Rocket Report: SLS delays prompt NASA action, Brazil considering launch site

Enlarge / A Falcon 9 rocket launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base. (credit: Aurich Lawson/SpaceX)

Welcome to Edition 1.40 of the Rocket Report! There were some Earth-shaking developments in heavy lift this week, with the announcement by NASA that it will consider using commercial rockets to perform the first Moon launch of the Orion spacecraft. Readers have also submitted a variety of interesting stories, such as Brazil considering a launch site to rival Kourou in neighboring French Guiana.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and 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.

Vega-C rocket enters qualification phase, but slips. The new European small satellite launch system recently passed its Critical Design Review and is now ready to complete manufacturing and final testing as part of the qualification phase, according to the European Space Agency. The initial flight of the Vega-C booster, a more economical version of Arianespace's Vega rocket, is now planned for early 2020 (this is a slip from late 2019).

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