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Richard Branson’s California-based satellite launch company,
Virgin Orbit, has added two highly respected space industry veterans to its executive leadership team. The company announced Thursday that it hired former
ILS President Kirk Pysher and Janice Starzyk, another former ILS executive who also led commercial strategy for
Bryce Space and Technology and
United Launch Alliance (ULA).
Pysher will serve as Virgin Orbit’s vice president of mission assurance, quality and safety, and Starzyk as its new vice president of government operations.
As head of ILS, Pysher oversaw the implementation of significant technological changes to the Proton rocket launcher, including the introduction of automation on the rocket assembly line. He was succeeded by Tiphaine Louradour in March 2020. Pysher spoke regularly on global launch industry leaders panel sessions at the SATELLITE conference and other events. Prior to ILS, he served as COO and chief engineer for
The program, dubbed Transporter-1, offers satellite operators a new way of putting compact satellites into a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at a cost of $1 million for a 440 pounds (200kg) satellite with additional mass priced at $5,000 per 2.2 pounds. SpaceX s rideshare offering provides increased access to space for small satellite operators seeking a reliable, affordable ride to orbit, SpaceX said.
SEE: (TechRepublic)
There were 133 commercial and government spacecraft on this flight, including CubeSats, microsats, and orbital transfer vehicles, as well as 10 Starlink satellites. Starlink is the satellite broadband service Musk is launching to bring high-speed, low-latency broadband to rural America and eventually the rest of the world.
SpaceX plans record-breaking launch with 143 satellites
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, similar to the one shown that was launched in 2020, is packed with dozens of satellites for the Transporter-1 rideshare launch Saturday. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo
A Lemur-2 satellite built by California-based Spire Global, like the one shown in processing by the European Space Agency during a recent mission, is on board the SpaceX Transporter-1 mission planned for launch Saturday. Photo courtesy of European Space Agency
A very small, nano-satellite like the one shown made by California-based Tyvak is on board SpaceX s planned Transporter-1 mission to launch from Florida on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Tyvak
SABRE-powered launch system beyond 2030
The Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine, SABRE, is being developed by Reaction Engines in the UK and has previously been supported by ESA. This engine could be used to power a horizontally launched vehicle using either a one- or two-stage-to-orbit concept. In both cases, the SABRE-powered first stage would be fully reusable.
During flight, SABRE is designed to reach hypersonic speed through Earth’s atmosphere before switching to rocket mode on the climb to orbit.
Flight trajectory
In air-breathing mode, the engine utilises ambient air to burn on-board fuel allowing it to reach speeds up to Mach 5.