Rocket Report: Alpha Block 2 is coming this summer; Falcon sets the control signal

Selected for public interest … The Falcon 9 crew was selected from a long list of candidates. “Ultimately, what made the decision was what we felt was the impact of the team,” said Dan Dumbacher, chairman of the Neil Armstrong Space Prize selection committee. “Their work has had clear and tangible results.” It’s hard to argue with that.

The Chinese company wants aerodynamic recovery. Chinese commercial launch Nayuta Space has completed a series of Pre-A missions to help develop its unofficial Xuanniao-R rocket concept, Space News reports. The two-stage, 70m-long, 3.8m-diameter Xuanniao-R has a narrow and horizontal approach for reusability, Nayuta is targeting the Xuanniao-R test flight in the first half of 2027.

I may never achieve that goal … Although Nayuta Space says its low-altitude approach would reduce the reliance on primary engines, braking, and more precise control of vertical recovery, the approach would require new spacecraft, creating challenges, including weight and complexity. The growth of startups, the new and uncertain strategy, and the uncertainty of funding show that the 2027 period for the start-up of the aircraft is very demanding.

A new record has been set for safe landing. On Tuesday, SpaceX launched another regular Falcon 9 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, putting another batch of Starlink v2-mini satellites into orbit. It was the 611th successful recovery of the Falcon booster.

That’s a lot of landing … However, a writer at NASASpaceflight.com, Alex Alcantarilla Romera, he realized that This represents a very important event. With this landing, SpaceX has set a record of 268 consecutive landings. This is important because with its Starship program, SpaceX ultimately aims to bring people to earth by direct landing, and showing a record of success with this method builds confidence in this technology.

The star approaches Flight 12. SpaceX on Thursday conducted a 15-second test firing of the Super Heavy booster stage on its Starship launch vehicle, and it appears to be going well based on independent test videos. This was the most difficult test in the campaign to prepare the new iteration of the Starship, V3, for its first launch. SpaceX has not announced a launch date, but mid-May seems likely.