Commercial success relies on enough people willing to pay for a short low mass flight, and often a ride share is going to be a cheaper solution.
The electrically pumped rocket engine is brilliant but sadly doesn't scale to what you need for a bigger rocket where a pump needs to be phenomenally powerful, so I can't see where they can go from here.
The team principal of WindUp F1, the first entrant into F1 to build a team around a clockwork car has been talking about their chances in their inaugural 2018 season.
"Our power levels are somewhat down on the established players and this necessarily has an impact on out top speeds on the longer straights." he explained. But he is optimistic about their future development, saying "You have to start somewhere, and this is just the beginning".
Yes, you have to start and you have to start somewhere. But where and how you start is a significant factor in determining where you can possibly end up, so if you have a long term goal in mind you'd best start with that in mind and have at least some idea of how you will get There from Here.
Just hoping or even believing that "magic will happen" is not a plan.
This was the faster, better, cheaper NASA promised but never delivered years ago. I'd say, look at it like this - orbital space trash is becoming such a problem that even projects like the ISS may not be able to survive the meteoric strikes of continued overpopulation of space. Perhaps it is better to use LEO so that all the trash including the original project is burned up in the earth's atmosphere - end of problem!
The other advantages were already mentioned above, and the lifting tools and mini-satellites themselves will be cheap enough to be expendable, but still make more than enough data to make money. I think it is a genius move; especially since, I assume New Zealand is even closer to equatorial launch than any other major space launch center. It is way easier and uses less fuel to get the same result.
"I assume New Zealand is even closer to equatorial launch"
Not on your nelly. The launch site is 39degrees from the Equator at https://www.google.co.nz/maps/place/39%C2%B015'41.5%22S+177%C2%B051'57.2%22E/@-39.1327661,178.2181487,7.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d-39.261514!4d177.86588
I think they want to scale up to multiple launches per week, rather than heavier payloads. Getting to higher orbits is something the satellite itself can manage if it needs to. It probably needs an engine for station keeping anyway.
Ride share may be cheaper, but you need to find someone going to the same orbit and willing to share. As costs come down (eg, SpaceX), the primary payload owner becomes less willing to share because the money saved becomes too small to justify the risk and complication.
BFR is supposed to cost under $10m per launch, which doesn't leave much room for anyone else to be significantly cheaper. However, even if that is achieved, the opportunity costs of using BFR for cube sats may make it uneconomical. That is, SpaceX will always be able to make more money by launching something else instead. So Rocket Lab might have a bright future just doing what they are doing.
"it would be easy for Australia to create a rocket industry"
Maybe. But I'll bet you a years income that Australia's licensing rules for rocket launches would be 10 x more onerous than NZ's are (which allow for one launch per 72 hours if so desired)*.
*based on observing the differences in rules/regulations between the two countries.
@AC
I've seen neighbours and you only have one doctor in the entire country.
The rest are in the air...
https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/
there was also an occasional appearance of a Lady Doctor in "Chopper Squad", played by Jeanie Drynan
1) First CFRP LOX tank flown to orbit ever
2 )First rocket engines powered by battery driven electric propellant pumps ever
That does not just make them the State of the Art.
That makes them the Start of the Art.
Something to think about.
I'm not sure about that.
AFAIK SX have used 3D printed parts for some time and the Masten "Broadsword" (Methalox 65Klb dual fuel & LOX expander) is meant to have been entirely 3D printed.
If you mean first fully 3d printed engine to orbit then that also would be a "Start of the Art."
So much in rocket engineering has been done (at least in part) before that you have to drawn the boundaries for truly new innovation quite carefully.
BTW if anyone is wondering why launch from the Far North of Aotearoa? Well, the skies up in the Winterless North are uncommonly clear and secondly they are far enough away from Auckland International Airport that they don't often have to worry about overflying jets closing launch windows.
So, once they get it reliable it will be reliable in terms of when it can launch and technical snafus will not put the launch back weeks while they wait for the weather to change.
it is also no more susceptible to tropical storms with hurricane force winds than Canaveral or French Guyana and possibly a bit less. Cyclones only hit NZ very occasionally and they are usually underpowered by the cold seas by the time they get far enough south to hit us.
That thought has kept me awake at nights. The wholesale slandering of the Iranian government over its nuclear ambitions indicated just how seriously to take the US when it comes to supporting other people's aspirations re nuclear power - the reactors the Iranians have are US in origin, but you'd never find that out from the 24/7 coverage of what the US govt alleges Iran is planning.
How long until New Zealand and the US fall out over some stupid thing and the Half-Wit in Chief by the Grace of the US Electorate decides that New Zealand in some way, form or other, is a threat to the US because it has a space industry?
You have forgotten that NZ and the US fell out big time over NZ's nuclear free legislation way back in the mid '80s. Since that policy and legislation are still untouched (a shibboleth of NZ politics) and what happens in the ANZUS alliance is the Aussies exercise with the Yanks and then they Aussies exercise with the Kiwis teaching them how to interact with the nuclear armed and powered Yanks in an emergency.
Sure NZ is still in 5-eyes for entirely local pragmatic reasons and the US still runs Operation Deep Freeze to the Ice from Christchurch airport but that is so NZ can piggyback on it.
Otherwise NZ foreign policy is pretty much non-aligned. We have friends all over including in the Middle East (we sell them sheepmeat, butter and agritech) and they keep electing us to the Security Council etc at the UN. NZ was one of the countries in the SC who brokered that resolution condemning Israel that Obama didn't veto just before he left office.
Aside from it being the right thing to do NZ and Israeli relations are a bit frosty after Mossad agents were caught using cloned NZ passports, again.
No these days we have exercises with the US on a semi-regular basis, just not as regular as the Aussies. I've seen plenty of photos (for example) of our troops on exercises with US Marines in Hawaii and California.
Obviously there's very little in the way of Air Force exercises (not having an air force will do that).
Re: The Rutherford engines are fed by electric motors
- ...and the electric motors are powered by three batteries. In the video during second stage firing, you can see 2 of the 3 batteries being ejected when they have been exhausted (just after a "hot swap" comment), to reduce the second stage mass and allow a heavier payload / higher acceleration.
Just like to point out that if you can get to low Earth orbit, you can get to anywhere on Earth in under 90 minutes.
Which means that NZ just blew past NK in its ability to deliver nuclear weapons to any point on the planet.
They don't talk about it, but the US State Dept. probably has the heebie-jeebies whenever some new upstart country starts getting into the orbital business. Even if they're ostensibly friendly.
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