Rocket Report: Blunder at Baikonur; do launchers really need rocket engines?
In the latest edition of the Rocket Report, we dive into the exciting developments in the space launch industry following the Thanksgiving holiday. This period has been particularly eventful, with significant activity not just from SpaceX, which completed seven launches in two weeks—six of which were dedicated to deploying Starlink Internet satellites—but also from international players. While SpaceX continues to dominate the commercial launch landscape, Russia’s space endeavors faced a setback with a failed test of its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Meanwhile, China’s launch industry celebrated several successful missions, showcasing its growing capabilities in the global space arena.
On November 28, a Russian Sarmat missile test ended in failure, as the missile failed to reach its intended distance of nearly 4,000 miles, crashing just a short distance from its launch site in Orenburg Oblast. Eyewitness accounts and videos from the scene depicted the missile veering off course and crashing shortly after takeoff, raising concerns about the reliability of Russia’s missile technology amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. The silence from Russian military officials regarding this incident further fuels speculation about the state of their defense capabilities. As we look ahead, there are expectations of 15 to 20 more orbital launches worldwide before the year concludes, highlighting the ongoing race in space exploration and satellite deployment among global powers.
For those interested in keeping up with the latest in rocket launches, the Rocket Report invites reader submissions and encourages subscriptions to ensure you don’t miss any updates. Each edition promises insights into small, medium, and heavy-lift rockets, alongside a preview of upcoming launches, making it a valuable resource for enthusiasts and industry professionals alike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKwbfFFJCVw
Welcome to Edition 8.21 of the Rocket Report! We’re back after the Thanksgiving holiday with more launch news. Most of the big stories over the last couple of weeks came from abroad. Russian rockets and launch pads didn’t fare so well. China’s launch industry celebrated several key missions. SpaceX was busy, too, with seven launches over the last two weeks, six of them carrying more Starlink Internet satellites into orbit. We expect between 15 and 20 more orbital launch attempts worldwide before the end of the year.
As always, we
welcome reader submissions
. If you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets, as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.
Another Sarmat failure.
A Russian intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fired from an underground silo on the country’s southern steppe on November 28 on a scheduled test to deliver a dummy warhead to a remote impact zone nearly 4,000 miles away. The missile didn’t even make it 4,000 feet, Ars reports. Russia’s military has been silent on the accident, but the missile’s crash was seen and heard for miles around the Dombarovsky air base in Orenburg Oblast near the Russian-Kazakh border. A video posted by the
Russian blog site MilitaryRussia.ru on Telegram
and widely shared on other social media platforms showed the missile veering off course immediately after launch before cartwheeling upside down, losing power, and then crashing a short distance from the launch site.
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