© Provided by SpaceThe small satellite launch startup Blushift Aerospace prepares its first Stardust 1.0 rocket prototype for a Jan. 31, 2021 launch from the Loring Commerce Centre in Limestone, Maine.
Update for 11:47 a.m. EDT: bluShift Aerospace's is now targeting a launch of Stardust 1.0 between 1-1:30 p.m. EDT (1800-1830 GMT) to allow time to repressurize and reheat the rocket's main oxidizer valve.
The small-satellite launch startup bluShift Aerospace will attempt its first Stardust suborbital rocket launch from Maine Sunday (Jan. 31) and you can watch it live here. Liftoff is currently targeted for 10:45 a.m. EDT (1545 GMT).
The Brunswick, Maine-based bluShift will attempt to launch its Stardust 1.0 suborbital rocket up to a 1 mile high from a runway on the decommissioned Loring Air Force Base (now the Loring Commerce Centre) in Limestone, Maine. The rocket can carry about 17 lbs. (8 kilograms) on this launch, and is carrying three primary payloads on this flight.
Liftoff is scheduled during a one-hour window that opens at 10 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT). This is the second attempt by bluShift to launch the Stardust 1.0. An earlier attempt on Jan. 15 was thwarted by bad weather.
Stardust 1.0 is the first prototype for a family of boosters that bluShift bills as the world's first biofuel-powered commercial rocket to launch from Maine. The company is also developing larger rockets to launch payloads of up to 66 lbs. (30 kilograms) into polar orbits from Maine for cubesat customers.
From Blushift Aerospace
Limestone, Maine (January 29, 2021) - After worldwide anticipation, and one cancellation due to unfavorable weather, bluShift Aerospace, a Brunswick-based NewSpace startup, is preparing to launch their single-stage Stardust 1.0 prototype rocket on Sunday, January 31, 2021 at 10 AM Eastern Time from the Loring Commerce Centre in Limestone, Maine. The long-awaited launch comes after bluShift conducted two static fire tests of the fully integrated rocket at its Brunswick Landing headquarters on December 22, 2020 and January 5, 2021.
The low-altitude demo launch in Limestone is the culmination of six years of R&D, over two hundred engine tests, more than 50 suborbital and orbital stakeholder interviews, the successful realization of grants from NASA and the Maine Technology Institute (MTI), and the development of the novel Modular Adaptable Rocket Engine for Vehicle Launch (MAREVLT). The first flight mission will carry one academic and two commercial customer payloads.
This capstone moment is the first ever commercial launch of a rocket powered by bio-derived fuel anywhere in the world. The rocket is equipped with a proprietary modular hybrid rocket engine that is also unique to the aerospace industry. The launch will be viewed by a select group of honored guests and will be live streamed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/OYR7lQyCVI0
"There's a lot riding on this moment, and not just for bluShift," said Sascha Deri, CEO and Founder of bluShift Aerospace. "Stardust has the potential to launch a vibrant aerospace industry right here in Maine. Our team of staff and investors is aiming high and hoping to create an ecologically responsible aerospace industry with the words 'Made in Maine' on it."
Powered by a non-toxic, carbon-neutral, bio-derived fuel made entirely from materials that can be sourced from farms across America. Stardust 1.0 will demonstrate a low-cost and reliable alternative to traditional fuel without sacrificing efficiency. The Modular Adaptable Rocket Engine for Vehicle Launch, or MAREVLT, can rapidly be grouped in clusters and stages with other MAREVLs. This design architecture allows for the rapid assembly of custom rockets for suborbital and orbital missions.
Brian Whitney, president Maine Technology Institute (MTI), which has assisted bluShift with grants, consulting, and technical support, has been one of the company's staunchest supporters. "We are thrilled that the team at bluShift is ready for the suborbital launch of the Stardust 1.0 prototype, utilizing their environmentally-friendly, bio-derived fuel," said Whitney. "We're optimistic that the successful demonstration will illustrate bluShift's commercialization capabilities."
By building and launching rockets, bluShift hopes to stimulate an already-growing aerospace cluster here in Maine. Market analysis company Frost & Sullivan predicts that small-satellite launch service revenues will exceed $69 billion by 2030. To date, bluShift has raised nearly $277k in capital investment from local and national investors. With the launch of Stardust 1.0, bluShift is poised to capture a sector of a quickly expanding market, creating 40 jobs in the next five years and supporting more across the state.
Three Customers Join to Launch
In addition to demonstrating the bio-derived fuel and other proprietary systems in flight, bluShift's first launch will validate the growing demand for the suborbital launch of small payloads in small numbers. Stardust 1.0's payload bay will be fully packed with three unique customer payloads.
7 Female Students from Falmouth High School have worked with UMaine and USM to outfit their cubesat prototype with a GoPro and XinaBox chips to collect flight data including acceleration, pressure, temperature, and humidity. Physics and STEM teacher Andrew Njaa commented, "The cubesat experience is totally different from a normal science class. Our team of students got energized about space and Maine's place in it, and got a real window into what life in research, science, and engineering can be like." Njaa continued, "The students gave up weekends and spent hours over Zoom to troubleshoot and figure out new code. Cubesats are helping them build professional relationships with scientists and professors here in Maine and around the world. This is what BluShift, collaboration, and cubesats can do." Earlier this year Falmouth High School was among the five Maine schools awarded a NASA grant to launch MESAT-1, Maine's first cubesat. The cubesat flown with bluShift will be their first 3U cubesat prototype.
Kellogg's Research Labs will use this flight to test the vibration dampening properties of nitinol, a shape memory alloy of nickel and titanium, in the conditions of a rocket launch. "We supplied parts for more than 100 satellites launched in 2019, and we're just getting started" says CEO Joe Kellog. "Currently 85% of CubeSats arrive on orbit with major system damage. With the strength of titanium and the ability to convert the vibrations of a rocket launch into heat energy, nitinol can protect payloads for less weight than a separate vibration dampening system. Of course testing is critical, and that is where bluShift is able to help us open the door for expanding the use of nitinol in Space."
Rocket Insights, a software design and development company, brings perhaps the least conventional payload to the mission. "We have deep connections with the state of Maine and love supporting innovators," said Rocket Insights partner Dave Witting. "When we heard that bluShift was taking on SpaceX and Blue Origin from the woods of Maine, we jumped at the opportunity to support this historic launch." The company is filling their cubesat enclosure with traditional Dutch wafer cookies called stroopwafels, an homage to its Amsterdam-based parent company. And, in honor of Maine's reputation for producing some of the highest-quality pink and green tourmaline in the world, Rocket Insights will attempt to tumble a tourmaline gem using the vibrations and G-loading of the rocket launch. "We're not sure what to expect on launch day, but we're thrilled to be along for the ride," said Witting.
About bluShift Aerospace
Founded in 2014, bluShift Aerospace has designed a bio-derived rocket fuel and a modular hybrid rocket engine, and is working toward a small rocket that can lift 30-kilogram payloads to low-Earth orbit. This new launch system will dramatically reduce the environmental impact, cost, and wait times of current cubesat launch services. By launching these rockets to polar orbit from coastal Maine, bluShift plans to create over 40 aerospace jobs in the next five years and bring revenue from the rapidly growing cubesat (miniature satellites) launch market into the state. bluShift Aerospace is headquartered at TechPlace, at Brunswick Landing. For more information visit their website at https://blushiftaerospace.com/ or watch this 3-minute video.
SpaceX Starship SN9 launch attempt
SpaceX's Starship SN9 vehicle may attempt its first launch today (Jan. 28). You can see views here, courtesy of NASASpaceflight.com. If SpaceX does attempt a launch this week, the company will likely announce a webcast of its own and that will be available here once released.
NASASpaceflight.com cited high winds as one of the likely reasons the SN9 ship did not launch on Monday (Jan. 25).
This week's Starship SN9 launch follows a series of engine static-fire tests to check the three Raptor engines that will power the prototype rocket's launch. SpaceX successfully test-fired the engines on Friday (Jan. 25), with earlier tests occurring on Jan. 6, Jan. 13 and Jan. 21.
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An earlier Starship prototype, called SN8, launched on its own high-altitude test on Dec. 9. That flight reached an altitude of 7.8 miles (12.5 kilometers), with the rocket successfully performing two flip maneuvers to reach its landing site. It failed to land successfully when it hit the ground too hard.
SpaceX is developing Starship to carry people and cargo to the moon, Mars and other cosmic destinations. The transportation system consists of two elements, both of which will be fully and rapidly reusable: the 165-foot-tall (50 meters) Starship spacecraft and a huge booster known as Super Heavy.
'ISS Live!' Tune in to the space station
Find out what the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station are up to by tuning in to the "ISS Live" broadcast. Hear conversations between the crew and mission controllers on Earth and watch them work inside the U.S. segment of the orbiting laboratory. When the crew is off duty, you can enjoy live views of Earth from Space. You can watch and listen in the window below, courtesy of NASA.
"Live video from the International Space Station includes internal views when the crew is on-duty and Earth views at other times. The video is accompanied by audio of conversations between the crew and Mission Control. This video is only available when the space station is in contact with the ground. During 'loss of signal' periods, viewers will see a blue screen.
"Since the station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, it experiences a sunrise or a sunset about every 45 minutes. When the station is in darkness, external camera video may appear black, but can sometimes provide spectacular views of lightning or city lights below."
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