Aerospace and Defense Review : News

ABL supports different customers throughout the defense, civil and commercial sectors, with over $44 million in announced contracts and a deep customer backlog. ABL Space Systems has completed integrated stage testing of the RS1 small satellite launch vehicle. Testing was performed on the RS1 second stage with the in-house designed E2 liquid rocket engine at the Area 1-56 test site on Edwards Air Force Base. Critical aspects of the campaign included handling of the propellant tanks, operating pressurant management systems, and refining the stage arming and engine startup sequences, all of which were accomplished successfully. This test campaign builds on the successes of eighteen months of extensive component, engine, and stage testing. "Every day we are humbled by our goal to raise the standard for rapid, efficient launch vehicle development," said Dan Piemont, ABL Founder, and President. "Folks who know orbital launch know that integrated stage testing is the first real proof of capability. To get here in just three years with under 75 people validates the advantages of our approach." ABL manufactures engines and stages in state-of-the-art facilities in El Segundo, California. By staying highly verticalized and focusing on low-cost, scalable manufacturing processes, ABL delivers industry-leading capability and pricing to the small satellite community. RS1 can deliver one metric ton to sun-synchronous orbit, 400 kilograms to geosynchronous transfer orbit, and 250kg to lunar injection orbit. "Simplicity is key," said Harry O'Hanley, Founder and CEO of ABL. "Our company is just over three years old. Yet, we've moved markedly faster and been more capital efficient than others because we avoid exotic, unproven architectures and manufacturing processes. Unless an innovation adds measurable value to our customer, we do not pursue it." RS1 is best in class in all dimensions that launch customers value: price – as low as $9,000/kg; capability – the highest lift capacity throughout the cislunar volume; reliability – only proven technologies in the system; and cadence – existing production lines can produce a launch vehicle in under thirty days. ABL will continue performing stage test operations at Edwards Air Force Base in the coming weeks to accumulate additional run time on the engine and stage. The launch vehicle system will undergo a series of stress tests to demonstrate performance in various flight conditions. RS1 is scheduled for an initial launch in the first quarter of 2021 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, where ABL has received a Right of Entry for LC-576E from the 30th Space Wing. "Our team is high-performance, focused, and thorough. During this campaign, we executed multiple hotfire operations every day," said O'Hanley. "We obsess over-attention to detail and will apply this same tenacity to our upcoming Stage 1 operations. The first flight Stage 1 will roll out of our facility at the end of this year, destined to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base." ...Read more

The test seemed to have some minor issues. SpaceX released a video of the flight in which it showed some debris flying off the launch stand after take-off, while part of the Raptor engine seemed to be on fire as the vehicle landed. None of these appeared to affect the flight of the vehicle A prototype of SpaceX’s starship next-generation reusable launch vehicle flies a brief a hop on August 4 at the company’s South Texas test site after a period of delays and testing setbacks. Powered by a single Raptor engine, the Starship SN5 vehicle took off shortly before 8 p.m. Eastern at SpaceX’s site in Boca Chica, Texas. The flight was planned to reach an altitude of 150 meters, even though SpaceX did not reveal the exact altitude the vehicle reached. [vendor_logo_first] After shoring a short distance sideways, the flight came down to a landing on a nearby pad about 45 seconds after take-off. Six landing legs, folded underneath the skirt surrounding the engine bay, deployed shortly before landing. The test seemed to have some minor issues. SpaceX released a video of the flight in which it showed some debris flying off the launch stand after take-off, while part of the Raptor engine seemed to be on fire as the vehicle landed. None of these appeared to affect the flight of the vehicle. SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk appeared contended with the test. Nevertheless, this test flight is months behind a schedule Musk, which was set last September. The Mark 1 prototype was destroyed in a tanking test last November. Three other Starship prototypes were also demolished in later tests, including the SN4 vehicle that exploded after a static-fire test on May 29. At the time of an event last September, NASA was criticizing SpaceX for appearing to invest more attention to Starship than its Crew Dragon commercial crew vehicle, which the agency was expecting SpaceX to complete to allow for the return of human orbital spaceflight to the United States. See also:  Top Aerospace Manufacturing Companies ...Read more

This contract is a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase III award, an extension of Shift5's current SBIR Phase II project through AFWERX. Shift5, an advanced cybersecurity company that secures operational technology for a range of Department of Defense and commercial platforms, declared a contract award with the Air Force Cyber Resiliency of Weapon Systems (CROWS) office. This contract is a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase III award, an extension of Shift5's current SBIR Phase II project through AFWERX. SBIR Phase III awards are dedicated to commercialize the innovation developed through the earlier phases and rapidly field that capability to the warfighter. Following their SBIR Phase I awarded in December 2019, Shift5 immediately satisfied the competition requirements, allowing any federal agency to issue sole-source Phase III awards with buying Shift5's products without competition. This Phase III award is a result of Air Force interest in the disruptive cybersecurity technology given by Shift5. This project will take Shift5 cybersecurity technology and transform it to a micro-form factor prototype. This miniaturization will allow a wider range of use cases, to include those that are extremely weight, size, and power-sensitive. Mitch Plonski, Shift5 Head of Operations, stated, "We are extremely honored to start this Phase III project and our partnership with the Air Force will continue to deliver innovation to the mission of securing critical military platforms against cyberattack along with commercializing the micro-form factor technology. This project, and our mission focus in supporting the DoD, is answering the call to better secure our most critical weapon systems that stems from the 2016 NDAA Section 1647 and is discussed in a GAO report in 2018." The work starts in September 2020 and will primarily occur at Shift5 headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia. ...Read more